congas/owner

ulisis santiago

I remember when I used to follow my father around as a kid, begging to go to his gigs with him. From the moment I realized what music was, it became a part of me...

a part of my soul

Humility keeps Ulisis from letting his phenominal natural born talent go to his head. He is always improving upon his skills and believes that the minute you think you know it all, you stop learning. Ulisis began playing professionally in 1995 with a local mixed music band called Tropical Heat. At the same time, he was performing with Borinbomba, a cultural group that was educating the community about traditional bomba and plena music from Puerto Rico.

Since that time, he has been a free-lance musician exploring many styles of music with groups such as: Kojo, Abraxis, Bajo Zero, 4K-Torce, Salsa Power, Punto de Vista, New School Salsa Band, Madisalsa, Nabori, Michael Drake, Jeno Somlai, the Luis Diaz Quintet, Clave y Afinque and various Flamenco muscians.

The Spanglish Band idea came from his love of a variety of music and cultures. It also came as a response from the requests of the local community. The Spanglish Band is reaching both the Spanish and English speakers with a mix of songs from various groups and Spanglish original songs.