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Fusing both traditional and modern strands of Latin pop for over two decades, this popular ASCAP Award-winning Cuban singer, songwriter, and producer incorporates salsa -- and occasionally reggaetón -- into his largely mainstream sound.

Born Leonardo Torres Álvarez in the late '70s on Cuba's southern coast, in the city of Santa Cruz del Sur, he soon became fascinated by American R&B, particularly Michael Jackson. After working menial jobs -- including a three-year stint as a refrigerator repair man -- he joined a parody musical act, sending up everything from his hero Jackson to the theme from Titanic. By 1998, he could be found performing at local venues, and the following year he joined Maravillas de Florida before he was asked by David Calzado to sing with Charanga Habanera in 2001. Torres spent seven years with this influential ensemble, but left after tasting solo success with his debut EGREM album, 2007's Bajo la Piel. He followed the release in 2011 with Latiendo and 2012's Salseando, which comprised salsa renditions of selections from his catalog to date.

Although 2014 saw Torres make his acting debut in Contigo Pan y Onion -- a film adaptation of Héctor Quintero's play -- the year was perhaps most notable for the release of his composition "Amor Bonito," a duet with Descemer Bueno. It was the first real example of his songwriting to make a splash, and pre-dated his co-writing credit on Gente de Zona & Marc Anthony's 2015 single "Traidora," a track that ultimately won an ASCAP Award for Best Tropical Music Composition. The same year brought another duet, this time with Pablo Milanés -- an innovator of the nueva trova movement -- on the single "Para Que un Día Vuelvas." 2016 found Torres acting again, this time in Jonal Cosculluela's Esteban, before he threw himself into recording Amor Bonito, a two-volume collection characteristically rich in duets. In August 2019, he promoted the project with an extensive tour of the U.S. and Europe. Upon leaving EGREM, his next record -- March 2021's Alma Cubana -- was produced in close collaboration with Kelvis Ochoa and Leonardo Gil Milián. ~ James Wilkinson

Álvaro Lenier Mesa is a singer, rapper, and songwriter of Latin pop, reggaeton, tropical, and ballads. Born in Cuba in 1989, Lenier emigrated with his father to Miami when he was a teenager. During his first decade as a professional musician, he played mostly Cuban folk music, until he reckoned that a switch to the then-rising urbano genre would offer more opportunities. His first solo album, Melisma (2019), attracted the attention of Pitbull, who promptly signed the artist to his own Mr. 305 Inc label. One year later, Lenier had his breakthrough hit with "Como Te Pago," a sentimental paean to mothers that racked millions of streams. From then onward, his career bloomed, both as a solo artist and as a songwriter for heavy hitters such as Marc Anthony, for whom he wrote the Latin Grammy winner "Mala." Busy with a constant flux of singles and collaborations with the likes of Yandel, Jowell & Randy, 6ix9ine, Ne-Yo, Pitbull, and many others, Lenier also managed to release the albums The Hit Kings (2022) and Blanco y Negro (2024). ~ Mariano Prunes