The journey from Havana, Cuba to Fredericksburg is about 930 miles. If you take a detour to Brighton, England it is more like 8400 miles.  That is the route that led Alberto Limonta Perez (or Limon)to town.  Alberto Limonta Perez, aka "Limon", is a musician and dancer who shares his Afro-Cuban culture through his band: The Afro Funk All Stars, and as a teacher of Cuban percussion and dance. With his wife, Inez Limonta Regi, he lives in their home on Lafayette Boulevard that serves as a rehearsal space and dance studio.  

Limon was born in Cuba and learned how to play the traditional Bata drums by listening to local musicians. “Almost 90 percent of my neighborhood were musicians, mostly percussionists”, he said. “I started as a dancer, but the percussionists would practice every day and I would sit down and listen to them. One day one of the musicians wasn’t there so I asked if I could play with them. At first they said no, because I was only a dancer; but then they gave me a chance. After hearing me play the bata drums, they asked where I learned. I told them I just listened to them every day”.  Limon learned quickly and soon was performing with folkloric groups.  Later he added conga drums to his percussion skills.  “I learned by ear. I never had a teacher.  Then I went to a music school. There I learned percussion and solfeo(music scales etc). My last group was one of the most famous folkloric groups in Cuba.”  That group was the legendary Clave Y Guaguancó, who are the most famous fusion rumba folkloric group in Havana.

It was in Havana that Limon met his wife Inez who is a native of England. When her father passed away they moved across the Atlantic to the coastal city Brighton to look after her mother.  In England Limon founded several groups, adding his latin percussion to local jazz musicians who had previously never played his style.  “Some of those musicians went on to become well known latin musicians in the UK” said Inez.

Seven years later, Limon and Inez moved to Fredericksburg to be near Inez’s daughter and grandson who live in the area.  His current group, The Afro Funk All Stars grew out of his earlier group, Sabor Afrocubano.  “The first band had five musicians, then we started again with just three. My main thing is Latin jazz but I like to play music from around the world.  It’s like travelling to Cuba, Brazil, Africa and America. I’m very open with my music.  The guys in the band follow me, and I’m also learning from them” said Limon. “The musicians here know funk and R&B etc. I know there are so many people who like to hear something different. so for a change I play African rhythms, Brazilian rhythms. I even play two Beatles songs, Hey Jude and Girl in my style.  I want to do some salsa with swing. When my mind is happy, music comes.”  The other members of the Afro Funk All Stars are Nic Sam on keyboards and bass; Tom Beaulieu on guitar and Percy Burt on bass.

Limon teaches his bandmates his songs by ear. “When I compose I don’t write music, the music comes from the heart.  I tell them after I give them the melody, they are free to do whatever they want. The only thing is you have to follow the melody. For example I will sing the bass line with syncopation then they learn it. And I sing the piano and guitar parts, then they follow. Then everything comes together, and when they get comfy then they add their own flavor and it’s tasty.”

I asked Limon about the African roots of his music. “I was born in Cuba, but we have the traditions from Africa.  When Spain conquered Cuba, they brought Africans from the Congo, Nigeria and Senegal.  We saved this kind of culture in Cuba, the ancestral music, ceremonies and religions. So now we incorporate all these things in our modern music. We created latin jazz with all this from years ago. I practice this

kind of religion.  My family is  descended from Congo and Nigeria. Everything goes together, music, language, dance and food. I still love it.”

Limon performs regularly in the DC and Richmond area where there is a larger demand for latin music. “I’d like to do more here” he said. “I travel to DC a lot. I want to show people here what I’ve got, we teach salsa dancing. I want to share my percussion, teach percussion here.”   Limon and Inez have a regular Sunday Cuban salsa dancing class in their home and Limon is teaching a few private percussion lessons. He would like to perform more local shows with the Afro Funk Allstars.  They have received a warm reception from crowds at Market Square and Hurcamp park, showing that good music has no national or cultural boundaries. As Limon said, “When I see people dancing I know my music is not boring; my music is right.”

