Alex Puglia is an instrumentalist, composer, and poet apprentice.  A natural musician. "Music for me has to be the escape, the dream, the holy, and not the reality.” Alex grew up in the midst of a great musical atmosphere, where he started playing in bands in his hometown at the age of 15.  He studied classical piano, but his main technical and artistic influence came from his teacher and Mentor Joao Viviane a Samba, a Jazz master who played with artists like Elis Regina, Tom Jobim, and Cesar Ca margo Mariano. His skills at the guitar were refined from countless hours of  music sessions with friends. Almost every day after school they would meet for a Roda de Samba in order to play, sing, compose and create together. His artistry is a combination Sambas, Choros, Cocos, and also Baioes e Forros;  combining these with his own musicality, he creates something unique and fresh.

Eliezer Santos has been playing percussion since age 4. He is the son of Candomble (Afro Brazilian religion) priests and lived in a candomble temple before traveling around the world to Europe and the USA . As a percussion teacher and an outstanding performer, he has created "Jugando Con El Fuego"(playing with fire) a percussion ensemble that explores the rich terroir of Afro-Brazilian rhythms. Since becoming part of a new network of peace/percussion-loving "freaks" in the twin cities, he has released "Mama Africa", an album celebrating the rhythms from the African Diaspora in South America .

Maggie Roston - saxophone, flute Maggie started her professional career as flutist/saxophonist performer and teacher in Minneapolis. After graduating from the U of M in French and Music, she soon left for Los Angeles, where she played with the L.A. There she studied with Jimmy Walker, 1st chair flutist with the L.A. Philharmonic and with studio artists, while playing in the L.A. City College Big Band. When she moved to Bordeaux, France, she continued the jazz quartet, joined Comparsa, a Latin street band - percussion & horns - performing at international festival in Douarnenez, France; she also played in l’Orchestre d’Aquitaine (big band), while teaching flute, sax and jazz workshops at the CIAM. After returning to Minneapolis, she has played with Brazil com S at the Guthrie and Orchestra Hall, with Ticket to Brasil, the Children’s Theater, the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, the Prophets of Soul (R&B), and continues to freelance and teach.

Joyce Perez is a natural singer and natural musician. I'd say that music likes Joyce instead of Joyce likes music. Music passes through Joyce in a way that I've never has experienced before. She grew up in Brazil at a house that was moved by music. Her father is a great singer (not professional) and the whole family always listened to music and sang together. Joyce already appeared in a couples of CDs from her home church and is singing on my CD 2 of my favorite songs. I hope Joyce keeps singing, because without her, music looses a lot. (by Alex Puglia)

PAVEL JANY, a classical, jazz, and international music guitarist, composer and percussionist, was first introduced to Brazilian music through the works of Heitor Villa-Lobos and legendary guitarist Baden Powell, while he was studying classical guitar in Europe. He was further inspired by a number of bossa nova artists, and by the masters of Brazilian fusion, such as Airto Moreira, Flora Purim and Egberto Gismonti, to name a few. His interest in samba and Afro-Brazilian music deepened during his three year stay in West Africa. He also traveled extensively to South America, and while his long musical journey encompasses many various styles, Brazilian music remains his main domain.

David Burk (bass,cavaquinho) has been studying and playing myriad musical styles and traditions for well over the past twenty-five years. Aside from numerous Brasilian projects, his performing credits include the Rose Ensemble, Voices of Sepharad, Sattar, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Fuego Flamenco, Georges Lammam Arabic Orchestra, Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble. He has studied directly with Arabic music masters Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba, Dr. Ali Jihad Racy, and Sakhar Hattar. Running a small project recording studio in the basement has enabled David to produce his own music as well as more than 30 compact disc releases for various record labels and independent recording artists. When pursuing non-music activities, you might catch him watching Marlon Brando movies, hiking with his dog Irie, reading about theology or world history, or calculating whether or not it would be worth it to start a grape farm somewhere in the wilds of southeastern Minnesota.

Andew M. Gillespie - Studied in the jazz program at University of Miami . After the theory he spent time studing rithms in Brazil and Porto Rico where he was able to experience in sight the roots of the music he loves. Plays drums, timbales, congas, pandeiro in a very creative way. Currently he is studing ethnomusicology at University of Minnesota . Active in many Brazilian and Latin music bands around the cities.