Wilson "Chembo" Corniel & Grupo Chaworó

Percussionist Wilson "Chembo" Corniel, Jr. was born in Manhattan on November 22, 1953. The child of Puerto Rican parents, Corniel grew up on the streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn. He showed an early interest in percussion instruments, and was playing congas, bongo, and bata by the age of 12, and he studied with percussionists Tommy Lopez, Sr., "Little Ray" Romero, Louie Bauza, and Cachete Maldonado. Corniel later perfected his playing skills at the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts in New York and at the La Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, Cuba, in 1997 and 1999. He d...