Amaury Gutierrez

With the exception of a handful of songs — most notably 1999’s “Yo Se Que Es Mentira” (“I Know It’s a Lie”) and 2001’s “Dime Corazón” (“Tell Me, My Love”) — Cuban pop balladeer Amaury Gutierrez has enjoyed little commercial success since leaving the communist island more than a decade ago. But that hasn’t deterred Gutierrez, and he remains one of South Florida’s most overlooked and talented pop musicians. Although pop is still his forte, the vocally gifted Gutierrez adds a unique and funky twist to his repertoire with elements of progressive Cuban music forms such as timba and nueva trova. His lyrics are equally elastic, covering everything from lost-and-found love scenarios to meditations on the social changes that resulted from the 1959 revolution. It’s this sense of diversity and eclecticism that ensures Gutierrez is considered more than just another member of the Nueva Troba Cubana.