Alfredo Manuel De La Fé (born February 6, 1954)[1] is a Cuban-born and New York–based violinist who lived in Colombia for more than 16 years and is responsible for adapting the violin to Colombian traditional dance music creating innovative Salsa and Latin American music.
The first solo violinist to perform with a Salsa orchestra, De La Fé has toured the world more than thirty times, appearing in concert and participating in over 100 albums by top Latin artists, including Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, José Alberto "El Canario", Cheo Feliciano, The Fania All-Stars, Santana[2] and Larry Harlow.
A child prodigy, Alfredo's father who was a singer (a tenor of opera) in Havana, Cuba and sang on Cuban radio with Bienvenido León and Celia Cruz in the 1940s recognized his son's skills and encouraged his musical talent.
[3] De La Fé launched his professional career, at the age of 12, when he switched from classical music to salsa and accepted an invitation to join charanga musician José Fajardo's orchestra in 1966.
[4] In 1980, De La Fé signed with Sars All Stars, and produced thirty-two albums for the Latin record label.
In 1981, De La Fé became musical director of Tito Puente's Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble.