Carlos Varela

Who is Carlos Varela?

Carlos Victoriano Varela Cerezo is a singer-songwriter of nueva trova from Havana, Cuba. In the 1980s he joined the Nueva Trova musical movement, a political and poetic musical genre connected with the Cuban Revolution.

Silvio Rodríguez, one of the most famous persons in the world nueva trova founders, "discovered" him and helped the "nomo" [Gnome] taking him on a tour to Spain. His first CD "Jalisco Park" was published in Spain. Nowadays Varela's music is known for its open criticism of the status quo, though it is still considered Nueva Trova, which itself began as a reaction to the unjust conditions that led to the Revolution.

His song — "Una Palabra" [A Word]— was used in the film Powder Keg directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu starring Clive Owen and again in the film Man on Fire in 2004 starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. He has managed to integrate his music in several Cuban films as well, such as Las profecias de Amanda and Video de familia among others.