Rafael Reyes

About

Rafael spent most of his formative years spent exploring popular forms of music, which eventually led him to learning piano and guitar at a young age, forming bands and performing, at age 14.

When he immigrated to Canada in the late 90s, he found a thriving and highly regarded music scene in Winnipeg, where he now resides.

As a young musician, he performed in various musical outfits ranging from traditional Andean music to rock and punk, including reggae and tropical Latin combos, all of which have made him a well-rounded musician, well versed in many genres of music. These experiences have also made him quite adept at many instruments, including many stringed, percussive, and wind instruments.

In 2009, Rafael joined The Mariachi Ghost in its very early stages of development, helping to establish a sound and a more cohesive musical direction alongside his band mates, touring extensively across Canada, parts of the US and Europe. The band has been an acclaimed act across many festivals around the world and it has been awarded two (2013, 2020) Western Canadian Music Awards in the Category of Best World Music Album and one (2020) for Visual Media Composer Of The Year (Octavio is Dead)

Although Rafael tends to bring the heavy and progressive rock aspect to The Mariachi Ghost, his love and knowledge of many other genres of music have allowed him to contribute to various other recordings and live acts as Guitar/Bass player, pedal steel guitar player and other instruments, as well as continuing to write music for bands and soundtracks and scoring for film and theatre.

He is currently performing with El Leon and the Strangers as we as James Culleton's Superfun, among other smaller outfits.