Without a doubt, Pellejo Seco marks a new plateau in Latin music in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in the East Bay in 2004 by Ivan Camblor, this eclectic group has its roots in Traditional Cuban music and performs only original compositions. The group produces a creative sound which combines the exquisite, popular and fantastic.

In its evolutionary process, Pellejo Seco has caught its own distinct flavor which intertwines progressive Fusion Rock, Latin pop, Brazilian, Flamenco, Afro-Cuban and Jazz. Ivan Camblor named the band, Pellejo Seco, and interprets it to mean Raw Hide. For Ivan the name has many meanings, one of which is to describe the dry and leathered skin of a campesino or farmer.

Enganchate, is the first CD for Pellejo Seco. The title can be loosely translated to mean "Grab On". As you listen to this album, you will definitely want to grab onto the exciting roller coaster of musical themes and genres which winds you through a world full of complex energetic dance rhythms and beautiful love ballads. All the music on this album is composed by Ivan Camblor Allende.

Ivan is a new composer from Havana, Cuba. In Cuba, Ivan played his Tres (a Cuban guitar) with many traditional Cuban bands, many of which performed his songs. Other accomplishments for Ivan include a collaboration with Edesio Alejandro, the most prominent Cuban Soundtrack artist today, on two scores for the film, Hacerse el Sueco. Ivan moved to the United States in November 2004 to be with his wife, Deborah Simon-Weisberg, who is also featured on the CD singing "Calma."

Ivan Camblor-Tres/Vocals

Born in Havana Cuba, he graduated from the Felix Varela School of Music in composition. Camblor has composed original music for the film Hacerse el Sueco, directed by Edesio Alejandro and Gerardo Garcia, and recorded an album called Seguro me da, me da with the septet TEMBACHE under ABDALA Records, directed by Juan Manuel Seruto and Eduardo Ramos. Currently living in the Bay Area, Camblor is bandleader of Pellejo Seco.

Mario Silva-Trumpet/Vocals

Trumpeter Mario Silva was born in San Francisco where he currently resides. Showing musical talent, his parents started him out with piano lessons. He soon took interest in the clarinet and quickly began doubling on saxophones while studying privately. At age 17 he took interest in the trumpet and within two years had already begun playing gigs in San Francisco's latin and jazz scene. Throughout his college career he has recieved scholarships to Chico and San Francisco state. Silva has played with Orquesta Borinquen, the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Realistic Orchestra, Cubanacan, The People, Los Elegantes, Los Otros,The Unanimous Decision Quintet, The Fred Zimmerman Quartet, The Bay Area Afro-Cuban All Stars and many more. MySpace page.

Gerardo Borras- Percussion

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1958 and started his music career at fourteen with a group of friends from school. In 1975, he launched his professional career playing conga with Bobby Carcasses, Arturo Sandoval and Paquito d'Rivera. After moving to the US in 1980, Borras formed various bands in Arkansas, Washington State, and Los Angeles. He has lived in the Bay Area since 1990, playing and arranging with Cubanacan and Ritmo y Armonia. Like other musicians, Borras expresses himself artistically in playing piano, bass, drum set, congas and bongos. He is an original composer and arranger.

Sulkary Valverde-Vocals

A talented interpreter of Latin music in the San Francisco Bay Area, was born in Guantanamo Cuba. She studied music and voice from an early age at the regional provincial school "Regino E Voto" and later graduated from the national school of art "Lili Martinez" in Camaguey, Cuba, specializing in saxophone and voice. In Cuba, she sang with the bands Traje Nuevo, La Ritma y Sabor, and others. Residing now in the Bay Area, Sulkary joins Pellejo Seco, enriching the band with the rich texture of her incredible voice and launching her career as one of the leading female Latin singers of the Bay Area.

Carlos Medrano Brindis-Percussion

Born in Havana, Cuba, began his musical studies by teaching himself to play Bongos and Congas using traditional Cuban music and Rumba as his guide. After a few years of studying, experience, and having participated in folkloric musical projects and timba, also known as Cuban Salsa, he decided to broaden his musical knowledge by beginning a course of musical studies in the Escuela de Superacion Profesional de Arte “Felix Varela y Morales” where he began to create his foundation for Latin Jazz fusion within other musical projects in Cuba. This young Cuban remembers with great satisfaction and happiness having been a student of famous international Cuban percussionists such as Eliel Lazo Linares, Yaroldy Abreu, José Luis Quintana, also known as Changuito. MySpace page.

Antonio Cortada-Bass/Vocals

Antonio Cortada was born in Havana, Cuba. In 1995 started his musical carreer as a percussionist and recorded at Radio Progreso, ICAIC and ICRT studios with talented masters of traditional Cuban music Alexis Querol and Roman Alvarez. Later picked up the bass and began to play daily in old Havana. Here in the U.S. he has played and recorded from Salsa to Jazz to Reggae and Son.

Alex Conde-Piano

Alex Conde was born in Valencia Spain .Started with piano at 6 and soon revelated his talent into flamenco and classical doing performances around Spain and France since he was 13. But he didn't started into jazz until he was 17 and then decided to investigate on it deeply traveling to the US under the Berklee Scholarship Award. Since then he has been performing around Europe, US, Canada and South America with his group of Jazz Flamenco and different bands like The Secret Music Project leaded by the bassist Haggai Cohen Milo. He has collaborated with artist as John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Jamey Haddad, Keita Ogawa, Matán Chapnizka, Melissa Aldana, Voro García and many more. Residing now in the Bay Area, Alex joins Pellejo Seco as a piano player and arrange. MySpace page.