BIO

Damián Alvarez Castro was born in Cuba in 1991. Growing up in one of the most musical countries in the world, his passion for rhythm developed at a very early age and was always fueled by his environment.

In middle school and high school, Damián went to the Escuela Nacional De Arte in Havana, where he then obtained a Bachelors degree in Arts and Classical Music in Percussion And Ensemble. After graduating he worked in groups like Aceituna sin Huezo, Javier 0es3, Yoyo Ibarra, Evolución and more, playing instruments such as the cajon flamenco, congas, bongos, drums, djembe, timbales and darbuka.

After his 26th birthday (2017), love brought Damián to Belgium. The country opened its doors for him from the beginning, helping him to integrate quickly. In Belgium, he studied Dutch at Linguapolis (University of Antwerp) in addition to a Masters Degree in Jazz Drums & Percussion and a Master in Music Education (Pedagogy) at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. He has worked with musical groups like Organized Happiness, RHG Music, Díaz Lorente y más, Marie Daulne, Groove da Gente, Dúo Habana, CuJazz Ensemble, Samuel Cooremans trio and in the theater play Pannonica. In Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands he has played in places like Cubalandz Festival in the Bozar Brussels, Bourla Antwerp, DeSingel, Kwaku Festival, Dias Latinos and more.

Hand in hand with his musical career, Damián has developed a love for video and film/audio editing. The process of making a video, from creating a concept out of an idea, to the filming and then editing, is something that can make time stop for him. Working mainly in DaVinci Resolve, he is skilled at scripting, audio leveling, editing, color grading and creating simple animations.

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