Latin conga player (conquero), bandleader, and salsa singer Filoberto Sanchez –
born October 30, 1951 in Laredo, Texas – is better known by his stage name
Poncho Sanchez. He is now acknowledged as one of the most influential
percussionists in jazz. His family relocated to Norwalk, California, where he
attended Cerritos College. Raised on Afro-Cuban music and bebop jazz, he learned
to play guitar but switched to lead vocalist after auditioning for a band that
lived across the street from him. He taught himself to play several instruments
including the flute, drums, and timbales. I...