Luis Alberto Muriel Castro
Luis Alberto Muriel Castro was born in 1963 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. He grew up in Barrio Sabana Abajo in the town of Carolina, P.R. He discovered his passion for music by listening to orchestras such as Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera, El Gran Combo de P.R., Roberto Rohena, Tito Rodríguez, Tito Puente, and other Cuban bands at his maternal grandmother’s house.
He immediately fell in love with the sound of the congas and bongos; his inspirations on these instruments were Carlos ‘Patato’ Valdés, Roberto Rohena, Manny Oquendo, John Rodríguez, Papo Pepín, and many others.
During his adolescence, he had mentors in rumba and percussion among family and friends in the neighborhood: Freddie Moreno, Ángel ‘Tato’ Rodríguez, Jimmie García, Tito ‘Congas’ Llanos, Danny Thompson; all students of Mr. Carlos ‘Patato’ Valdés.
Recommended by his cousin Rey ‘el Gordo’ Maldonado, his teacher in congas and bongos, he began his percussion and music studies under percussionist Raúl Berríos at the Escuela Libre de Música de Carolina, belonging to the School Band.
For over 40 years in popular and Afro-Caribbean music, he has been part of, collaborated, accompanied, and recorded with various artists and orchestras in Puerto Rico, such as: Orquesta La Mulenze, Ray Barreto, Ismael Miranda, José ‘Cheo’ Feliciano, Raphy Levitt y La Selecta, Mickey Cora y su Orquesta Cabala, Domingo Quiñonez, Bobby Valentín, Willie Rosario, Justo Betancourt, Antony ‘Pupi’ Cantor, Torres Herman Oliveras, Primi Cruz, Carlos Cano, Estremera, Camilo Azuquita, Primi Cruz, and Wilfredo Rosario.
He has been a member of Orquesta La Mulenze for over 30 years, performing in local events and international concerts, and has participated in all their music recordings since 1994 to the present day.
Moreover, he has collaborated with Afro-Caribbean folk groups such as Yuba Ire, Los Majaderos de Cachete Maldonado, as well as in typical Puerto Rican music with Mariano Jurado ‘Juradito’, Gilberto Feliz, Julio César Zanabria, and Eduardo Villanueva.
Currently, he is a co-producer and musician in the project “Conjunto A Mi Estilo” led by Mr. Rafy Andino, a production soon to be released in the music market.