Our Director

As the son of a father whos a musician and a mom who has been dancing salsa for a long time , Gabriel got his start at a very young age and was always surrounded by salsa.

He got his start in the musical scene through his parents who would take him along to concerts such as Oscar D’Leon in Los Angeles as a baby as well as learning latin music fundamentals such as clave and salsa steps.

In his childhood Gabriel studied under Monica Rojas where he learned more about his Peruvian roots through the cajon and various other Peruvian percussive instruments, from there he broadened his musical vocabulary through his teen years under mentors like Todd Zimberg and Jesse Whitford where he developed his stick work as well as his participation in settings like a drumline. He briefly moved to Peru to dive further into the world of latin percussion where he started his study of the timbales and salsa. He later traveled to Cuba to study under master musicians Enrique Pla (Irakere), Jose Luis Matos Pies “Pakito” (Maykel Blanco) and Daniel Padilla (former NG la banda). Since being back from his travels he joined and played with local salsa bands Elere and Orquesta Cambalache around town before starting his own project, Yambambo.

He currently sits at the head of Yambambo at 25 years young with many styles and instruments under his belt but maintaining the drive to keep learning, continuing the tradition of those before him and making sure to have fun while doing it.