I come from a "musical" family were both my father, Marcos, is a musician, and my uncle, Roberto, was a musician too. Roberto were also the co-founder of Federico y su Combo, (once awarded for "el mejor sexteto del Caribe"). I got my first drum when I was three years old, and from that day on I was hooked on all kinds of drums. My main instrument is percussion, and especially congas, timbales, bongos, handpercussion, etc. Besides that I play the flute, write songs and arrangements.
I am as you say "a selftaught musician", but there is nothing like that, you always learn from somebody, and in my case it was my father that iniciated me into the music. I started out as a freelance-musician 1985. Later I took my first musical theory lessons with "el maestro" Bebo Valdes. My next challenge was to study in Cuba at, Centro Nacional de Escuelas de Arte, for three years. Institutional learning is great but the most important lessons come from playing on the street, "la escuela de la calle". Playing together with other musicians has taught me a deep respect for all my fellow musicians.
Some of the highlights in my career have been playing with masters like: Bebo Valdes, Vincent Chappotin, Maximo Jimenez, and Linda Tillery & Cultural Heritage Choir. Svante Thuresson, Cyndee Peters, Claes Jansson, Magnus Lindgren & the Radio Jazz Group, Markoolio, Lena Ph, Charlotte Nilsson, Gladys del Pilar, Anders Ekborg, Hector Bingert, Gustavo Bergalli, Elio Villafranca, George "Chiqui" Dixon, are some other artist I´ve had the privilege to performed or recorded with. Playing with other percussionists like, my father, Calixto Oviedo, Linda Tillery, Rafael Sida, Alfredo Chacon, Umberto Rosales, Jose "Cheo Conga" Perez, and all of these talented people have inspired and helped me to create my own style as a percussionist.
My advice to anyone who wishes to be a musician, Id like to say that:
-"The ears are the musicians best friend...Listen to whats going on in the music, adapt to that, and try to blend..."
For me music has been a blessing, and a source of inspiration where I learn something and get inspiration every day...