Considered a "musician's musician" by the late Charlie Palmieri and also by the late Tito Puente, Louis is and will always be, one of the greatest, versatile musicians of our times. His passion for music began at a young age, around the time he was given his first instrument, a violin. Soon after, his mother hired a piano teacher and encouraged him to learn, which he is eternally grateful for. His teen years on the streets of South Bronx were spent "harmonizing with the doo wop boys" and learning to plays the bongos. He began to learn other musical instruments while studying under the G.I. Bill of Rights as a wartime veteran during the Korean Conflict. He was honorably discharged after serving from 1954 to 1956. He later studied at the Hartnett Music Studios where he learned the Schillinger system for arranging and composing. He also studied music at Manhattan College in NYC. He enjoyed playing several musical instruments including the piano, flute, bass, vibraphones, all the percussions, and he learned to play ukelele while in the US Army stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. When he was twenty years old he was introduced to Tony Rios by Michael Nunez where he was hired to play the bongos. On one evening, the lead singer got sick and Louis was asked to sing in his place. After his performance, he was asked to continue singing for the Tony Rios Orchestra for a period of three years. After leaving the Tony Rios Orchestra he continued playing the flute and singing with the Joe Quijano Orchestra for two years. Upon leaving the Joe Quijano Orchestra, Mr. Barcelo put his talents to use by forming his own orchestra, the well-known and successful band called "Orchestra La Sensacional". With his very own band he played as a latin jazz musician at all the famous latin clubs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He was a prominent figure in the salsa community. He introduced the famous Tito Puente to his wife, Marjory, and she later became the president of the Louie Barcelo Fan Club. Some years later he moved to Miami, Florida where he began to play with the groups "Sabor Tropical" and a smaller group called called "Cache". His singing style of music ranges from salsa, mambo, merengue, cumbia, boleros, standards and ballads. After moving to Las Vegas, NV in 2002, Louis started singing with a twenty two piece orchestra with the famous Benny Bennet, an arranger/composer graduate of the Conservatory of France. With them, he added bossa nova and semi-classical jazz ballads to his list. His love of music changed his life. But it changed ours too. You can request a copy of his music by writing us here. It includes classic standards and songs from his latin orchestra.