The young singer and songwriter Omar Hernandez, better known as “Omi”, strongly emerges in the current Cuban music scene. He shares with popular musician Descemer Bueno the authorship of the ballad ¨Ella¨ (She), which has been successfully acclaimed by the public of the island.
Recently, he has decided to pursue a solo career, because he was previously creating for others. For this purpose he gives the first steps in Cuba, despite residing for the last 9 years in the United States where he has worked with major artists such as Oscar de Leon, Pitbull, Willy Chirino and Luis Enrique.
He returned to his homeland, preserving that Cuban identity that makes us so unique and different. H e intends to get into the world through it, without losing the link with that other side where he was forged as man and artist.
To know details on his musical formation and professional work in Cuba, Omi spoke with OnCuba:
“My training in music began very early, thanks to my family. My father, Omar Hernandez, was bassist of Afrocuba band for long time, my uncle, Miguel Ángel Bárzagas worked as sound engineer for Silvio Rodríguez, and my mother, Maria Leonor Fernandez studied music.
“At seven, when I was s till living here in Cuba, I entered the Manuel Saumell Music School, where I studied piano.
“In Miami I received private tutoring from a Cuban who studied in Russia, for me she has been the best teacher I ever had of that instrument. With her I learned a lot of classical music and managed to graduate from that subject, but then I chose the way of the electronic genre, the song and production. “
Return and Descemer
“I came to Cuba to work initially in the production of an album for Diana Fuentes. At that time my cousin Maykel Barzagas -renowned sound engineer in Cuba – worked with her, I sent her one of my songs and she loved it. So, she was interested in what I was doing and asked me to come, it was 5 or 6 years ago. I started working on the project and I gradually interacted with Cuban musicians. I had already had some contact with some in Miami and Mexico.
“At that time I met Descemer Bueno, who has set a pattern in my professional life. We did not want to leave him out of Diana’s CD, as he was the producer of her first album ¨Amargo pero dulce¨ ( Bitter but sweet), and we decided doing a bit of honor to that and contacted Descemer for him to participate. That was the starting point of my relationship with him. We wrote together a song called ¨On the radio¨. From then on I began to be known as a singer and composer, rather than a producer.
“Since then we wrote about four songs for the album of Diana. Then I worked on other projects with him, but the most important was his last album, in which I was always involved by providing ideas on some titles until we got to write Ella.
“Ella¨ comes from the movie Seven Days in Havana. I was in Miami and Benicio del Toro asked me to create a little song for a scene of his story in the film. I wrote something very simple on the piano, which is the beginning of the song. Then in Cuba, working directly in the music of the film with Descemer, he suggested me to create a lyric for that reason. Initially the idea was to make something simple and insert it in his CD, which was already finished.
“The song was created in just half an hour, it was one of those songs that never stopped since we started writing it, there was never an obstacle, the ideas did not stop, and that not always happens. I remember the excitement I felt because that emerged that way and also because I did not expect it. Today the song is a major hit, possibly the most heard of the CD.
“Descemer has been a kind of engine in my career, he has believed in me more than myself. He was the person who took me away from computers and put me on a stage to perform songs I had never sung. He is an excellent professional, I dare saying that he is now the number one Hispanic composer and he is also everything as a friend. “
Here in Havana
“Now I work in several musical productions: My solo album with guests: Descemer, Baby Lores and Leoni Torres, another one in a duo format with Descemer himself, and the phonogram MB v/s OMI together with my cousin Maykel Bárzagas, whom I consider my guardian angel.
“I have also joined Descemer´s tours, the latter was a great success, especially the hit ¨Removiendo el piso¨ (Removing the floor), first single from my solo album, which along with ¨Ella¨ has been popularized a lot.
“This has been a busy year, and I’m just starting. There is still a long way, because I want an entire people to hear me and recognize me. The road is not easy, but the important thing is that I trust myself and appreciate what I do. “
