Description

Percussionist John Santos is one of the main exponents of the San Francisco Bay area’s Afro-Latin jazz scene. Born into a Cape Verdean–Puerto Rican family of musicians, at age thirteen Santos played the congas in his step-grandfather’s Latino tropical band. In the 1970s he plunged into the study of Afro-Cuban music and eventually led the Orquesta Típica Cienfuegos (1976–80), the award-winning Batachanga Orchestra (1981–85), and the Machete Ensemble (1985–2006). Known for his experimental blend of contemporary and traditional musical forms from the African diaspora, Santos is also widely respected as a composer, producer, and teacher.Photographer Frank Espada and Santos met in the mid-1980s and became close friends. This portrait became part of Espada’s Puerto Rican Diaspora Documentary Project, an effort he began the 1960s; by the 1980s it had blossomed into a touring exhibition and a book.El percusionista John Santos es uno de los principales exponentes del jazz afrolatino en la zona de la bahía de San Francisco. Nacido en una familia de músicos procedentes de Cabo Verde y Puerto Rico, ya a los trece años Santos tocaba las congas en la banda latina tropical de su abuelastro. En la década de 1970 se sumergió en el estudio de la música afrocubana y luego dirigió la Orquesta Típica Cienfuegos (1976-80), la premiada Orquesta Batachanga (1981-85) y el Machete Ensemble (1985-2006). Conocido por su fusión experimental de formas musicales contemporáneas y tradicionales de la diáspora africana, Santos es muy respetado como compositor, productor y maestro.El fotógrafo Frank Espada y Santos se...

Record Contributed By

National Portrait Gallery

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution