Ray Santos

Ray Santos, known as 'El Maestro,' was a celebrated American Grammy Award-winning Latin musician, composer, arranger, and educator who played a pivotal role in Latin jazz, salsa, and mambo for over seven decades. Born to Puerto Rican parents in New York City, he studied at the Juilliard School of Music and worked with legendary artists like Tito Puente and Machito, while also earning an Oscar nomination for his arrangement of 'Beautiful Maria of My Soul' in The Mambo Kings. Santos passed away in 2019 at the age of 90, leaving behind a legacy as a true mambo king and influential mentor to students.