Gerardo Contino and Los Habaneros

Gerardo Contino is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer, and philanthropist. A classically trained singer, Contino began performing professionally in Havana, Cuba at the age of 19. Contino has toured the world with his music and now calls New York City home. He is the founder and director of Camino al Arte, a non-profit arts organization that connects and produces cutting edge cultural and educational opportunities for young and established artists across the United States and the Caribbean.

A versatile singer and bandleader, Contino has performed with Cuban and American salsa, jazz, and big orchestra bands. In Cuba, Contino was lead singer for NG La Banda, the legendary timba and jazz band directed by Jose Luis Cortes. In the United States, Contino was a lead singer for the Max Weinberg Orchestra and Grammy-award winning Larry Harlow's Latin Legends Band. Contino has also acted and performed opera, most notably in the Peak Performances’ "Hatuey: Memory of Fire," a Yiddish-Cuban opera production.

Contino created and directed Los Habaneros, which went on to become the 2015 "Best Band in Manhattan" (WNYC/NPR), and the 2017 "Best Cuban Dance Band" (NY Latin Culture Magazine). With Los Habaneros, Contino has performed at The Kennedy Center for the Arts, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, top music venues in New York City, and numerous festivals in the United States and around the world.

As a cultural producer and community organizer, Contino has created multi-disciplinary public artistic productions in the U.S. and Cuba. He received the Manhattan Community Arts Fund for his productions in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Contino has also been a board member of the National Council for the Traditional Arts since 2020.

In addition to his musical career, Contino is a graduate of the University of Havana with a law degree and holds a Master's in Law from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, where he specialized in Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law.