Surrounded by music from birth, his teenage years were spent playing representative sports at Westfields Sports High. He began writing rhymes as far back as 95, but it was not until a relationship developed with female MC Shorty RV in 98 that the idea of a musical career began to take shape, when Rafa began playing percussion for her live show. Later that year he rocked the mike at the Uruguayan festival with Pavel the pupsta Mulet.The idea to form a Latino Hip Hop crew began to surface but Rafs incarceration in 99 for drug importation halted any progress. After 3 months on remand at Silverwater, MRRC and Parklea jail, he received bail and a year later the case was thrown out.Alongside the pupsta and Nathaniel George, Rafa launched the ILA FAMILIA (Immigrant Latino Australian Family) in 2000, recording 3 songs at Skylab Studios in Sydney. The crew began playing shows locally, and it was on the back of these performances that Rafa began hosting events.After guest performances with the Sydney Latin Allstars at the Bacardi Latino Festival, Darling Harbour, in 2001, DJ Don Juan invited Rafa to host on the mic for the first time at the official after party at One World Sport. This led to Rafa hosting Carnaval and other Latino events and Rafas popularity as an MC and as ILA FAMILIAs front man began to grow.Later in 2001, The Club Joint Allstars (DJs Moto, Tikelz, Peter Gunz and Demo) launched Da Joint at the Daintree Nightclub and Rafa became the Allstars MC, crossing over to the Hip Hop and RnB scene.The ILA FAMILIA launched another 5 songs, this time Rafa was joined by Francisco Toledo, MC Lokito, DJ Dwight Chocolate Escobar and Rafael Andres. Rafa began playing an increasing multiple role of the ILAs manager, writer, vocalist and producer (alongside Mr. Zux and David Stein).In 2001 Rafa also began co hosting ROMPEREMOS TV, a Latinamerican TV show on Channel 31, Sydney, alongside Chocolate Escobar and later joined by his sister, Gaby Cesan.Despite the incarceration of two of his members, Rafa pushed ahead with the independent release of the ILAs debut album For My People, PaMi Gente in late 2002. The album received rave reviews from local press and the crew rose to unparalleled status as the pioneers of Latino Hip Hop Downunder.Solo or with the ILA, Rafa was involved as a support act for artists such as Ozomatli, Oscar de Leon, Amigos Invisibles, Elvis Crespo and Fat Man Scoop. Alongside The Club Joint Allstars, Rafa toured interstate and held residencies in Sydney nightclubs such as Cave, BJs and Bondi Hotel, as well as guest spots at RnB Superclub, Goodbar, Booty Bar and others.On the 1st of May 2003 Rafa was arrested by the federal police and charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of narcotics. A year later he was found guilty and sentenced to 13 _ years imprisonment with a non parole period of 9 years.It was a highly controversial case which involved the Honourable Judge Ian Dodd, who became known as judge Nodd, the sleeping judge. Whilst Rafa defended himself on the stand and throughout the trial, the judge slept and snored loudly. Media frenzy followed and months later judge Dodd was forced to retire in June 2005, but only after he was ordered to appear before the NSW Judicial Commission to answer two "serious" complaints (one of them Rafa's).The Judicial Commission had already upheld two complaints it called "minor"- that Mr Dodd fell asleep in a company fraud trial and in a sexual assault matter. It later emerged that he suffered from sleep apnoea.Rafa was granted an appeal at the Supreme court in NSW more than 2 years later. In a 2-1 decision, the CCA ruled he had not suffered a miscarriage of justice.But the High Court more than a year later (Sept 3rd, 2008) agreed with dissenting judge John Basten, who said "the conduct of a trial before a judge and jury required that the judge be present and conscious during the whole of the trial proceedings" and after a short session in Canberra, decided to quashed Rafa's conviction and sentence and granted him a new trial on April 14th 2009.Rafa is at present seeking legal advice.Rafa is currently incarcerated at the MRRC in Silverwater and can be contacted by mail at:RAFAEL LUIS CESAN MIN: 300963 MRRC, Private Bag 144 SILVERWATER, NSW 1811 AUSTRALIAAny comments posted on this site will be printed and sent to him on a regular basis. Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor
