From Cuba, but based in Miami. Fond of Adele.

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[5.00]

Iain Mew: “Abrazame” sounds timeless, even as Cartaya sings with a depth of feeling that convinces as the result of a long time of experience. Only the graceful arrangement coming unstuck just as she reaches for the big ending lets it down.
[6]

Brad Shoup: It all depends on the exact translation, but “abrazame” would seem to be a small request. It’s a nice one, and the band seems to be pushing for a pleasant resolution, but I’m reading Cartaya as radiating insecurity, and things end on a spectacularly unresolved note.
[5]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Cartaya’s performance on “Abrazame” does not feel like the best indicator of her voice: she sounds stilted and unable to find her footing until the bridge, when backing singers make a bed for her to vamp until the song closes. The vocalist may not be able to hold a traditional salsa ballad down yet, but she seemingly does adequately enough to make her palatable to the Latin Grammys. In 2011, she stretched a rendition of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” just enough till it turned to a bolero – a subtle twist that foreshadowed a classicist streak in both English and Spanish language genres. That very cover is present and accounted for on last year’s No Pares, as are deviations on “Abrazame” and the title track’s lightly uptempo swing. A bevy of club-friendly mixes are on the album too, in a careful attempt to cover all traditionalist bases. Cartaya appears cannily marketed and positioned into burgeoning stardom, but she is still seemingly developing. Tradition isn’t everything.
[5]

Crystal Leww: This sounds very old-fashioned, like someone just took ballad vocals and set them over some horns and these drums. There’s a disconnect between the saccharine quality of the vocals and the uptempo of the horns. Cartaya’s a very good singer, but this just can’t hold my attention for very long.
[4]

Mallory O’Donnell: Competent salsa tune with a lively, saloon-style piano and mild levels of irritating reality show singing. No amount of “Aieeee!” can cure me of feeling I want twice the studio musician piano and half the “star” voice.
[4]

Rebecca A. Gowns: Dang, this is a solid song. I like it a lot more than her true debut single, “No Pares,” which is all smiles and very little meat. “Abrazame” has more feeling and more flavor despite being a rather formulaic ballad. The bridge around 2:30 allows her to let loose a little more, and it’s great. Throughout, the timidity of a new artist on the scene is palpable, but so is the temerity.
[7]

Will Adams: It putters along just fine — those horns pull most of the weight as Cartaya fumbles around with the unsure melody — but the ending collapses, as if Cartaya has thrown up her hands and admitted defeat.
[4]

Edward Okulicz: Lots of really sick touches here, especially the way the chorus doesn’t seem to know how to transition into the second verse but stumbles in anyway, and how the backing vocals singing the title with an infectious zest. The actual song itself is comparatively undistinguished with a clumsy arms-raised ballad finish for the cameras, which Cartaya obviously enjoys, but it’s not making my hips move or my heart skip.
[5]