Pura Vida
Born Mirley Espinoza in the city of Alajuela, Costa Rica, this Los Angeles-based salsa singer/bandleader (better known by his fellow's musicians and fans as "Chino El Salsero") is the new vocal talent of this town. He was raised in a home full of musical love, as his father was one of the leading percussionists in Costa Rica--a talent reflected 100% in Espinoza's younger brother César Espinoza, who is one of the leading percussionists in the Los Angeles Latin music scene, as well as the musical director of Los Dueños del Son. But it was his mother who inspired and passed on the love for singing to a young Chino. "My mother was always singing around the house," he remembers. The great ballad vocalists of Latin America and Spain, like José José and Raphael, influenced Chino's passion for singing, but it was through his father that he came to love the tropical sounds of El Gran Combo, La Sonora Matancera, Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez and Machito. By the time he and his brother César carne of age, they where both devoted to the Afro-Caribbean rhythms defined within the umbrella of salsa. In 1989, Chino arrived in Los Angeles, California, and within a year, he joined the ranks of the Opa Opa International Orchestra, an ensemble led by a fellow Costa Rican, trumpeter Oswaldo Bernard. In 1995, he recorded his first CD as lead vocalist for the band, under the Warner Brothers label. After five years with Opa Opa, he worked with several of the top musical groups in town, including the Malibu Salsa All Stars, The L.A. Jazz All Stars, and several other ensembles formed to accompany many of the top touring artists that annually carne through LA, such as Celia Cruz, Eddy Santiago, Tito Puente Jr., Tony Vega, Domingo Quiñones and Michael Stuart. For many years, he was also the lead singer of the group Son Mayor (a local favorite salsa outfit known for irs high energy and aggressive style of playing). Chino's vocals have been also featured on the recordings of Bobby Rivas, Pe