"I was born in the port of Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico on March 12, 1973. I come from a large, humble family composed of ranchers and fishermen. I went to elementary school and studied through high school. While I was in high school, I had an intense love toward music. The music department in my school did not have sufficient instruments and necessary materials to study music properly (like all government schools) and my family did not have money to buy me a guitar. I had to resign to the fact that music would not be a part of me. Seven years later, I started to hang around friends that I never used to previously and I saw they were great musicians. I started to look at this opportunity like no other, and I learned to play the guitar. In 1994, I had composed my first songs. It was very common that during our get-togethers that we would sing the same melodies, and as the stubborn one that I am, I said," Why don't we sing something different and original." From that point on, I dedicated my new talent towards writing when I could. It wasn't sufficient enough, but from there I went to the Cultural Assembly in Alvarado and I learned things that I will never forget, the most important being Latin American Folklore."........

To read more about Ismael and hear his music, click here.

The exact date of this concert is not known, but it occurred in the marked year around this time.