Singer and songwriter Samantha Velez grew up in Miami listening to salsa and ballads in Spanish, idolizing Latin music stars like Marc Anthony, La India, and Shakira, and speaking Spanish with her parents, who are from Colombia and Puerto Rico. But until she came to the Frost School of Music, she wrote almost all her songs in English.
That changed when Velez joined Café Con Leche, the Latin music group that’s one of the student ensembles in the Modern Artist Development and Entrepreneurship (M.A.D.E.) program. There she blossomed, developing a strong voice writing in Spanish and the confidence to pursue a career in Latin music.
“I started growing more and more,” said Velez, who graduated in May. “I did the most in this group because it pushed me to write a song and work with a band. I got the full scope of what my music could sound like and got closer to the music that I listened to growing up.”
M.A.D.E. professor Rey Sanchez, who has worked extensively in the Latin music industry, started Café Con Leche in 2020 largely to foster the many Spanish-speaking Latino singer-songwriters in M.A.D.E., which teaches the skills to become an independent artist. The group, which got a boost when it performed with famed Miami pop-salsa artist Willy Chirino in 2023, has been a boon for aspiring artists like Velez. But it also attracts students of all backgrounds who want to learn about the vast panoply of Latin music, from reggaeton to rock to salsa to a continent of folkloric genres.
“The majority of our Latin singer-songwriters were raised here in Miami and wanted more connection with their roots,” said Sanchez. “It’s all original music, but we explore styles from all kinds of areas. Latin music is so incredibly rich. We regularly have non-Hispanics in the group, American kids who want to explore the different genres and styles and expand their musicianship.”
One of them was Romeo Bongiovi, son of rock star Bon Jovi, who also graduated in May. He joined Café Con Leche because he wanted to expand his guitar and songwriting skills, work with an ensemble, and explore. “This is the Latin music capital of America; there’s so much that comes out of [Miami] that changes culture,” he said. “I thought I would be in for a new cultural experience. I made a lot of great memories and experiences, and learned so much about music. I came in here with zero Spanish, but I was welcomed with open arms.”
The 2025-26 school year was the strongest yet for Café Con Leche, with 12 members from backgrounds ranging from Puerto Rico and Spain to Chicago and California, including six singer-songwriters (Bongiovi among them) and a DJ who adds a live electronic element. They also produced the group’s first album, “Nuestro Latir” (Our Rhythm).
Two years ago, Sanchez brought in fellow faculty member Roxana Amed, a Latin GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer and composer from Argentina, to work with Café Con Leche’s singer-songwriters. Amed has focused on improving the quality of their songs and their Spanish. “We encourage them to speak in Spanish, to read more in Spanish, to find the heart in the language,” she said. “We work on the arrangements, the vocals, and the songwriting. I especially try to help female singers so they don’t have to rely on someone else to tell them what to do. You are the songwriter; you have to know your craft. I empower them.”
She said Café Con Leche has been inspiring for her Hispanic students. “They come from somewhere in Latin America, but everybody here speaks English and makes American music. Then they find Café Con Leche. I see that when they start expressing themselves in their native language, they feel stronger.”
It was Amed who encouraged Velez to join the ensemble two years ago. “I always felt like I could express myself in Spanish because of my roots and the music my parents would always play for me,” she said. “I still feel like there aren’t a ton of people who look like me for me to look up to. I want my music to be heard and inspire other people.”
Café Con Leche’s end-of-the-year concert in April, part of the M.A.D.E. program’s annual CAM Fest, showcased the ensemble’s exuberant, close-knit spirit and its cooperative ethos, with students filling multiple roles. Named “Bailar Toda la Noche” (Dance All Night), it featured guest soloists Annabella Paolucci on violin and Rodrigo Rodriguez on flute, as well as four horn players. Bassist Christian Gallucci was in charge of arrangements and musical direction, while teaching assistant Maria Paula Mariño handled engineering and production and co-wrote several songs.
“We are offering these students a place to belong,” Amed said to welcome an enthusiastic audience that filled the Thomas D. Hormel Music Innovation Stage with friends and family. “This is a community.”
The music ranged impressively through moods and styles, kicking off with the dynamic “Nuestro latir” (Our Rhythm). The singers took turns leading while backing each other up beautifully. Velez shone on “Echame la culpa” (It’s My Fault), a poignant bachata ballad she wrote with Paolucci. Spaniard Laura de Arcos took the lead on a throaty flamenco-style song during an acoustic set, where drummer Mateo Gaviria showed his range playing cajon (a box drum) and Gallucci on stand-up bass. Singer Julia Grace noted that she was American but learned Spanish while living in Venezuela. “Fortunately, I’m bilingual,” she said.
They paid moving tribute to how far they’d come in “Parte de ti” (Part of you), by Velez, Paola Prato, and Mariño, which Velez called a song from their childhood selves as they prepared to graduate and head into the world. “Give me some love,” they sang. “Keep moving ahead.”
