Star Tribune photo by Tom Wallace

Nachito Herrera, the masterful Cuban-American pianist who lives in White Bear Lake, is hospitalized in the Twin Cities with coronavirus, it was announced Saturday.

The Dakota, where Herrera has performed regularly since moving here in 2001, made the announcement on Saturday afternoon.

No further details are available.

A hero in his native Cuba, Herrera, who is in his mid-50s, won the American Heritage Award in 2014, the first Latin musician to receive it since Carlos Santana. The pianist was the leader of Cubanismo, a famous all-star Cuban band, and, has performed with the Cuban National Symphony as well as the Minnesota Orchestra and other symphonies in the United States.