José Luis Quintana Fuentes

He is a traditional and recognized Cuban percussionist.
He was a professor of distinguished percussionists such as Giovanni Hidalgo, Kart Perazz, and Patricio "El chino" Díaz.
This musician has been part of famous musical groups that have toured much of the world. In 1970 he began playing with Los Van Van and developed the songo, a rhythm that marked a new direction in Cuban music.

He is credited with co-fathering the incorporation of the drum kit into Latin music and the creation of the "Secret Hand" technique on the tumbadora, which marked a historic milestone differentiating him from his predecessors such as Mongo Santamaría, Patato Valdés, and Candido, among others, and taking the technique of this instrument to unbelievable extremes.

Scholars on the subject consider him the most complete of modern percussionists and the greatest timbalero of all time.

José Luis Quintana Fuentes was born on January 18, 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba; his parents were Pedro Luis Quintana Corona and María Teresa Fuerte. The nickname "Changuito" was a gift he received in 1964 from pianist, conductor, and composer Felipe Dulzaides, when he was in the latin jazz group Los Armónicos de Felipe Dulzaides.

Changuito is a self-taught percussionist who was already playing bongó at five years old; he was a rather precocious musician and made his debut at eight years old at the famous Cuban cabaret Tropicana, with the Habana Jazz orchestra.

As a child he would substitute for his father in an orchestra of Galicians called Quinteto Tomei, where he played congas. Later he joined a group called Conjunto Cubamango, then entered the rebel army. Time passed and he worked in many cabarets and clubs in Havana and was part of a group from the Ministry of Foreign Relations called Sonora Mafei.

He made several recordings in Switzerland with a Brazilian artist, recorded in England with Billy Coban, with Giovanni Hidalgo, with Flora Purim and Víctor Moreira.

He was the drummer for the Música Moderna Orchestra of Pinar del Río, also joined the Souvenir Orchestra in Artemisa, and from there entered the Cuban group Los Van Van in the seventies under the direction of composer and bassist Juan Formell.

With this orchestra he initiated the development of songo, a rhythm that combined and organically encompassed drums, timbales, cowbells, drums, cymbals, among other percussion instruments, in a perfect hybrid in which beat music and elements belonging to Cuban folkloric tradition were equally integrated. A rhythm with which the Los Van Van Orchestra revived the dance halls in Havana in the seventies, and which many musicians consider as the root of the current "timba" or Cuban salsa movement.

He worked with this band for more than twenty years until he decided to pursue work as a soloist. He also took the opportunity to dedicate himself to teaching, or as he says, "helping the hands of those who want to study Cuban percussion." In 1992 he made his first solo recording which opened the doors of world stages for him.

Almost a decade later he received his first tribute for being the youngest tumbador in Cuba at that time. As a professor he has taught famous percussionists including Kart Perazzo (Santana) and Giovanni Hidalgo.

Furthermore, he is a full professor of the Music department at the Superior Institute of Art in Havana, has taught his knowledge at the University of Puerto Rico, at the School of Modern Music in New York and at Berklee Conservatory in Boston. During his professional growth he had influences from Pedro Luis Quintana (his father), his uncle Roberto, Alberto Márquez, Jorge Fon, Papi Cadavieco, Tito Puente, and La Lupe.

This Cuban master of conga and timbales has also been part of important discographic projects, accompanying other artists, among whom stand out Flora Purim, Robert Trunz, Amampondo, Airto Moreira, and Chucho Valdés.

He received a Grammy with Roy Hargrove's group in 1997 and with Spanish singer-songwriter Diego "El Cigala," whom he accompanied on the album "Lágrimas Negras" (Grammy Latino 2004 as best traditional tropical album). Furthermore, he appears among the stars of the album "La Rumba Soy Yo" with a Grammy award in 2001 for best folk album, not counting the various nominations—accompanied or solo—for Grammy Latino. Likewise, he has deserved among many recognitions the Five Stars award for his timpani method, which was granted to him by Warner Bros Studios, with whom he recorded five instructional videos.

In 2006 under the Venezuelan record label Cacao Música, Changuito released an album titled "Telegrafía Sin Hilo." According to statements by the percussionist himself, the album seeks to reflect ancestral communication between tribes through the medium of drums, as a religious and human link of sister cultures.

Such was the idea that guided the entire creative process. This connection between elements of religions of African origin and musical discourse has been reiterated in recent discographic productions by Cubans associated with jazz, such as the late pinarense Miguel "Angá" Díaz and pianist from Camagüey Omar Sosa.

It is worth noting that the phonogram "Telegrafía sin hilo" arose from a proposal by the great Havana drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, who upon coinciding with Changuito at the II International Festival of Afro-American Traditions (FITA) in the city of Maracay, spoke to Omar Jeanton, general manager of Cacao Música, about how beneficial it would be to record a CD with Quintana as the protagonist. Thus a project was born for which the pinarense trumpet player Luis J. Márquez was chosen to be in charge of music production, with extensive experience with different groups, among which the group Guaco stands out.

In 2012 he was honored in Panama during the gala of the Percussion Festival of Central America held under the auspices of the Danilo Pérez Foundation.

Changuito, creator during his time with Los Van Van of songo, a rhythm that combines percussion instruments (timbales, cowbells, drums, cymbals, among others) with beat and folk music, also received the Percuaction Lifetime Achievement Award, the first one granted by the institution.

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