We had something to say. Whenever we played, people didn't dance, they listened.

I was born in Panama, the Republic of Panama, on July 16, 1948 in Panama City, in an area called San Felipe.

There was no television, so the radio provided you with everything.

So that when I came from Panama... my family was exiled in 1973 and they went to Miami.

So that in 1974, when I graduated as a lawyer, I figured I'm not going to be a lawyer under a military regime.

Yes, I was going to law school and it was closed in '69.

But, when I was about thirteen, I began to sort of sing in my neighborhood.