Marcos Santana

"For me, teaching music is to share my knowledge and transform the lives of those who want to learn. I have taught in Brazil, UK, Switzerland and Austria and, wherever I am, it is the enthusiasm of my students that makes teaching one of the most rewarding experiences."

Marcos Santana was born in July 27 of 1977 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He developed his taste for the arts and Black Culture, influenced by his family through arts, mainly music. He started learning percussion from the streets of Salvador from the age of 8 years old and progressed quickly, performing in his first professional show, Samba Livre when he was just 12. From 1995 to 1998 he played and learned with Pracatum and from 1998 to 2003 with Timbalada, both from Salvador.

His love for samba-style traditional music of Bahia continued and throughout his teens and twenties, he performed and toured Brazil with different groups of international acclaim – Olodum, Ilê and Timbalada, which is where he met his mentor and teacher Carlinhos Brown. Carlinhos ignited his passion for the timbal and with his revolutionary rhythms and style, trained Marcos for four years in the art of timbal and subsequently, this has become Marcos’ instrument of choice.

With a middle level technical foundation in computers and afterwards a two years course in Administration and Analysis of Systems at the University Visconde of Cairu, Marcos decided definitely to follow his path as an artist and started creating his own groups and projects.