I was born in a family of musicians- my father (Chile) plays the cello, my mother (Colombia) the piano, and my sister the violin. I grew up in France, where i started studying the viola at the age of seven. Later on I came to the Netherlands to study at the Conservatorium of Maastricht, where I graduated in 2004. I play very different styles of music, and mostly non-classical music, going from salsa, tango, and mariachi to various cross-overs with jazz. I have a strong connection with latin music (where my roots are) and with salsa above all. I play in Gerardo Rosales' "Charanga La Crisis", which has played in most world music and salsa festivals in the Netherlands. The first cd of the band, called "Salsa Antigua", was released in 2005. In the tango field, I am part of tango stringquartet Pavadita, an unique setting for tango, playing its own original arrangements. Two times on tour with the famous dutch singer and writer Thé Lau (2005 and 2006-2007), Pavadita has performed in all the main concerthalls and theaters of the Netherlands and Belgium (De Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam- Vredenburg, Utrecht- Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, Ancienne Belgique- Brussels etc...). Pavadita also had the great chance to accompany Ibrahim Ferrer on one of his last concerts, in the North Sea Jazz Festival on july 2005. Besides these bands I play in my famiiy quartet (piano quartet) called "Cuarteto Valenz", who plays a various repertoire, combining classical music with latinamerican folklore from Chile and Colombia and tango.
