Rayito

The question of nature vs. nurture often arises as a child grows and his destiny begins to make itself evident. For a lucky few, there is no such question because both clearly played a starring role. Twenty-four year old Madrid native Rayito is just such a person. Born to musically gifted parents, Rayito was steered by his Gypsy father, a Flamenco guitar player himself, to follow in their family’s tradition of virtuosity. By age 4, Rayito gave his first concert. By age 11, Rayito had won the famed international music contest "Bravo Bravissimo," recorded his first solo flamenco album for Max Music, and was the youngest composer ever inducted into SGAE. With this accomplishment came sacrifice, of course. Rayito followed a rigorous schedule that began with a full day of regular school, followed by 6 hours of daily guitar practice. When mention is made regarding the long hard hours practicing or a sacrificed childhood, Rayito simply shrugs. - "Of course it was hard work, both for me and for my father" - he smiles, - "but I chose that life. Once I got up on stage for the first time and felt the love of the audience, it all became worth it. I love that feeling more than anything." At age 14, Rayito's father moved his family to Miami where he enrolled his son at /New World School of the Arts/ which is part of Florida’s Magnet School Program. There he had the opportunity not only to enrich his technique, but to absorb and be influenced by, the many different musical cultures offered by his new Miami home. These newer influences are evidenced clearly by his eclectic line-up of collaborators and show partners to date, including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Paco de Lucia, Julio Iglesias, Paulina Rubio, Ricky Martin (for whom he co-wrote /Jaleo/) and David Bisbal (for whom he co-wrote /Llorare las Penas/). The latter two compositions landed him two of his three Latin Grammy Nominations. Today, influences like Hip Hop, Latin Pop, Reggae and Reggaeton are all evident in Rayito’s songwriting and the music he creates, all laced and married beautifully to his beloved Flamenco. On September 26, 2006, Rayito had the good fortune to release his self-titled debut Latin Pop album in the U.S. and Puerto Rico through independent record label SouthBeat Records. Having heard the new album, industry great Kike Santander recently remarked to Rayito, "Dios bajo a la tierra y te toco con su barita magica." The young talent has since been busy promoting the release, having appeared on "Despierta America," "Escandalo TV," and "Cada Dia," too name a few. His first single "Me Falta" has broken through the top 50 on the U.S. Latin Tropical and Contemporary Pop Charts. Rayito has recently performed at the American Airlines Arena during the "Amor a la Musica" concert for Amor 107.5 in Miami and as a surprise guest during a concert by Lolita Flores in November. He also performed at the official afterparty for the 2006 Latin Grammy’s in New York City, and took stage as the opening act for Rosario and Lolita Flores at the Coliseo in Puerto Rico in November 2006. Also, look out for his new composition coming out on Chayanne’s upcoming release in 2007!