A musical autobiography by Raymond Pacheco

Welcome to my website. The contents of this site describes my experience along the way in a long professional career in the Afro-Latin music business. It is a tale of the encounters with many famous and not-so-famous personalities that had an impact not only upon my career as a musician, but also on me personally.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 27, 1934, where lived my first 13 years. I spent the next three years in San Juan, Santurce and Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Upon my return to New York City in 1949, I dropped out of high school and joined the United States Air Force, earning a GED in Denver, Colorado. After the USAF, I returned to NYC and began my career playing the Latin drums by listening and observing the Latin musicians in the area.

In 1956, I returned to Denver with a conga strapped around one arm and began my professional career. I hope this is an entertaining tale for you, especially for musicians who might feel a musical kinship via this marvelous genre we call "Salsa".