- Mambo Street Guest Artist - congas & percussion -

Carlos "Cookie" Gonzalez

No longer performing actively with Mambo Street, the percussive and artistic excellence of Carlos "Cookie" Gonzalez is undeniable, and he will continue to sneak in a special guest appearance from time to time. Nicknamed "Cookie" as a baby by an older sister in reference to the character "Cookie" in the '60's TV show, "77 Sunset Strip" Carlos grew up in the Mission District and played drums while still in grade school. It was in the early '70's where he became interested in conga drums realizing that, "Man, conga players get chicks!" It was also during this period when the Latin rock scene was in full swing with bands like Santana, Malo, Azteca, Sapo, etc. that inspired Cookie to further develop his playing.

Cookie took a keen interest in Latin jazz such as Cal Tjader featuring Mongo Santamaria as well as salsa legends Ray Barreto, Eddie Palmieri, and Willie Colon. By age 15, Cookie began attending workshops at Precita Center led by Jose Flores, John Santos, and Raul Rekow. From there, John Santos and Raul Rekow taught a percussion class at Mission High School where Cookie was attending and it was there that he got a formal education of drumming (congas, bongos, timbales, and hand percussion) and music in general.

It was while attending SFSU that Cookie became more involved in the Chicano/Raza movement that led to community activism. he became a respected muralist and his work can still be seen in an around the Mission. In fact, Cookie designed the Mambo Street logo. "Music is part of life," says Cookie. "There is music in everything. Some forms of music are inspired by other types and it is all intermingled."

"I love playing with Mambo Street! Because we play the music that we grew up with and we don't take ourselves too seriously. We have fun while taking care of business."

Spoken like a true musician.