Javier García

The critically championed, multicultural musical style of Javier García may have a lot to do with his multicultural background. Born in Spain to a Cuban father and an Irish mother, García lived there until age 13, when he then moved to Ireland for two years before finally moving to Miami, where he stayed and made a nice home for himself amidst the city's thriving Latin music scene. While in high school, he formed a band with Jorge Moreno (winner of a Latin Grammy for Best New Artist in 2002) and Miami indie rock nightclub entrepreneur Aramis Lourie. García made a small splash in the Latin music scene with his self-titled debut album, released in 1997 by Fonovisa. The album spun off a pair of popular singles, "Tranquila" and "A Casa," and was successful enough to warrant a remix album a year later. And that was it for a while. García didn't return to the recorded music arena until a long seven years later, in 2005. That year he returned with a new album (13) for a new label (Universal Music Latino). Before the album was even released, there was substantial buzz among critics, a great many of whom were raving about 13 and its kaleidoscope of generally tropical music styles: son, calypso, salsa, reggae, rock en español, rap, funk, and Latin pop, among others. And too, the album bore the stamp of super-producer Gustavo Santaolalla, who is very well known for his outstanding work with Café Tacuba, Juanes, and Julieta Venegas. Needless to say, 13 revived the long-quiet career of García, thrusting him again into the Latin music spotlight. ~ Jason Birchmeier