Kino Moreno: Percussionist. From
Cuba via the Panama Canal, Kino always knew he would be a percussionist. Raised
in the barrios of Little Havana, since his childhood he dreamed of playing the
congas. At age 16, his dream came true with a local favorite group called Agape
from 1979-1982. Between ’82 and ’84, he freelanced with just about every
local and major out of town act that performed Latin music in Miami. Then came
his first big break with international star Willy Chirino. After that
with Clouds, the legendary Celia Cruz and the creator of Mambo,
Cachao, up until 1993, when he was approached by long time Little Havana
barrio buddy Oba Lord’s, and he joined Secret Society. Since
then Kino and Oba’s bond has grown beyond just breaking windows and
chasing girls. Now as grown men, they are brothers in the beat of life.
Rene "DJ" Sanchez: Born August 9, 1971 in San Turce, Puerto Rico. “D.J.”
as we lovingly call him had dreams of being in music all his life. At age 12, he
started hanging with friends who were dj’s, he learned the art of djing and
bought his own equipment and started doing parties as a mobile dj and some club
gigs along the way. This was not enough for young Rene, he would
then find himself going to studios with friends and learning the ins and outs of
sound engineering still he was not fulfilled. At around age 20 he met Kino
Moreno whom was his neighbor but Kino had another neighbor
who would turn out to be Rene’s answer Oba Frank Lord’s.
When Rene met Oba, he did not know for a
while who Oba was they just became friends, Rene, Oba
and Kino would hang out at Oba’s house where Kino
and Oba would jam on the drums D.J. would
sit and watch completely hypnotized by their skills. Then D.J
found out that Oba was the leader of Secret Society
a group he was a fan of his from his dj days that was the magic that brought
them together. From that time on Rene worked with Secret
Society as a stagehand and personal rodie to Oba and Kino.
By setting up their drums for shows Rene learned the many
different styles of drums and the techniques to play them. Oba and
Kino taught him beats, which he soon started playing when they
jammed together. Rene
went on to play with salsa bands like “Salsa Kids” who was
sponsored by the Dade County School System and performed for many
school events he also recorded on productions by 7 Miles of Muzik
of Miami as a percussionist. As time went by and Rene’s abilities
evolved Oba and Kino decided to give him a shot at a
spot in LatinXpress where he is the second percussionist.
Yahnib “Judah” Lord’s:
Is the youngest member at Five (5) year's old Yahnib. Oba’s
son, has played percussion practically since he was in the womb (banging on his
mother’s ribs) according to his mom. Yahnib’s only interests have been to
emulate his father since birth. He mimics Oba’s playing, chanting, and
facial expressions like the carbon copy of his creator. His toys consist of
congas, timbales, and assorted percussion instruments. Being a gifted child
prodigy, Oba had no choice but to add him to the group—if not he would
never hear the end of it. This boy is a must see to believe member of this
already spectacular ensemble.
Krizzia
Kareena Lord's: Born, March 8,1992 in Miami Beach, Florida. She was Oba’s
1st child and naturally “Daddy’s little girl”.
From birth Krizzia was destined to be in entertainment she
would go to her father’s show and studio sessions and at home would be exposed
to nothing but music.
At age 4 she was taken to the studio by Oba to record
vocals on a brainstorm he had which incorporated nursery rhymes (sung by Krizzia)
over electronica beats. Oba liked what he heard so much it
inspired him to create a whole album and group around this project, which he
called “Child Play”. But Krizzia was to shy to
perform in pubic. She wanted to be a model so Oba put her in
modeling classes where she did some fashion shows and appeared on print. Still
she was not letting go of her shyness until one day after having seen her little
brother Yahnib perform numerous times with Dad’s group, Krizzia
out of nowhere came to her dad and said, “Daddy I want to be your
dancer I’m not shy anymore”. Oba was skeptical and replied,
“O.k. but you have to prove it to me.” He had a show coming up at the “Expo-Nica”
Festival where he knew she would be in front of a huge audience, this was a make
it or break it situation for Krizzia. Much to Oba’s
surprise she pulled it off and made daddy very proud. She now studies with Gloria
Estafan’s choreographer Neri Torres at the Afro-Cuban
dance academy “Ife-Ile”
where she’s learning the art of Yoruba dance steps that she
applies to her position in LatinXpress as a dancer when they
perform at festivals or daytime events.
Liza Marie Galletti:
Born
in New Jersey, the morning of November 9, 1978 of Puerto Rican
decent. Liza knew what she wanted since very early in life. At
age 1 she imitated Puerto Rican star Iris Chacon. By the time she
was 4 her mother had her imitating stars like Lisa Lisa, Janet Jackson,
Olivia Newton John at New York’s The Loft. From 10-15
she was involved in school productions, T.V. productions, drama classes and
plays, she did this through High School. Participating in half- time events at
football games and competitions she further exercised her skills in dance, which
would earn her 1st place trophies and awards of merit. While
attending the church of famous Salsa star turned minister Bobby Cruz
she became dance minister responsible for all entertainment events that would
take place in church. Between the age of 19-21 she was a full time model/actress
for agent/photographer Baron Da Parre, appearing on A
Oscuras Pero Encendido (As el “Bon- Bon”) fashion
shows and commercials. She danced in many Miami nightclubs and appeared in the
movie “Any Given Sunday” which starred Al Pacino,
Cameron Diaz. She studied drama with renowned acting coach, Marc
Durso for a year. At age 22 at a Miami night club she met Oba
Frank Lord’s where she immediately clicked with the mesmerizing world
of the Yoruba (Santeria) religion and it’s music. Captivated by
the ancestral knowledge of Oba she became a practitioner of the
spiritual ways and dances of the Afro-Cuban religion becoming Oba’s
, Goddaughter. She now studies Afro-Cuban dance with world
renowned, choregrapher/dancer of Gloria Estefan and owner of the
“Ife-Ile”
dance academy Neri Torres. Liza is now a dancer and background
vocalist of LatinXpress sharing the dream with Oba Frank
Lord’s.
The LatinXpress live visual show is a must see! Live Afro-Cuban percussion, live vocals and genuine Afro-Cuban chants, set to bass driven house music and fully costumed dancers get the spirits moving and are sure to get you moving too.
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