Cruz Martínez Biography, Songs, & Albums |

Cruz Martínez is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has released six studio albums and one live album to date, with his seventh album coming out in 2019. He also starred in the Broadway musical “In the Heights” as Usnavi.

Cruz Martínez is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He has had an extensive career in music and film.

Cruz Martnez is an outstanding pianist, composer, arranger, and producer whose credits include La Sombra, Los Kumbia Kings, Los Super Reyes, and his wife, regional Mexican singer Alicia Villarreal. He is most known for his controversial stint with A.B. Quintanilla y los Kumbia Kings. Martnez began playing the piano at the age of 12 and joined the tejano band La Sombra at the age of 16, contributing to albums such as Porque Te Quiero (1991), Mas Que Amor (1992), Iluciones (1993), Mas Que Todo (1995), Caliente Dulce Amor (1996), and Alborotados (1997). (1997). Martnez and Quintanilla started working together soon after Selena, the latter’s famous sister, died; they collaborated on “No Quiero Saber,” a song from the posthumous album Siempre Selena (1996).

Amor, Familia y Respeto... Martnez was then asked to join Quintanilla’s new band, Los Kumbia Kings, starting with the group’s first album, Amor, Familia, y Respeto.. (1999). Shhh! (2001), All Mixed Up: Los Remixes (2002), 4 (2003), Presents Kumbia Kings (2003), La Historia (2003), Los Remixes 2.0 (2004), Fuego (2004), and Duetos (2004) are among the Kumbia Kings albums featuring Martnez (2005). Martnez, along with Quintanilla, was a driving factor behind the group’s great commercial success as a member of Los Kumbia Kings, contributing not just keyboards but also composition, arrangements, production, engineering, and mixing. However, Martnez and Quintanilla engaged into a long-running spat that was played out in public and turned into tabloid fodder, partially because it included Villarreal. To cut a long tale short, Martnez and Quintanilla split away, creating the offshoot groups Los Sper Reyes and Kumbia All-Starz, respectively. Martnez made his debut as the leader of Los Sper Reyes in 2007 with El Regreso de Los Reyes, which was well received, topping Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums list and reaching number three on the Top Latin Albums chart, thanks in part to the smash song “Muévelo.”