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 Gilberto Campello (Brazilian Percussion) was born in Recife, Brazil. Since childhood, he was influenced by the folkloric music of this area of Brazil, well-known by its tradition in percussion resulting from the fusion of the Native Brazilian, Iberian and West African cultures. Mr. Campello studied drum set and percussion at the Conservatorio Pernambucano de Musica with M. Chiappetta and A. Barreto. He played in many folkloric music groups such as Maracatu Nacao, Frevo, Zabumba tradicional and Afoxe. As a member of the Brazilian ensemble Sa Grama, he recorded five CD's as well as many movies, television specials and theater play soundtracks. He also appears on the latest releases of the new Northeast Brazilian Rock and folklore fusion groups with Silverio Pessoa and Bonsucesso Samba Clube. Mr. Campello was also first percussionist of the City Concert Band of Recife, which releases its own Carnival music recording every year. During 2003, Mr. Campello studied in the world-famous Instituto Superior de Arts (Havana, Cuba) with a grant from the ASCHBERG Foundation/UNESCO, to research the common roots between Cuban and Northeastern Brazilian music.
 Claudia Gargiulo (Voice) Argentine singer, actress, and teacher Claudia Gargiulo is a mezzo-soprano performer known for the clarity of her voice. She has presented her work in Europe, performing in festivals and theatres in Verona, Viareggio, Bari, and Milan, Italy, and in the United States. Her repertoire includes works from traditional Argentinean & Venezuelan folklore to tango to classical opera and popular bolero. She collaborated with several opera companies and choirs in her native Argentina, and since her arrival to the U.S. has been performing with the Champagne Tango Orchestra. As an actress, as well as a singer, she was cast in "The Three Penny" opera in Argentina, and in the "As coisas do Samba" musical at the Gala Hispanic Theater in Washington DC.
 Carlos Giménez (Guitar/Venezuelan Cuatro) Carlos is a Venezuelan native, a founder of LAFI and Director of LAFI's cultural magazine CLAVE. He is a former bassoonist with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. He plays the cuatro, charango, mandolin, acoustic bass, and guitar, and has taught guitar and Venezuelan cuatro in Washington area schools. He has recorded and performed with the Andean folk groups Rumisonko and Tepuy.
 Leonardo Lucini (Jazz Combo and Jazz Theory) Mr. Lucini is a native of Rio de Janiero and a well-rounded electric and double bass player. He has collaborated with the traditional Brazilian chorinho group No Em Pingo DÁgua, as well as the Orchestra de Musica Brasileira and saxophonist Paulo Moura. He holds a B.A.degree in music from Howard University with a specialty in Jazz, and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in music performance. He is a bass instructor at Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. His group, Origem, released its first album which features traditional Afro-Brazilian rhythms in 1999. He performs almost every night in the area.
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 Richard Miller (Guitar) Mr. Miller comes from a multicultural background. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to an American father and a Brazilian mother and moved frequently in Brazil, United States and Puerto Rico. He has become well known in the Washington, DC area for his performances of both classical guitar music and popular Brazilian and Latin-American music. As a classical guitarist he has appeared in such places as the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute, Strathmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress, and he has traveled extensively for recitals in Portland, Oregon and Trujillo, Peru with the Alexandria Guitar Quartet, a tour of New York State with flutist Rebecca Jeffreys, and a solo recital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A review of a concert by Richard at the State Department affirmed “Throughout his recital, he not only displayed impeccable technique but communicated his love of this beautiful music.” As a “popular” musician, he has performed and recorded with singers such as Lilo Gonzalez and Alaor Macedo, and Patrick de Santos, and he has been entertaining audiences in nightclubs and festivals in the Washington area for more than ten years playing Brazilian and Latin jazz. He holds a Master in Music degree in guitar performance from the Manhattan School of Music and is a Doctoral Candidate at Catholic University of America in Music Theory with a minor in Latin American Musicology.
 Rafael Monteagudo
(Cuban Percussion/ Conga) Mr. Monteagudo is new to the D.C. area, having just arrived from Cuba. He has studied drums and percussion since the age of 8 and is a graduate of the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) in Havana. While in Cuba, he had the opportunity to work with some of the best known Cuban jazz and folkloric groups, including Calle 42, Temperamento, and Eddy Mesa, and performed throughout Cuba (Callejon de Hamel and the Tropicana), Italy, and Spain. He has studied jazz, funk, fusion, and Afro-Cuban music, and is currently playing with several groups in the Washington, D.C. area and teaching percussion.
Ivan Navas (Latin Percussion) is a Latin American percussionist and educator. He has performed with Puerto Rican flutist Nestor Torres, Young and Rollins, Los del Barrio and other groups, and performs in many local music, dance and theater productions in Washington, DC and New York City.
Marlysse Simmons (Piano) A graduate of the University of Maryland, Marlysse is a versatile pianist fluent in classical and popular music, Latin jazz and Latin American styles. She currently plays with the Richmond-based salsa group BioRitmo that just released their first CD and won the New York billboard award.
Verny Varela (Flute) is an accomplished vocalist and flautist who majored in music at the University of Valle in Cali, Colombia. He has performed throughout Colombia, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S. He performs locally in such clubs as Chi-cha Lounge and Rumba Café, and was the flautist for Gala Hispanic Theater’s Raices Cubanos II last year.
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