Formed by Colombian female singer Martha Acosta and bass guitarist/MD Don Fiora in 2001 Manteca has been at the cutting edge of the UK Latin scene ever since.

 

Manteca has become well known for creating an exciting party mood at numerous festivals and gigs  including the Coin St. Festival London, Rhythms of the City Festival in Leeds, The Ecorhythms Festival and many more.  Martha's love for Latin music is simply in her genes – she’s the daughter of a musician and fun loving “Barranquillero” and she was dancing and singing ‘musica tropical’ as a young child. More recently, she not only formed the all-female Latin outfit 'Candela', but also sang lead vocals for bands such as 'Roberto Pla's Latin Ensemble'.

 

Manteca's personnel are all luminaries on the UK Latin scene. The rhythm section comprises powerful drummer Vancho Manoilovich , Satin Singh on congas, and Dave Oliver on piano . In the brass section, Manteca has three top names: trumpeters Paul Jayasinha and Simon Finch , on saxes Ben Somers and Robin Harris on Trombone.