Son Cubano DC

I'm the bandleader and Cuban Tres player for Son Cubano DC. I've been performing in Latin, jazz and rock ensembles for over thirty years before taking up the Cuban Tres - an instrument at the heart of Cuban son. I love performing music that makes people dance, and the rhythmic interplay of Cuban salsa is hard to beat.

Gerardo Contino is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer, and philanthropist. A classically trained singer, Gerardo Contino began performing professionally in Havana, Cuba, at the age of 19. Gerardo has toured the world with his music and now calls Washington, DC, home. He is the founder and director of Camino al Arte, a non-profit arts organization that connects and produces cutting-edge cultural and educational opportunities for young and established artists across the United States and the Caribbean. A versatile singer and bandleader, Gerardo has performed with Cuban and American salsa, jazz, and big orchestra bands. In Cuba, Gerardo was the lead singer for NG La Banda, the legendary timba and jazz band directed by Jose Luis Cortes. In the United States, Gerardo was a lead singer for the Max Weinberg Orchestra and Grammy-award-winning Larry Harlow's Latin Legends Band. Gerardo has also acted and performed opera, most notably in the Peak Performances' Hatuey: Memory of Fire, a Yiddish-Cuban opera production.