The journey from Havana, Cuba to Fredericksburg is about 930 miles. If you take a detour to Brighton, England it is more like 8400 miles.  That is the route that led Alberto Limonta Perez (or Limon)to town.  Alberto Limonta Perez, aka "Limon", is a musician and dancer who shares his Afro-Cuban culture through his band: The Afro Funk All Stars, and as a teacher of Cuban percussion and dance. With his wife, Inez Limonta Regi, he lives in their home on Lafayette Boulevard that serves as a rehearsal space and dance studio.  

Limon was born in Cuba and learned how to play the traditional Bata drums by listening to local musicians. “Almost 90 percent of my neighborhood were musicians, mostly percussionists”, he said. “I started as a dancer, but the percussionists would practice every day and I would sit down and listen to them. One day one of the musicians wasn’t there so I asked if I could play with them. At first they said no, because I was only a dancer; but then they gave me a chance. After hearing me play the bata drums, they asked where I learned. I told them I just listened to them every day”.  Limon learned quickly and soon was performing with folkloric groups.  Later he added conga drums to his percussion skills.  “I learned by ear. I never had a teacher.  Then I went to a music school. There I learned percussion and solfeo(music scales etc). My last group was one of the most famous folkloric groups in Cuba.”  That group was the legendary Clave Y Guaguancó, who are the most famous fusion rumba folkloric group in Havana.

It was in Havana that Limon met his wife Inez who is a native of England. When her father passed away they moved across the Atlantic to the coastal city Brighton to look after her mother.  In England Limon founded several groups, adding his latin percussion to local jazz musicians who had previously never played his style.  “Some of those musicians went on to become well known latin musicians in the UK” said Inez.

Seven years later, Limon and Inez moved to Fredericksburg to be near Inez’s daughter and grandson who live in the area.  His current group, The Afro Funk All Stars grew out of his earlier group, Sabor Afrocubano.  “The first band had five musicians, then we started again with just three. My main thing is Latin jazz but I like to play music from around the world.  It’s like travelling to Cuba, Brazil, Africa and America. I’m very open with my music.  The guys in the band follow me, and I’m also learning from them” said Limon. “The musicians here know funk and R&B etc. I know there are so many people who like to hear something different. so for a change I play African rhythms, Brazilian rhythms. I even play two Beatles songs, Hey Jude and Girl in my style.  I want to do some salsa with swing. When my mind is happy, music comes.”  The other members of the Afro Funk All Stars are Nic Sam on keyboards and bass; Tom Beaulieu on guitar and Percy Burt on bass.

Limon teaches his bandmates his songs by ear. “When I compose I don’t write music, the music comes from the heart.  I tell them after I give them the melody, they are free to do whatever they want. The only thing is you have to follow the melody. For example I will sing the bass line with syncopation then they learn it. And I sing the piano and guitar parts, then they follow. Then everything comes together, and when they get comfy then they add their own flavor and it’s tasty.”

I asked Limon about the African roots of his music. “I was born in Cuba, but we have the traditions from Africa.  When Spain conquered Cuba, they brought Africans from the Congo, Nigeria and Senegal.  We saved this kind of culture in Cuba, the ancestral music, ceremonies and religions. So now we incorporate all these things in our modern music. We created latin jazz with all this from years ago. I practice this

kind of religion.  My family is  descended from Congo and Nigeria. Everything goes together, music, language, dance and food. I still love it.”

Limon performs regularly in the DC and Richmond area where there is a larger demand for latin music. “I’d like to do more here” he said. “I travel to DC a lot. I want to show people here what I’ve got, we teach salsa dancing. I want to share my percussion, teach percussion here.”   Limon and Inez have a regular Sunday Cuban salsa dancing class in their home and Limon is teaching a few private percussion lessons. He would like to perform more local shows with the Afro Funk Allstars.  They have received a warm reception from crowds at Market Square and Hurcamp park, showing that good music has no national or cultural boundaries. As Limon said, “When I see people dancing I know my music is not boring; my music is right.”

