When Andy Rubal picked up the phone one morning last year, he wasn’t expecting the call that would change his year. His manager, Michael Litresits, was on the line with news: Rubal’s second album, Baila y Confía, had been nominated for a brand-new JUNO Award category, Latin Music Recording of the Year. “Honestly, it took me several hours, and even the first few days, to fully absorb the news,” Rubal says. “It represents the result of years of hard work and sacrifice, trying to carve out a space for salsa, in my case with original compositions, within the musical preferences of audiences in Canada.”
The 2026 JUNO Awards Gala in Hamilton, Ontario, ultimately gave the inaugural trophy to Alex Cuba for his album Índole, but Rubal’s nomination, alongside Isabella Lovestory, Lido Pimienta, and Mario Puglia, marked something significant. “This new category confirms a long-held dream: that Latin music can truly have its own place within the wide spectrum of musical possibilities in this country. For me, that is a real victory.”
Born in Santiago de Cuba, Rubal started singing with Baby Salsa at six years old before pursuing classical composition studies in Havana. That foundation, steeped in counterpoint and orchestration, never left him. “My classical training is deeply connected to the way I approach arranging today, especially in how I distribute and balance the sonic elements, even though salsa never stops moving. Everything begins at the piano. When I sit in front of that instrument, my entire inner sound world resonates and comes together to bring each song to life.”
The crossover runs through Baila y Confía in ways that aren’t always obvious. “Sometimes a line inspired by Bach slips in, like in the interlude of Baila y Confía, disguised as a 19th-century Cuban contradanza. Other times, brass sections emerge that are influenced by Gustav Mahler’s fanfares, as heard in the interludes and transitions of Cantarle un Son. All of it is filtered through my own voice, just light influences, nothing more.”
Before Montreal, there was Havana, and a series of formative collaborations that shaped how Rubal moves through a room and across a stage. “Working with artists in Cuba taught me how to command the stage and how to build a sincere relationship with the audience through art.” He worked as musical director for Waldo Mendoza and toured extensively with Orlando Valle “Maraca,” widely considered one of Cuba’s most important and influential flutists. “From Waldo, I learned sensitivity. From Maraca Valle, discipline, Afro-Cuban jazz, and a commitment to excellence.”
Later, working alongside Raúl Paz, Rubal stretched into new territory entirely. “I explored a symphonic universe by re-adapting his pop music for a string quartet from the Paris Regional Symphony in France, and even for the full orchestra, with Alexis Cárdenas as concertmaster. All of those experiences continue to shape how I lead my own projects today.”
Baila y Confía translates to “Dance and Trust,” and the pairing wasn’t arbitrary. Rubal wrote the nine songs through a period of real turbulence. “I composed this album during a period of emotional highs and lows, marked by instability in both my personal and financial life. I experienced the loss of loved ones, saw close friends separating from their partners, and even faced the tragedy of a fellow student who chose to end her life. All of this worked inside me deeply, as it does for many people.” The resolution came through surrender rather than control. “I had the sense that everything depended entirely on me, until I finally let go of control and placed everything in God’s hands. That’s why today I trust more than ever.”
He also hears the album’s title reflected back at him by the people who come to his shows. “I connect closely with my audience at the places where I perform. With some, there’s even a sense of friendship, and they sometimes end up sharing their own painful stories with me. Yet they come to dance, to feel joy through my music, and that, for me, is a reward in itself.”
The record is built around collaborations with some of Cuban music’s most prominent figures: Alexander Abreu, Manolito Simonet, Tania Pantoja, and Eduardo Sandoval. Rubal credits his years as an arranger in Cuba for making those relationships possible. “I don’t take any of this for granted, but I believe that the work I did in Cuba as an arranger, always with love, allowed me to build genuine friendships with these artists.” Simonet was a formative influence. “Manolito Simonet has been one of my greatest influences as a pianist and arranger since I was very young; his legacy lives on through El Trabuco.” Having Abreu, currently one of Cuban music’s most prominent figures, participate in a tribute to Simonet carried its own weight. “He even offered his studio free of charge to record his vocals and thanked me for the invitation, pure humility on his part.”
Pantoja brought a different kind of history. “Tania Pantoja is a close friend. I was her first musical director and arranger when she decided to leave Bamboleo, and I later served as her musical director on her most recent Canadian tours.” Sandoval, meanwhile, recorded under pressure and delivered. “He recorded half of the trombone parts on the album in a single overnight session, and also shares the song Caminando Va with me on this record.”
In 2025, Rubal became a finalist on Piano Public, Québec’s televised piano competition, before stepping away when a French Riviera tour made it impossible to continue. “Leaving Piano Public was painful. Even though I don’t usually enjoy competitions, this one was starting to grow on me. But I had a tour on the French Riviera, and I couldn’t go back on my word.” The exposure still counted. “I gained the appreciation of people I never imagined would connect with the kind of music I make, and I also had the chance to meet several incredibly talented artists from Québec.”
The album launch at the Montreal Palladium Ballroom drew more than 400 people, including international delegates, a turnout Rubal sees as evidence of something building in the city. “Montreal has become a true salsa gem. This wouldn’t have been possible without collaboration and friendship.” He credits Sandra Campanelli, Ricky Campanelli, and Litresits of Moonsun Musik specifically. “I truly believe that if we continue uniting our efforts, something even more extraordinary will emerge.”
His sound sits somewhere between salsa’s rhythmic core and the jazz and pop instincts he accumulated across multiple continents and decades, and he’s grown more intentional about holding that space. “Over the years, I’ve become more conscious of that balance. At first, it emerged naturally as a result of my accumulated background. In fact, the structures I use sometimes move away from traditional salsa forms.” The live version of that tension keeps him honest. “When I play live, I need things to keep evolving. If nothing happens, I get bored, and that kills the art.”
Montreal itself reshaped his relationship to music. “Living in Montreal has improved my ability to communicate through music without relying so much on words, and that has been extraordinary.” After a strong Canadian run in 2025, the new year opened in New York City. “The reception was extraordinary. In the coming months, I’ll be in Baltimore with Ricky Campanelli as a guest at a salsa congress, along with several projects in Europe that are still being confirmed.”
What he carries into every room is a conviction he keeps returning to. “I believe music must be sincere, starting with the artist. There is always a point of connection with the audience, and thankfully I have the willingness to adapt so that people leave transformed, or at least having had a meaningful experience. That, in the end, is what makes me truly happy.”
Baila y Confía is out now via Moonsun Musik
