Leoni Torres

Leoni Torres
Born	Leonardo Torres Álvarez (1977-11-24) November 24, 1977 Camagüey, Cuba
Occupations	Singer songwriter record producer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Yuliet Cruz ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	Tropical music Pop Bachatal
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Labels	Puntilla Music Legacy Recordings
Website	leonitorresoficial.com

Leonardo Torres Álvarez (24 November 1977) known professionally as Leoni Torres, is a Cuban singer, composer and music producer. He has recorded six albums as part of his career as a soloist and has collaborated with musical figures such as Rosario Flores, Pablo Milanés, Willy Chirino, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Beatriz Luengo, Carlos Varela, Cimafunk, Francisco Céspedes, among others. He is a member of The Latin Recording Academy and his compositions have been recognized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Biography

Torres began his professional career in 1998 in his hometown called Santa Cruz del Sur, in Camagüey. In 1999 he joined the Maravillas de Florida orchestra. His work in this group caught the attention of David Calzado, who was the leader of Charanga Habanera, and he suggested that Torres join his orchestra as a singer. Torres joined the orchestra in 2001, staying there for 7 years.

Between 2001 and 2007, Torres was part of Charanga Habanera. During this period he performed musical duos and other projects, achieving success with hits such as "I am Cuban, I am popular" and "Ay! Hay amor."

In 2007 Torres began his career as a soloist, debuting the following year with his first individual work with the presentation of the album "Bajo la Piel" (2008). The album was published under the label of the Empresa de Recordaciones y Ediciones Musicales (EGREM) and made him the revelation male singer of the year in Cuba.

In 2011, Torres released his second album called "Latido", with which he strengthened his solo career as well as his presence on the contemporary Cuban music charts.

His third album called "Salseando" was released in 2012 under the label of the Musical Recordings and Editions Company (EGREM). In this phonogram Torres compiled and covered songs from his previous works ("Under the skin" and "Latido"), but this time taken to salsa.

Starting in 2014, Torres developed not only as a performer, but also as a composer, with songs like "Traidora" which was a song he wrote performed by Marc Anthony and Gente de Zona, obtaining international success, and "Para que un día come back", a work that he shared as a duet with Pablo Milanés.

Likewise, other Torres songs transcended such as "Soledad" and "Amor bonito", that last song was recorded by Rey Ruiz and also by Charlie Aponte, who is a former member of the group Gran Combo from Puerto Rico, for whom Sergio George performed the production.

Torres debuted as an actor in the films "Contigo pan y Cebolla" (2014) and Esteban (2016), where he had a special participation.

In 2016, Torres focused on recording and producing his next album called "Amor Bonito" (Volume 1) which was mainly made up of duets, including with Pablo Milanés, Kelvis Ochoa, Descemer Bueno and Alexander Abreu.