Portraits In Color

At age 9, Marc Quiñones was introduced by a family friend to salsa legend Tito Puente. Along with long-time collaborator Bobby Allende, Marc was seen as somewhat of a child prodigy in New York salsa circles. Quiñones comes from an impressive lineage of musicians, including father Tony, late uncle Rafael, and younger brother Camilo. The musical roots run deep. Quiñones and Allende would go on to play several high-profile dates with Puente, including Carnegie Hall before they were even old enough to drive. You might ask, where does one go from there, when you have had the proverbial "mic drop" opportunity of a lifetime to play with a music icon.While playing with contemporary jazz group Spyro Gyra, Quiñones would have a chance meeting that would change his career trajectory for decades to come. It turns out that Butch Trucks, the legendary drummer of the Allman Brothers Band was a big Spyro Gyra fan. While attending a Spyro Gyra show, Trucks was intrigued by Quiñones' playing and went backstage t