In 1917, Ramon Santamaria Rodriquez was born into poverty in Havana, Cuba. Nicknamed “Mongo” (a tribal chief in Senegal), he began playing the conga drum at an early age and as a teen, Mongo ...

Tata Guines, 77, a conga drummer who helped popularize Afro-Cuban rhythms worldwide, died Monday outside Havana after being hospitalized for hypertension and kidney problems. Known as the “King of the ...

Francisco Aguabella - congas A master percussionist who was born in Matanzas Cuba, Francisco Aguabella is one of the first eschelon of drummers who came to America and are responsible for all drummers ...

He brought Afro-Cuban influences to American ensembles and dazzled audiences with his virtuosic multiple-drum technique. By Neil Genzlinger “When you talk about percussion, particularly the evolution ...

Like Cher and Oprah, Cándido Camero was so loved and respected by his peers that he went by his first name alone. If he had lived a few more months, he would be celebrating his 100th birthday on April ...