Miguel de León and his Latin Jazz Band at Epiphany Center for the Arts

Raised in a musical Mexican American family, Miguel de León remembers connecting deeply to the sounds of music he heard around him while growing up. As a child he responded strongly to the radio hits of Mexican artists in his parent's record collection. His extended family often came together to celebrate holidays and birthdays. As a treat, Mariachis were often part of the festivities - memories of Mariachis playing still holds a very special place in his heart. Miguel's strong affinity for Brazilian music began when he was a teenager after hearing recordings by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66. Already bilingual, he discovered through these recordings how similar Portuguese was to Spanish, and learned to pronounce and understand many phrases and themes of the songs. In 1985 Miguel made his first trip to Brasil and was enraptured by the people, the culture, and the music. He stopped in a record shop in Rio and bought so many albums that he had to pay excess baggage fees on his return trip home.