Ray Armando

Born on January 27, 1939 in Brooklyn, the young Armando would listen closely to his father's Machito and Arsenio Rodriguez records and to the voice of his mother, a professional singer, dancer, and actress. While his dreams of becoming a baseball player were never realized, he did manage to become skilled on the conga drums at an early age. He was first involved with Latin percussion through his uncle at the age of 8. His first real influence and teacher was Mongo Santamaria, who lived across the street from his family.