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Born and raised in Venezuela, Maria Fernanda Acuña specializes in a variety of drums and Latin American percussion intruments such as the Peruvian Cajon, Afro-Venezuelan hand drums and Maracas. For her work with Quijeremá she has developed a unique drumset incorporating folk instruments from around the world combined with traditional cymbals, snare and kick drum. She also is an accomplished Cuatro player.
Acuña began her musical training on piano as a child, and as a teenager, trained on trapset with noted Venezuelan percussionist Jose Matos. She studied composition and arranging in Caracas with Maria Eugenia Vera, and percussion with Itabora Ferreira (Brazil), Alexander Livinali (Venezuela), and Alex Acuña (Peru), as well as studying at the Jazz School in Berkeley, California. Acuña has worked with a variety of artists including Alex de Grassi, Rafael Manriquez, Jackeline Rago and The Venezuelan Music Project.
Acuña has a degree in Latin American literature at Mills College, with an emphasis on the historic and cultural development of Venezuelan music as it relates to the African diaspora. She also teaches music to children at “Playsongs” in San Francisco. |
