Son Cubano Timbal

Patricio "el chino" Diaz

Timbal

Biography Patricio “El Chino” Díaz PATRICIO DÍAZ NÁPOLES Patricio was born in Camagüey City, a province of Cuba, on May the 27th, 1974. He started his elementary studies of music at the Vocational Arts School “Luisa Casa Romero”, and then he attended the Higher Institute “José White” in Camagüey. In Havana, at the age of sixteen, he was studying with Calixto Oviedo, a percussionist of bands such as “Adalberto y su Son”, and “N.G. La Banda”. Patricio also became the first timbale student of the well-known international percussionist, Songo creator, and former member of “Los Van Van” band (with whom he played for twenty years), José Luis Quintana “Changuito”. He studied with the Songo master for six years. In Cuba, Patricio Díaz played with “Conjunto Artístico”, “Percusión Sonora”, “Son del Barrio”, and “Algo Nuevo”. He traveled to Venezuela with “Algo Nuevo” band in 1993, and stayed in that country for eighteen years. His international career has allowed him to perform with outstanding bands such as Mauricio Silva, Orlando Watussi, Eric Francheski, Hildemaro, Orlando Poleo, Latin Son, Ron al Puch, Mariana, Mulenze, Lalo Rodríguez, Maelo Ruiz, Larry Harlow, Cano Estremera, Marvin Santiago, David Pavón, Guayacán, Hansel Camacho, Ángel López, Fania All Stars, La Teambanda, Cabijazz, Vielka y su Tumbao, Afrikán, Takua Iré, Luis Enrique and Habana Fantasy, among many others. In Caracas, Díaz participated as a speaker and instrumentalist in the First Meeting of Timbale Players, sponsored by Fundarte, an event which took place in the Hall “Juan Bautista Plaza” of Caracas National Library, and in July 2014, he became the featured speaker of the Mazatlán First Percussion Festival, Sinaloa, Mexico. During 2002 and 2003, Patricio Diaz was appointed Timbale professor by the Extension Coordination of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences (F.A.C.E.S.) in the Universidad Central de Venezuela. The percussionist has also appeared on countless recordings, and conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops worldwide. Díaz taught percussion at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas, and became the only musician and percussion arranger in Venezuela to teach “Pailetería”, a mix of “Paila Cubana” with drums components. He has recorded with musicians like Giovanni Hidalgo, Arturo Sandoval, Justo Betancourt, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and by 2007, he participated in the “Team VIP” project, an album produced by the trumpet player, arranger and Grammy winner, Luis “Papo” Márquez. One of his most important achievements has been to be the musical co-producer, percussion arranger and player of “Telegrafía sin Hilos”, the first compact disc, as a soloist, of the internationally acclaimed percussionist José Luis Quintana “Changuito”, 2005. This production gathered musicians like Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo, Rodner Padilla, and Rodrigo Mendoza.In 2008, Díaz produced “A todo Dar”, a compact disc of the Venezuelan singer Vielka Prieto. By that time, the musician was also teaching in the Conservatory of Music “Simón Bolívar” in Caracas, where he developed a chair of Latin percussion. In 2011, he recorded the whole percussion for “Huele a Rosas”, a compact disc of Nelson Arrieta. Since 2016, Patricio “El Chino” Díaz lives in the United States, where he plays and gives master classes, clinics, workshops, and private classes. Patricio “El Chino” Díaz is a member of the Meinl Percussion family, Meinl Cymbals, Meinl Sticks and Brush. He has an educational percussion channel on YouTube, called PercussionTV. Recently, he released his production titled “El Timbalero Llegó”, available on all digital platforms. In 2026, the German brand Meinl Percussion launches the Signature Timbales Model Patricio “El Chino” Díaz (PD1415).