“Gerardo’s music is refreshingly authentic and original…The music in this CD [Somos Latinos] is superb, anchored in the strong rhythm (piano, bass) and percussion (conga, bongo, timbal) sections. This CD showcases Gerardo Contino’s talent as a singer and as a producer…” — Hector Aviles, Latino Music Cafe.

Gritty, witty and streetwise, the Havana-born Gerardo Contino, “El Abogado de la Salsa,” is a Cuban singer and songwriter. This former lead singer of the Cuban mega-group NG La Banda is a party onstage: he loves to improvise, to pull the audience into call & response, and to provoke fans into hip-shaking abandon.

Since moving to New York City, Gerardo started his own band, “Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros,” with Axel Tosca Laugart, Luisito Quintero, and John Benitez. They released their debut album, Somos Latinos, in 2013 to very high critical acclaim. He has toured all over the world and in his new hometown, NYC, he has performed in Brooklyn Academy of Music, Sounds of Brazil (SOBs), BB King Blues Club, Le Poisson Rouge, the Bronx Museum, Live at the Gantries, Roulette, Gonzalez y Gonzalez, Taj, and many others.

Gerardo has also shared the stage with such artists as Oscar de Leon, Roberto Roena, El Gran Combo, La India, Los Van Van, Xiomara Laugart, Carlos Varela, Alexander Abreu, Frank Fernandez, Osdalgia, Giovanni Hidalgo, Kelvis Ochoa, David Torrens, and Jose Armando Gola.