JOHN MADERA, CONGA EXTRAORDINAIRE, WILL BE A PANELIST AT UMCLV

John Madera a.k.a. Johnny, was born March 19, 1956 in Brooklyn, NY. He came from a very large family and was the youngest of ten children. He became interested in the congas at the age of eight. His father bought his first congas. His inspiration came from listening to bands like Eddie Palmeri, Ray Barreto, Willie Colon, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Ismael Miranda. His was to play with one of these bands one day.

He started playing at Miller Park in East New York when he was eight. Every Saturday he would take his congas and go to the park to jam with other musicians. He would be at the park for hours playing. At the age of thirteen, he got in trouble with the law and was put in a juvenile delinquent home for a month due to him moving with his parents to Puerto Rico. He lived in Puerto Rico until the age of twenty-one. While in P.R., he accepted the Lord as his Savior. He states He turned his life around.
He started playing more percussion instruments at the church where he became Saved. Some of the percussion instruments were the tinpani, minor percussion, drums, timbales, bongos, jumbay, etc.

Eight years later, he moved back to New York. He continued playing gospel music at the church he started to attend and became disciplined. When he was twenty-five, he started to play with the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. He played with them for nineteen years and traveled to thirty-two states and twelve countries. He, also, performed at Radio City Music Hall, The Forum, Paramount Theater, and Madison Square Garden.

He is credited with playing with one of the best Gospel Choirs in New York City.

Currently, he has a fourteen piece Latin Gospel orchestra named La Nueva Cosecha, which in english, is translated to The New Harvest.