TORONTO -- When Alex Cuba was new to Canada and still assessing the local sensibilities, someone gave him a piece of advice he -- unfortunately -- remembered.
He was told Canadians balked at the earnest sentimentality inherent to some of his favourite Cuban music.
And until "Contigo," a tune on his recently released new album "Healer," the Victoria songwriter mostly heeded that input.
"The song is very sweet ... and I've been careful of not recording songs like that in Canada," Cuba said in a recent telephone interview.
"It's thinking that maybe Canadians are not that romantic ... they don't want to hear music that sweet.... From the beginning, somebody said to me: this is the way it is in Canada, and that's it. It took me for a ride there, for sure."
More than 15 years since immigrating here from Cuba, the singer -- a two-time Juno winner, a Grammy nominee and a Latin Grammy winner -- no longer feels the need to cater to anyone.
"I feel more Canadian, to the point where I don't need to guess anymore what people expect from me," he said.
"As an immigrant artist, that happens in your mind, whether you want it to or not, whether you're a strong person or not.
"Now," he added, "I feel I can be myself."
CP: The record is bilingual, with translations in the lyric sheet and collaborations with English-speaking artists David Myles and Ron Sexsmith. What drew you to working with Sexsmith again?
Cuba: Having Ron Sexsmith on your record is quite the honour.
I think when Ron sings my melodies ... his voice becomes sweeter, because my melodies are sweeter. I had this song already written in Spanish. I translated it for him to understand, sent it to him, and he rewrote it in less than 24 hours and sent it back to me.
I just couldn't believe it. I had to get on the phone and say, "Dude, what kind of genius are you? What is happening in your mind?"
CP: "Sarah" is about your wife. What role has she played in your career?
Cuba: Sarah (Goodacre-Puentes) has really been my partner from the beginning: my business partner, my creative partner, my vision partner. I've been on stage and she's been in the office, doing this whole thing. There have been good times and bad times.
I thought it was time to have a song for her, although she's been the inspiration behind every song I've written, pretty much. We are on our 20th year of marriage.
Sarah's been my partner in crime, man. Forget it. She's like somebody who has supported me 100 per cent. Even when I had a manager, she was doing more than the manager. Because she knows me. She doesn't have to spend any time guessing my mind.
CP: You really pulled back on the horns on this record. Why?
Cuba: I was dragging the horns along on every album just because I was thinking that it had something to do with my sound.
But the truth is from the beginning, it wasn't my idea to start recording horns on my music. It was the idea of a producer I worked with on my first album.
Then it stayed there for some reason -- maybe comfort.
