Waldo Madera was born in Queens, New York on April 12 1968. Since the age of five, he was raised in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), origin country to his family. At age 13, he began to teach himself to play drums & quickly earns a good reputation in the local music scene giving him the chance to work with most of the best jazz musicians and bands around the island at a very young age. He also becomes very solicited in the recording studios as a session drummer. Between 1987 and 1991 Waldo moved back to New York to study for his bachelor degree in Jazz & commercial music at Manhattan School of Music. While in music school, he also took private lessons with John Riley. In the jazz scene, Waldo has had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest exponents of this genre such as: Paquito D' Rivera, Rafael Cruz, Michel Camilo, Dave Valentine, Víctor Mendoza, Arturo Sandoval, David Sánchez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Giovanni Hidalgo, Sheila Escovedo, Cachao, Anthony Jackson, Irka & Tadeu, Héctor Infanzón, Roberto "Betuco" Arballo, Tony Vicioso and many more, both internationally as well as in Mexico (where he lived for 16 years). Waldo has played at many of the major & most prestigious jazz festivals around USA, Canada, Latin America and Europe. He has also worked with a long list of pop & rock artists on tour and/or recordings. Just to mention a few: Ricardo Arjona, Carlos Santana, Cristian Castro, Pandora, José Luis "El Puma" Rodríguez, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, Juan Luis Guerra, Emmanuel, Raphael, Ednita Nazario, Sasha Sokol, Laura Flores, Edith Márquez, Ely Guerra, Francisco Céspedes, Sin Badera & Ricky Martin, with whom he has worked with since 1991 until 2002. Then again in 2006 for the MTV UNPLUGGED DVD/CD & the 2007 Black & White World Tour that was also released in DVD/CD. Currently he is working with Colombian artist and 18 time Grammy Award winner JUANES. Waldo is endorsed by: Toca, Mapex, Zildjian, Pro-Mark, Remo, Telefunken & DW Pedals & Hardware.