The multi-award winning group Maxima Alerta was honored as “Latin Group of the Year” by the United States Senate; “Latin Group of the Year” by Communitarian Media Network; Premio ARTE 2017 for “Best Latin Band”, “New Jersey’s Best Latin Group” by Cine & Novelas; Union City Artist Award; final entry on the Latin Grammy’s, and many other awards.
It all began in Santa Clara, a busy city in the center of Cuba, where Ray Machado aka “El Italiano”, the lead singer, musical director, and composer for most of the songs of the group, developed the group.
Maxima Alerta was one of Cuba’s best known and loved fusion bands. The group has moved to the US and it is now based in the NYC area. It is known for its fusion of Cuban Music and other genres forming a fresh hip sound. From son cubano to conga, from cumbia to merengue, from rap to ballads… all with a fresh modern sound taunting audiences on their feet to dance and have a good time.
The group became a local favorite, and for four years Ray worked hard to develop their unique sound and build a following. In 2003 Máxima Alerta exploded on the national scene, hitting radio and television stations with two songs, “Echar pa’ lante” and “Adegüello 1895” which very quickly became popular throughout the country. Thanks to these successes, in 2004 they delivered their new album “Llegaron los Alertas”, recorded at Abdala Studios owned by renowned singer/composer Silvio Rodriguez with the French company Lusafrica, and joining their catalog and sharing the stage with popular groups such as La Orquesta Aragón, Polo Montañez, Anacaona, Isaac Delgado, Osdalgia, among others.
In 2005 Máxima Alerta was nominated to Cubadisco as “Best Album Rap, Dance and Hip Hop” which garnered the group great popularity both nationally and internationally, as well as topping the charts. Later in 2009 the group returned to the top of the charts with the song "La Figura" (“Ay Lola”) recorded with the multi-award winning and internationally renowned group Gente de Zona.
Later in 2011, they released the CD “Alertas para Todos”, recorded and produced by Nando Pro in Havana, Cuba. This is an album containing fourteen tracks, of which six featured special guests: Yulien Oviedo and Dantes (Charanga Habanera); Alexander Delgado y Randy Marcos (Gente de Zona); Sisto Llorente "El Indio" (Orquesta Aragón); Los Cuatro; and Alain Daniel and Ramón Lavado (El Chacal). The CD also features a song dedicated to one of the greatest Cuban baseball players, Victor Mesa.
In October 2015, Maxima Alerta was reborn in the US performing in two SOLD OUT concerts in New York City with legendary merengue superstar Fernandito Villalona. In 2016, Maxima Alerta released its new song "Vive la Vida" with an accompanying music video for which they made it as a final entry on the Latin Grammy’s.
Subsequently the group has had a SOLD OUT concert at the legendary Maxwell’s in Hoboken; a SOLD OUT concert with bachata superstar Anthony Santos at the historic 1,500 seat Park Performing Arts Center; a SOLD OUT concert with Los Van Van at the Infinity Yacht; and a SOLD OUT concert with Yomil y El Dany. The group has performed at DROM, SOB’s, and The Bitter End in NYC, as well as at many large outdoor venues and festivals including the Cuban Parade of New Jersey. Recently the group released a new single “Que Viva USA”, and re-released their hit song “Ay Lola”.
(Photo courtesy of Mouhsine Idrissi Janati)
