Orlando "Maraca" Valle

Orlando "Maraca" Valle, one of Cuba's top flute players, was born into a family of musicians in Havana, Cuba, in September of 1966. He studied flute at the Manuel Saumell Conservatory, and began touring with the Bobby Carcasses Orchestra in 1987. He joined Irakere in 1988, stayed with them for 6 years as a flutist, keyboard player, and arranger. He left the group to start his solo career in 1994. On his first solo effort, El Pasaporte, he collaborated with noted Cuban percussionists Tata Güines and Anga Miguel Diaz. This jump started his career as a solo artist and gained him an outstanding national reputation as a writer, arranger, and soloist. He continued to release a series of solo records through the '90s and in 1999 formed his own group, Maraca & Otra Visión.