Orlando Valle, better known as “Maraca,” is a talented Cuban orchestra conductor, arranger, composer, and flutist. He was born on September 5, 1966, in Havana. He was raised in a family for whom music was their reason for existence. He owed his nickname “Maraca” in his youth to his very skinny physique, complete with a buzz cut.

He began his flute studies at the Manuel Samuell Conservatory (660 F Street, Vedado, Havana) in the Cuban capital in 1977. After thirteen years of arduous study, he graduated from the Escuela Superior de Arte (1110 120 Street between 9th and 13th Streets, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana), where he began to interact with jazz. He made his professional debut with Bobby Carcasses’ orchestra, with whom he traveled to Panama. He later joined the group led by Emiliano Salvador.

In 1988, at just 21 years old, “Maraca” joined the most famous Cuban orchestra of all time, Irakere, performing as a flutist, keyboardist, composer, and arranger. For six years, in Chucho Valdés’ orchestra, he shared the stage with great artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Paquito D’Rivera, and Chick Corea, and performed in the world’s largest jazz clubs and festivals.

Maraca left Irakere in 1994, by which time he had already achieved great musical maturity and international acclaim. His first productions were salsa albums for family members, such as his brother, singer Moisés Valle, director of Yumurí y sus Hermanos. Later that same year, he produced “DC Pasaporte,” an album that received the prestigious EGREM award in the Record of the Year category. It featured figures from different generations, such as Anga, Merceditas Valdés, and Tata Güines.

Maraca is also one of the essential composers of the Cubanismo project of trumpeter Jesús Alemañy, for which he composed and recorded the famous songs “Descarga de Hoy”, “Aprovecha” (Chachachá), “Ahora me Voy” (on the first album), and “Salsa Pilón” and “Mar y Tierra” on the second.

In 1995, he decided to form his own group, which he named “Otra Visión,” a powerful coalition of prestigious musicians. He released his first album, “Fórmula Uno,” which established Orlando Valle as a new musical legend and won the EGREM National Record Award for Best Cuban Latin Jazz Album.

In 1998, on the album “Havana Flute Summit” by Canadian flautist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett, he shared the production and musical direction of the album, composing three tracks including one for his wife (also a flautist) Céline “Celine’s cha cha”. The following year, under the name Afro Cuban Jazz Project, his album of descargas (jam-sessions) was released: “Descarga Uno”, which brings together Barbarito Torres, Tata Güines and Osdalgia.

That same year, he released his album “Sonando” on the Ahí Nama Music/Warner France label, for which he won the Best Fusion Album award at the 1999 Cubadisco Awards; he also won two LUCAS awards for the best music video for the song “Sonando,” in the categories of Best Instrumental Music Video and Best New Artist. With the CD “Discarga Total,” he won the Best Fusion Album award at the 2001 Cubadisco Awards.

Orlando Valle is the creator of the “Maraca & Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters” project, comprised of fifteen musicians. Since 2001, he has presented the most renowned Latin and American soloists as “star guests” on various European and American stages, including Giovanni Hidalgo (Puerto Rico), Jimmy Bosch (USA), Tata Güines (Cuba), Changuito (Cuba), and other prominent Cuban musicians.

Maraca is the youngest Cuban artist nominated by the prestigious American National Academy of Music (NARAS) for the American Grammy Awards. He was recognized for his 2003 nomination for his album “Tremenda Rumba” in the Best Salsa Album category. This album also won him the Best Recording of the Year Award at Cubadisco 2004.

During the Monterey Jazz Festival, held in California in September 2008, Maraca presented a new project, Cuban Lullabies, for two concerts, specially commissioned by festival directors Tim Jackson and Jason Olaine. This project, also titled the “Monterey Latin Jazz All-Stars,” brings together leading American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban Latin jazz soloists, such as Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, John Benítez, Ed Simon, David Sánchez and Miguel Zenón, Murray Low, and the Monterey Jazz Festival String Orchestra.

This project offers a repertoire based on the great composers of Cuban classical music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Ignacio Cervantes, Ernesto Lecuona), as well as Cuban popular music from the late 19th century, such as the Danzón, all arranged by Maraca from a definitively modern and jazz perspective, loyal to improvisation.

On his 2008 album, “Lo que quiero es fiesta,” Maraca reinforced the album with a group of young musicians who inject the songs with strong energy and a rich sound. He especially showcases the talent of singers José Miguel Meléndez and Lester Hojas. Special guests included vocalists Ammiel Castellanos and Pedro Lugo “El Nene.” The great Cuban musician dedicated this album and the composition titled “Guaguancó” to one of the pillars of Cuban music, the master percussionist Tata Güines, who passed away earlier that year. This album was nominated in the Best Dance Music Album category at Cubadisco 2009.

Orlando Valle “Maraca” has successfully toured his groups “Maraca & Otra Visión” and “Maraca & Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters” to more than 35 countries around the world, including almost all of Europe; the United States, where he has toured extensively several times a year since 1996; and Canada, African countries, the Caribbean such as Saint Lucia and Martinique; and Latin America, including Colombia, Costa Rica, and Brazil.

The renowned flautist frequently directs new and ambitious concerts and shows, such as the show commissioned for the 120th anniversary of the Havana Club Rum, which depicts Cuba’s musical history through a big band and a dance troupe of 120 dancers assembled especially for the occasion. Also noteworthy are the concerts he gave for the audiences at the Havana Jazz Plaza Festivals in 1997 and 1998, alongside Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Giovanni Hidalgo and David Sánchez, respectively. He also performed in 2002 alongside Yoruba Andabo, where he brought together some thirty musicians, percussionists, and folkloric dancers on stage.

For a long time, “Maraca” has produced large-scale and impactful projects, whether as a composer, arranger, director, or producer. These include Afrocuban All Star: Distinto y Diferente (Different and Distinct); Caravana Cubana (Cuban Colors) by Japanese singer Nora; Treat Me as I Am; Yumurí and His Brothers: Saltwater Crocodile; Forget Me If You Can; Leyanis López: Como Una Mariposa (Like a Butterfly); Rhythm and Smoke by the Swiss group Picason: Que felicidad (What Happiness), for which he composed Cuida este amor (Take Care of This Love); Chachacha Sabrosón (Savory Chance), Que ilusión (What Inspiration); Amadito Valdés: Bajando Gervasio (Going Down Gervasio), for which he composed “Céline’s Groove”; and the recording by Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Évora: Café Atlántico (Atlantic Café).

He has received numerous awards, including a Plaque of Recognition “for his contribution to Cuban music” in 1999, Acuarela Magazine, Havana, and the Diploma of Recognition from the Mayor of New Orleans “for his contribution to Latin music” in 2000.

Orlando Valle “Maraca” is considered one of the most talented, popular, and beloved musicians in Cuban music.

Discography: Formula One (1995), Havana Calling, (1996), Sonando (1998), Afro Cuban Jazz Project: Descarga Uno (1998), Descarga Total (2000), Tremenda Rumba (2002), Best of Maraca (2003), Soy yo (2005), What I want is a party (2008).