Rodrigo Alberto Matta Díaz. Drums and main conductor. Cali -Colombia. He is a percussionist, musician, drummer, business administrator and cultural manager. With 20 years’ experience, he has been part of many musical projects that include sound creation for performing arts and visual arts. Additionally, he has been teaching in several universities and music institutions.
Rodrigo was a pioneer musician bringing Rhythm and Percussion with Signs to Cali through workshops and through the foundation of La Percumotora, a group whose musical trajectory is leaving its footprint in the national music scene.
“La Percumotora is for me a place for a permanent collective creation. It demands that we behave as a huge organism that is always searching to make music that is different and interesting. As a musician, the work in Improvisation with Signs has opened for me many new non-conventional paths to perceive and create music”.
Fred Barrera. Piano and conductor. Piendamó -Colombia. He studied Music At Universidad del Cauca and received training to become music teacher at Instituto Popular de Cultura. He is characterized as a great teacher by schools and private students. He also participates as a musician in different bands in town.
His main project, La Percumotora “has been a huge source of learning. It provides valuable tools for creation and improvisation. It is a magical space for human and artistic exchanges that take place in this journey we call music”.
Alexandre Defosse. Congas and didgeridoo. Lille -France. He was initiated into several folkloric rhythms such as Cuban Rumba, African and Brazilian rhythms. In 2008, he joins L’école des Musiques Latines (ISAAC. In English: School of Latin Music) in Paris, where he studied Cuban folkloric rhythms for a year.
In 2010, he started travelling through Central and South America. For 5 years, Alexandre played with different groups, and based in their diverse teachings, he developed his own musical language. Since 2014 he is a member of La Percumotora, where he mainly plays the congas.
“La Percumotora gives me a perpetual work of artistic creation in relation to others. As a direct consequence, an elevated artistic communication between musicians and instruments is developed. La Percumotora allows me to develop qualities both human and artistic, that are essential for the creative process.
Valentina Arenas. Djembé and alegre. Cali -Colombia. She studied folkloric Atlantic percussion in Bolívar -Colombia, with the maestro Janer Amarís, drummer of Petrona Martínez. Valentina has played percussion in different musical groups such as Jazz Gamblers -with whom she performed in Ajazzgo- Coconut and La banda Elástica, among others. She currently studies Cinema and Digital Communication at Universidad Autónoma de Occidente and she is also in charge of the audiovisual production of the group.
Valentina enjoys playing with La Percumotora because “it is a space for testing an instrument’s performance. A space where you learn complex musical concepts in a fun way”.
Karol Guerrero. Idiophones (bells, jam block and shakers) and graves (bass drum and tambora drum). Popayán -Colombia. He studied Popular Music at Instituto Popular de Cultura -Cali, as a rock drummer and Andean folklorist.
What he enjoys the most about La Percumotora is “its innovative proposal on making music. It does not prepare any songs but provides training for improvising live”. He enjoys playing in the group “because in every rehearsal there is a constant study of improvisation forms, group communication and the sign language used by the group”.
Luis Galeano “Pega”. Bass guitar and guitar. Toro -Colombia. Currently, he is involved in Blues study projects in Cali with The Blue Turtles and Barrio Blues. He represented Colombia and the Latino community in Memphis -Tennessee in 2015. His interest in African and Afro-Latino rhythms leads him to create groups interpreting Folk music, Cuban Son, Bossa, Salsa and Style fusion.
He enjoys playing in La Percumotora because “it is a great learning option for consciousness and internalization of rhythm in real time. Both for a professional and playful use”.
Juan Diego Daffi. Electric guitar and charango. Cali -Colombia. He had his first encounter with music when he was 11 thanks to Latin American wind instruments. This decanted his organology up to the charango, criollo guitar, tiple and afterwards, electric guitar. Juan Diego was a finalist in the Colombian Andean Music contest Mono Núñez in 2012 with the group Patchakuty, and was co-winner of the first price in the Latin-American music contest Hernando Trujillo in 2014 in Jamundí -Colombia with the Grupo Souvenir. He also participated in Festival Bandola with the groups Intichuris and Fondo Azul. Currently, he studies at Instituto Popular de Cultura and is a member of several cultural and artistic projects in Cali.
His interest in playing in La Percumotora “was always based in my will to explore more deeply the electric guitar resources and to reinforce the spontaneity that is implied in playing this kind of ‘real-time’ music”.
Joan Sebastián Álvarez. Idiophones and drums. Cali -Colombia. He graduated from Instituto Popular de Cultura as Labor Technician and as a Technician in instrumental interpretation both of traditional and popular music. Joan has received classes from diverse private teachers specialized in Latin-American music. However he feels also a passion for playing rock and blues, among others.
What he enjoys the most about La Percumotora is “that it is always in constant creation, so it gives me the possibility to explore my skills continuously”.
Katherine Ocampo. Saxophone. Medellín -Colombia. She studied music at University of South Florida, currently lives in Cali where she continues her music education and collaborates with musicians and city artists. She has played with several jazz and rock groups in USA. “What I like the most about La Percumotora is the sensation of freeing the self through creation, and to improvise and learn new musical tools”.
Manuel Restrepo. Diatonic/chromatic-harmonica and Clarinet. Cali, Colombia. Known as “Pollo Sucio” (Dirty Rooster), he started his musical career playing the harmonica in 2010. He founded the groups The Dirty Rooster (2011 – 2015) and Cali Blues Brothers (2015 – Today). With them, he participated in Festival de Blues y Jazz in Bucaramanga (three times) and other local and national festival such as Willkamayú Fest, Cali Blues and Folk Festival and Unirock. Currently Manuel studies Foreign Languages at Universidad del Valle, teaches diatonic harmonica and focus his studies in several musical styles inluding South American, poplar and european. He is considered one of the best harmonica players in Cali thus contributing to the popularization of this musical instrument. He enjoys playing with La Percumotora because “It is a space where creativity and musical skills arise in the moment. This takes each musician to study melodic, rhythmic and harmonic concepts, but also to learn, communicate and connect with the others, which is a huge contribution for me as a musician and as a person.”
La Percumotora… Never sounds the same!