Leticia Candelaria – lead vocals
Leti Candelaria began performing at the age of 5 on the stage of El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista. At 14 she began cantoring mass at Old Mission San Juan Bautista and was a lead colatura soprano for several choral groups in the area. She served as the vocal director for El Teatro Campesino for 8 years and has worked on a number of musical productions for Gavilan Community College, Cal State at Monterey Bay, and the SalinasUnion High School District .
Rob Malkin – piano, guitar, bandleader
Rob Malkin has played piano and guitar all of his life. While his degree is in Economics (U.C. Berkeley), Rob has spent the years since then studying music at De Anza College, Foothill College, and San Jose State in addition to studying privately with a number of renowned teachers. He's been performing salsa and latin jazz publicly for a decade and a half and has served as a paid transcriptionist for both Cabrillo College and San Jose State. Rob currently teaches guitar at the Community School of Music in Mountain View and at the Pam East Music/Dance studio in Cupertino. His own band, Latin Lingo, released it's first CD in January of 2006 .
Wes Anthony – tenor sax, flute
Wes Anthony holds an M.A. in music from San Diego State University and appears regularly with the groups Sol Caribe, Root Awakening, and Wally's Swing World. He has many private students and is in the process of opening his own music school and performance center inSanta Cruz, the E3 Playhouse. Watch for it to open in January of 2006.
Jeannie Muller – vocals, percussion
Jeannie Muller has been studying Afrocuban song, dance, and percussion since 1981. She has studied with Michael Spiro, Chris Walker (El Flaco), John Santos, Carolyn Brandy, and Migel Bernal. She also works as an accompanist to singers and folkloric ensembles.
Laura Masterson – vocals, percussion
Laura Masterson has been dancing and singing most of her life. She has performed with the San Jose State Latin Jazz Ensemble, the Cabrillo World Music ensemble, and with Julio Bravo y su Orquesta Salsabor. Having recently returned from San Juan, Puerto Rico where she spent two years studying popular music, she is now back in the Bay Area training in voice and theory while performing with Latin Lingo.
Hannah Balcomb - vocals
Hannah is a classically trained singer who began studying voice at the age of eleven under Faith Compo in her hometown in upstate New York . In 1997, she moved to WashingtonState where she earned her B.A. in Latin American Studies at the Evergreen State College. During this time, she lived abroad in Mexico and Ecuador , where she immersed herself in Spanish language and Latin music and dance. In 2002, she moved to Santa Cruz , where she began studying music at Cabrillo College . She is currently a member of Cabrillo Symphonic Choir, which performs annually with the Santa Cruz Symphony. She has also had roles in local productions of The Magic Flute, Jesus Christ Superstar, andThe Who’s Tommy.
Mark Takeuchi – bass
Mark Takeuchi has taught and worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles for many years returning to his native Watsonville to raise his family. He has performed with many bands in the area and also composes.
Steve Vahle – drums
Steve Vahle grew up playing in drum and bugle corps before moving on to traps, congas, and percussion. He has studied Afrocuban music in Cuba and West Africaand lived in Latin America for a number of years. He has produced music videos for a number of Southern California-based bands and has appeared on a number of CDs as a drummer and percussionist.
Kevin Di Noto - congas
Kevin Di Noto studied jazz and theory at Cabrillo College where he specialized in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian percussion, drums, steelpan, and guitar. He is the director of the Santa Cruz Youth Steelband Programs and serves as the musical director of the SUCO Percussion Ensemble. He also heads up the Kevin Di Noto Steelpan Trio. In addition to Latin Lingo he also performs with Sol Caribe and freelances as a studio musician.
John Escalera – trumpet
John Escalera holds a B.A. in music from Cal State Hayward and is currently the Director of Bands at Sacred Heart Preparatory High School in Atherton. He has served as the principal trumpet for the Livermore Valley Opera and has also played with many Bay Area musical theatre companies including Pleasanton Playhouse, Contra Costa Music Theatre, Hayward Little Theatre, and the Hillbarn Theatre. John can also be seen performing with the group The Kool Kats.