Bios



ALBERTO LIMONTA "LIMON" PEREZ (percussion,congas,bata and vocals):
Creator of Afro Funk All Stars (Sabor Afrocubano(2011-2012) and Limon y Sentimiento Latino UK 2004-2010) features the world-renowned conga-playing of Alberto Limonta Perez aka "Limon", born in Havana, Cuba on September 21, 1966. Limon has spent his musical career of 30 years performing as a folkloric and popular dancer as well as vocalist and percussionist. His areas of expertise are the percussion and dance styles of rumba, Afro-Cuban folkloric tradition and the popular styles of salsa. Highly regarded in Cuba, he was a percussionist, chorus and solo vocalist with the legendary Havana rumba group Clave y Guaguanco. He is also an experienced music director, composer and choreographer. Limon and his wife, Inez, moved from Cuba to the U.K in 2004-2010 where Limon created his Latin Jazz groups "Limon y Sentimiento Latino" and "Cubaneando". Then they moved permanently to Fredericksburg, VA in November 2010 where he now teaches workshops in Afro-Cuban percussion and rhythm for adults and children as well as all Latin dances. Limon also performs originally choreographed dance performances for private functions and DJ's. His dream is to create authentic Cuban rumba here in the United States.

NIC SAM (keys and bass) is a multi-talented musician who has performed jazz, funk, Motown, gospel, and Latin jazz since the age of 17 in his family-managed jazz band, The Network. He plays keys and bass and probably has some other hidden instrumental talents that we've yet to discover! He is currently studying to become an audio engineer, and uses Afro Funk All Stars & former group Sabor Afrocubano as his guinea pig in creating and engineering audio files of soon-to-be released CDs to be sold on this Web site. 

TOM BEAULIEU (guitar) is an accomplished guitarist, having studied and played the guitar for over fifteen years. He has performed in the Fredericksburg, VA area since 2005, covering a wide variety of musical genres: he first performed as an acoustic solo act, singing and playing contemporary American folk music which led way to playing acoustic gypsy-Americana swing style music with Stern Burling and the Burl Tones to the horn-driven funk rock sounds of Junk Science, then Hobo Scarecrow where he backed songwriter Brett Milstead on electric guitar. Tom is also currently a member of Ryan Meyer and Friends, a Central New York based recording studio band held together by the songwriting duo of Ryan Meyer and Sean Muldoon. They are set to release their full length debut CD by 2012. Along with playing guitar, Tom is a well-respected guitar instructor at Pickers Supply in Fredericksburg, VA since 2004. Bottom line? Tom is a dedicated guitar player and musician and at the heart of his musical passion is his deep love for improvisational music and American blues.  He always strives to become a better musician, so stay tuned for some inspirational Latin vibrations from his guitar playing!

PERCY BURT (Bass,vocals)
From New York City and the Bronx, Percy is an accomplished Bassist with over 30yrs. experience playing with bands "Sprirtual Jazz", "Third Stream Giants", "Soul 360"  and now is our newest member with Afro Funk All Stars.
His powerful rhythmic bass syle adds a new dimension as well as his wonderful personality to the Afro Funk Family.
Presently he lives in Fredericksburg, Va.



INEZ LIMONTA REGI  
(manager, videographer, photographer, promotions, and bookings) is at the heart of the Afro Funk All Stars/Sabor Afrocubano family with her good organization, people skills, and computer expertise (she designed her husband's web site at www.limon-afrocuba.com).  A big part of her life involved traveling the world which includes over 10 years visiting Cuba and studying Cuban music, dance and the culture. While in Havana, Cuba, she was the Director of the rumba group, Tuku Mambila. Traversing the world from Cuba to the UK in 2004, she was the Band Manager of Limon y Sentimiento Latino Latin Jazz Group in Brighton UK and the Co-Director of Lucero Mundo, Alberto Limonta Perez’ music and dance workshops.  Now in the U.S. since 2010, "Miss EYE-nez” (as we fondly refer to her here in the U.S.) is our favorite lady who helps keep us on track!



















 


As the music grows and evolves so do the musicians and band members, new directions evolve and new band formations happen. So our first beloved U.S. band Sabor Afrocubano has now become Afro Funk All Stars still with the same original compositions by Limon but now with also many new ones. Always danceable and enjoyable for both Latin dancers and jazz lovers.


Afro Funk All Stars at UMW

AFRO FUNK ALL STARS