A huge talent lost much too early, Angá was an ace Cuban percussionist who employed an army of congas, as well as timbales and other percussion instruments. A lifelong follower of Santería, he was born in Pinar del Rió, Cuba, to a musical family. He played professionally with jazz group Opus 13 while studying college before joining the greatest Cuban group of all time, Irakere, in 1987.
He's worked with Buena Vista Social Club (and member projects), hiphop group Orishas, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Afro-Cuban legend Tata Güines, progressive jazz pianist Omar Sosa, Malian jeli musician Baba Sissoko, avant-jazz/M-Base saxophonist Steve Coleman and that GREAT funky Cuban jazz-fusion album by Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez. Angá's own album, Echu Mingua, also brought a similar funky/modernist spirit to the game, including Cachaito on this album (in my opinion, these two albums are a pair) and they covered a lot of musical ground, even releasing a 12" of "A Love Supreme".
He died, unexpetedly, of a heart attack in Spain. At the time, he was working on material fusing Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music. His twin daughters are the new world music sensations Ibeyi.