Who is El Taiger? Real name and all about the reggaeton star fighting for his life after being shot in the head

El Taiger, a Cuban reggaeton musician, is currently in serious condition after being shot in the head in Miami. The shooting took place on Thursday morning, October 3. According to Miami Police spokesperson, Mike Vega, who spoke with Telemundo 51, police discovered an unconscious male with a gunshot wound to his forehead in the back of an SUV on Northwest 17th Street, near 10th Avenue.

Blood traces were absent, which was another piece of evidence that the gunshot did not occur inside the vehicle. According to CBS News Miami, the victim was El Taiger. El Taiger, whose actual name is José Manuel Carbajal Zadivar, is very popular in the Latin music industry, especially for his contributions to reggaeton.

In 2016, he began his musical career with the release of his debut album, Taiger under the record label Rottboyz, owned by rapper Cosculluela. The singer later became famous for releasing songs with an urban vibe and Cuban influences, such as La Historia, Papelito, and Habla Matador.

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El Taiger is a famous Cuban singer

The singer is now fighting for his life (Image via Johnny Louis/Getty Images)

Cuban reggaeton musician El Taiger was born in Havana in 1990. Being raised in a musical family, he was surrounded by music from a young age. In his early years, he became interested in music and began writing songs.

He eventually started working as a professional songwriter. Later, in the second half of 2010, he released Taiger, his debut album, which quickly became a hit in Latin America.

He later went on to release a number of hits, such as Huracan, Pa Que Sigues Con El, Muna, Southwezzzt, Anikilando, El Punto, El Basta Con el Detente, Zelle, and Marca Mandarina, some of which are songs he collaborated with different artists for. Additionally, the summer of 2024 saw the release of his most recent creation, Rulay, which he co-wrote with Niko G, a new artist from Ecuador.

Moreover, El Taiger has worked with several other singers, including Charly & Johayron, Bebeshito, DJ Conds and The Yabo. His music has been streamed millions of times on websites like YouTube and Spotify, making him a global celebrity.

Furthermore, José Manuel Pinto and Ricky Luna's song La Habana, in which El Taiger is a featured artist, was included in the 2017 Fate of the Furious soundtrack. Additionally, he has 1,221,728 monthly listeners on Spotify and 545K subscribers on YouTube. He also has over a million Instagram followers.

However, the Cuban artist was recently shot, after which his friends rallied in solidarity outside the hospital. Many voiced grave anxiety about his health and eagerly awaited the news of his progress.

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Authorities have revealed very little information about El Taiger's present situation

According to the authorities, after being shot, El Taiger was taken by emergency personnel to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was put on life support. He is scheduled for surgery, according to hospital officials who spoke with the local news site NBC6.

Mike Vega, the police spokesperson, further said to E! News on October 4,

"Our officers are investigating because we believe this did not happen in the city of Miami. We are certain it did not happen on that corner where the car was found. This happened somewhere else; someone drove it there, left it, and left on foot."

Furthermore, according to the authorities, the injured singer was discovered with two gallons of fuel inside the car's trunk. Vega further said,

"We know there was a lot of blood inside the SUV. He was in the back, and officers had to open the back of the SUV to get him out."

The investigation is still ongoing, and the authorities have not yet provided any additional information regarding the shooting.