Ricardo Lemvo

Lemvo hails from São Salvador Do Congo (M'Banza-Kongo), Zaire in Northern Angola. He grew up in Congo-Kinshasa where he was introduced to Cuban music by a cousin who owned a large collection of vintage Cuban LPs. Lemvo came to the US more than 30 years ago to pursue a law degree but ended up devoting his life to music.

With his band Makina Loca, the Los Angeles-based singer produces an appealing blend of African and Cuban music that has earned him a worldwide following. Lemvo's early recordings drew mainly from Congolese rumba and soukous mixed with Cuban son and salsa. His 1998 hit "Mambo Yo Yo," which appeared on the first of two albums he released on Putumayo, can be heard to this day pouring out of taxicabs and on salsa club dance floors in Cartagena, New York, Tokyo, Paris and beyond.

While Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca made their name with a blend of Cuban and Congolese music, Lemvo eventually decided to explore the Angolan styles and languages he also heard while growing up in the Congo. He began singing in Portuguese and indigenous Angolan languages, and adding Angolan rhythms such as semba and kizomba to his mix.

Through the years, Lemvo has performed countless shows in many festivals, night clubs, and Performing Art Centers throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australia. Giving him the ultimate form of respect, his songs have been performed and recorded by such artists as Colombia's Joe Arroyo, Orquesta Revé from Cuba, and the Russian band Tres Muchachos.

Lemvo's seven CDs, Tata Masamba, Mambo Yo Yo*, São Salvador*, Ay Valeria!, Isabela Retrospectiva and Rumba SoYo have been enthusiastically acclaimed by both print and broadcast media worldwide.

Lemvo has been the subject of various radio and television programs including BBC Radio, Radio France Internationale, Radio-Télévision Belge, National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, NBC Today Show, CNN World Beat, National Geographic World Music, Rádio Nacional de Angola, and Televisão Pública de Angola.

In film, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca appeared in the 1998 movie Dance with Me, starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.