Bobi Cespedes

Bobi Céspedes possesses one of the most powerful, poised, and elegant voices in the world. The Cuban-born singer, percussionist, and Yoruba-Lucumi priestess carries on a centuries-old tradition of Afro-Cuban singing and drumming.

Bobi Céspedes combines that ancient, elemental sound inflected with contemporary dance grooves. Her deep, rich voice — one of the most distinctive on the international stage — and her ear for contemporary Latin, jazz, and dance music, combine to make Rezos a new record with an old soul.

Bobi's work with Mickey Hart's Planet Drum and Bembé Orisha bands has brought her to wider attention in recent years, but Bobi's musical roots run far deeper.

Gladys "Bobi" Céspedes was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States in 1959. In 1967, she was initiated as a Yoruba-Lucumi priestess. She now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she maintains a rigorous schedule of concerts, religious rituals, and travels lecturing at the university level.

In the 1980s, she co-founded the 12-piece Conjunto Céspedes, which combined the traditional poetry and nuances of Cuban music with modern horn arrangements and has since become one of this country's most groundbreaking and contemporary Latin bands. —Courtesy Calabash Music