Charlie Chávez y su Afrotruko in Balboa Park !

Always a special musical oportunity to share with our San Diego community the music , the energy and the love from my Afrotruko Salsa , Mambo & Afrocuban Jazz Orchestra .
Vocals : Magui , Roberto & Daniel
Piano : Channing Bass : Ignacio
Horns : Brad , Doug , Patrick , Ernie and Luis
Congas : Ryan bongo TBD
timbales and band leader :
Charlie Chavez
AFROTRUKO — Bio
Afrotruko takes its name from two powerful ideas: Afro, representing the deep African roots at the heart of Latin music, and Truko — the trick, the magic. Just as African rhythm has always been the hidden force beneath the melody, the "truko" speaks to the alchemy of live performance — that unpredictable moment when musicians transform the unexpected into something extraordinary, an improvised and transcendant expression. When a band member can't make the show, you don't panic. You make magic. That's the Afrotruko spirit.
Founded around 2003 by Carlos "Charlie" Chávez, Roberto Wence, and Magui Morales, Afrotruko is a binational orchestra rooted in both Tijuana and San Diego, bringing together an extraordinary cast of musicians from across the Americas — horn players, a Cuban bassist (Ignacio Arango), and percussionists from Puerto Rico, Panamá, Venezuela, and Perú.
At the helm is Musical Director Charlie Chávez — a virtuoso percussionist born in Juchitán, Oaxaca, and shaped by the rich Cuban and Caribbean rhythms of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. A graduate of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Xalapa, Charlie has shared the stage with legends including Celia Cruz, Paquito D'Rivera, and Poncho Sanchez, and is widely regarded as one of Southern California's most important Latin percussionists. His deep reverence for the classic tradition drives Afrotruko's sound and soul.
That sound is inspired by and rooted in the golden era: 1970s salsa, Cuban contemporary style, Palladium-era mambo, romantic bolero, and chachachá — honoring the giants who came before while keeping the music alive and electric on stage today.
Influences: Ray Barretto · Rubén Blades · Willie Colón · NG La Banda · Fania All-Stars · Típica 73 · Orquesta Coatzacoalcos · Celia Cruz · Tito Puente
Afrotruko has opened concerts for Rubén Blades (2012, 30th Anniversary of CECUT), Óscar D'León (2012, 4th & B), and Grupo Niche (2013), and has performed in the Organ Pavilion as part of the City of San Diego's summer concert series for over 10 years.
Currently in the studio recording an original album featuring new compositions and special arrangements by an iconic figure in salsa and Latin jazz — stay tuned.