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A U T O B I O G R A P H Y

My musical roots originated in Caracas, Venezuela where I was classically trained at the Conservatory of Music Jose Angel Lamas as well as the Conservatory of Music of the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (El Sistema). I became the principal piccolo of the Francisco de Miranda Youth Orchestra (Youth Orchestra of Caracas) where I was able to travel to Cuba, South America, and Trinidad & Tobago. During my time as a youth musician, I worked with various musical groups such as Carlos Rojas and his Latin Jazz Band, Balija, Madera, Joe Ruiz y Su Charanga, Orquesta Abancay, Los Morrillos, Caracas Band, Los Sandungueros, Cumbe Uno Afro-Venezuelan Jazz, and with the Cimarron band as a flute player, composer, and arranger. In 1983 I performed with the musical band Cimarron at the Caracas, Venezuelan Jazz Festival and the Jazz Plaza Festival in Havana, Cuba.

 

Shortly thereafter, I moved to Cologne, Germany to study music at the Rheinische Musikschüle Conservatory of Music. There, I formed my Latin Jazz band called Guapacha working closely with the German entertainment company Alba Kultur Aktion. Within this partnership, I had the opportunity to perform in the following countries: Netherlands, Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and Luxembourg. I had the privilege of performing with artists such as: Nana Moskaouri, Roberto Blanco, Nikie Marrero, and Brian May.

 

In the 90’s I moved to the United States where I became a popular and well-known Latin singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, and music teacher in Southern California. During this time, I recorded my first music album “El Cafecito” under the label Two Crowns International. I was invited to perform and record with well-known artists such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Cachao, Dr. Dre, Thalia, Alvaro Torres, Angela Carrasco, and Luis Enrique.

 

I have a double bachelor’s degree in Music Performance and Music Education from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University of Long Beach. Then, I re-established my Latin Jazz band Guapacha in the United States which I recorded and released a Latin Jazz album entitled “Something Different.”  

 

In addition, I started up my own entertainment/production company called Guapacha Productions where I produce my own music and many countless US based and international artists such as Robert Incelli, Dave Diaz, Candi Sosa, Techeetah Lopez Carlos Arias, Marjie Arias, Van Lester, Felix Rodriguez, Andy Fraguella, Rocky Padilla, Paris Escovedo, and Hector Rivera. Many of the music I produce is also used for film, television, radio, and commercials.


Some notable events I have participated include the Latin American Festival, Oxnard Salsa Festival, Global Awards, Latin Grammy’s, International Salsa Congress by Alberto Torres, and the Flat Head Festival in Montana. He has also performed with the Carlos Guedes Band in Texas and in Germany. 

Other well-known artists and musicians I have had the pleasure to perform with include Cesar Benitez, Angela Carrasco, Jose Maria Napoleon, Alex Acuña, Luis Conte, Arturo Sandoval, Max Roach, Rudy Regalado, Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, Rob Curto, Carlos Oliveira, Edu Ribeiro, Marcos Silva, Michael Spiro, Mark Lamson, Patrick Butler,Ray Carrion and many more. 

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