I still call him Oscarito, as we affectionately called Oscar Vidal back in 2008, when I met him at La Colmenita, the Cuban children’s theater company where he was a music teacher. At that time he had just graduated as an art instructor and was carrying out his social service there. We shared a lot in those years: rehearsals, presentations, tours throughout Cuba and even an expedition to the Sierra Maestra, where together we climbed the Pico Real del Turquino. I was left with an always broad smile and enormous humility from him.
The twists and turns of life crossed us again in Argentina, where he arrived in 2013 to found La Colmenita in that country. Here he found love, started a family and settled down. Since then I have seen him take different paths: as an actor in commercials, in series on large platforms such as Netflix and as a singer in a Cuban music group.
A few weeks ago, that same smile surprised me again, now in the middle of Corrientes Street, under the marquees and giant photos of the Lola Membrives theater. There was Osky—his stage name—as part of the cast of Rocky, the musicalthe great theatrical event in Argentina that will continue to run for the remainder of 2025 and then throughout 2026.
The play, directed and starring the Argentine actor and producer Nico Vázquez, is based on Rockythe film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone that surprised the world in 1977 by winning the Oscar for Best Picture. As soon as I found out that my compatriot was in the cast, I didn’t hesitate: I got my ticket and went to see him.
What I found was a total celebration: a display of lights, scenery and enormous performances. An immersive show that keeps the audience in suspense and excitement throughout the entire performance. On stage, my friend plays Tony “Duke” Evers, the trainer of Apollo Creed, Rocky’s powerful opponent. From my seat, I felt immense joy and genuine pride when I saw him shine in a production of such magnitude, in one of the most important theaters in Argentina and in all of Latin America.
In the end, between greetings, photos and autographs that the Argentine fans asked for, we met again. And, between hugs and smiles, we agreed to meet to talk. From that meeting this interview was born: a journey through his life, his roots, his paths and this luminous present.
From broomsticks to Corrientes Street
“Since I was little I was linked to music because my dad played cajons in the religious sphere,” Osky recalls. That curious child stayed attentive to the music that his father did with his friends in the living room, soaking up Cuban percussion and Afro-Yoruba rhythms. “My old man gave me two broomsticks with which I made the key or followed the rhythms of Yoruba music.” Without knowing it, the artist’s seed had already been sown.
However, not everything was so clear in those years: he was also attracted to the idea of being a sailor. He took the “Camilitos” tests to enter the Navy, but, at the same time, he received a call to the art instructor school. “Between one thing and another I chose instructors, because it was linked to music,” he says. That decision would end up defining his destiny.
The performance began as a game, almost without realizing it. After watching Bruce Lee movies or the Power Rangers He went out into the streets imitating superheroes. It was a playful disguise, an intuition. Confirmation would come later.
In 2004 he graduated as an art instructor. Two years later he entered La Colmenita de Cuba, selected among the best graduates to carry out his social service there. That stage, which lasted until 2012, he remembers as one of the most beautiful of his life: “La Colmenita opened the doors to many places, to contacts, trips, friendships. It was demanding, you had to work 100%, but it was rewarding because it instilled in me many human values. One grew up no matter what, surrounded by love.”
He first arrived as music assistant to Amauri Malberti, the group’s musical director, but Tim – founder and soul of the company – planted the acting bug in him. “Although I came in as a music teacher, Tim invited us all to experiment. Watching the rehearsals excited me. That’s when I started to wake up that little bug.”
In 2010, Tim entrusted him with a role in the play Bululú and a halfwhere he played Albo, a comical and clumsy servant. “I had never acted; I only came from music, but Tim advised me a lot. I prepared myself and I enjoyed it. That’s when I realized: acting can do me.”
The acting career took definitive shape in Buenos Aires. He arrived in the city in 2012 with La Colmenita to give workshops and set up the Argentine headquarters. After doing that job for months, when he was about to return to Cuba, he fell in love with Claudia, an Argentinean whom he met one night while dancing salsa. Like a love song, together they formed a family and today they have two daughters, Renata and Antonella. “Claudia and her family opened the doors to me when I didn’t know anyone here. Today we have been together for 13 years of full love.”
At first, the road was arduous. He worked at an aquarium at dawn to support himself, while teaching music classes to children. The cultural adaptation, on the other hand, was not complicated: they shared language and musical references. “Already in Cuba we listened to Fito, Mercedes Sosa, Charly, Cerati. And I had studied tango. I became familiar quickly. In addition, Argentine food is exquisite.”
The first steps in acting were not easy either: “I had no contacts; I started as an extra in advertisements and series.” Until, in 2014, he was the protagonist in an episode of Confessions of trafficked womenPol-Ka production. That was the big door.
Since then he has been summoned for commercials for big brands—Coca-Cola, Adidas, Reebok, American Airlines, Burger King—and for series on international platforms such as Netflix or Amazon. He had roles in Go, live your way, Monsoon, Melody, the subway girl, rooster day, Ringo. He even played the Colombian boxer Rodrigo Valdez. “The most difficult thing was the fear of texts and the camera. Music gives you the stage, but acting is another language,” he confesses.
Every step was a learning experience. “Each of those experiences guided me, prepared me and gave me the possibility to improve myself more and more every day,” he reflects. The projects were presented as challenges, but also as opportunities for growth.
On that path he ended up assuming that his destiny was linked to acting, always accompanied by music. Co-direct Guarapo Funka project that combines Cuban, Latin American and funk rhythms. “Guarapo is the essence of sugar cane, from Cuba. That’s why the name. Music and acting are sisters; I can’t get rid of either.”
That duality defines him. When he sings, his dedication is total, as if each concert were the first or the most important of his life. He later transferred that same intensity to acting. Today, after almost ten years of professional career, he recognizes that working with characters requires another discipline: memorizing scripts of one hundred pages, constructing characteristics, adding nuances. “Learning texts like this is an enormous challenge, but you have to prepare each role in advance, work on its particularities and enrich it with details.”
This dynamic keeps him in a state of permanent training. Each character not only puts him in front of the audience, but also prepares him for what is to come. “That process, although hard, trains you and keeps you ready for opportunities that may arrive at any time.”
The example is on poster right now: Rocky, the musical. Summoned by Nico Vázquez and Mariano de María, he plays Duke, Apollo Creed’s trainer. “I watched the movie more than fifty times to understand the essence of the character. I looked for details: the rings, the way he dressed, the gestures.”
The result is visible. The show became the most viewed and highest-grossing work in Argentina in recent months, with performances at the legendary Lola Membrives theater, on Corrientes Street. “It’s a dream come true. Corrientes is like Broadway for Latin America. Being there, in the best theater, in the highest-grossing play, with top-class actors… is something I enjoy like the here and now.”
For Osky, the most valuable recognition is not the contracts or the spotlight, but the applause and pride of his family. “That’s what I want for my life and what I’m going to continue choosing.”
From the broomsticks in a Havana neighborhood to Corrientes Street, Osky’s journey seems guided by a constant: never stop growing, always with a broad smile and without losing the humility of that talented boy I met one day backstage at La Colmenita.
