Cuban Reggaeton Duo Gente De Zona Will Star in HBO Latino Special

In the En Letra de Otro special, Delgado and Malcolm frequently fall into fits of infectious laughter as they talk about the soundtracks of their lives. There are also emotional moments as they introduce songs that include Luis Miguel’s “Cuando Calienta el Sol” and Vicente Fernandez’s keystone “El Rey.”

Gente de Zona performs songs from Latin music’s pop canon with verve, speeding up the tempo and adding a Cuban timba sound with percussion and brass. The musicians deconstruct the songs, explaining how they infused them with their own style.

But this upbeat program is at its most engaging when the artists introduce the songs, including when Malcolm recalls the excitement in Havana when the movie La Bamba made its belated arrival there on VHS, and danced with his sister to the title song.

He later visits the school where he studied music from third to ninth grade -- “where my dreams began.” Delgado reminisces about his first performances at Havana’s rap festival in the Alamar projects, and how he received a cassette with Rolando Laserie singing “Las Cuarenta” from his father, who cried to the song when he drank. Gente de Zona performs a moving version of that classic song on the HBO special, and later turns out a pumping cover of '60s band Los Zafiros’ “Una Noche de Luna,” which he introduces with a description of his grandmother, a seductress who had two gold teeth.

Watch the trailer for Gente de Zona: En Letra de Oro below.