Cuban music, shaped by a dancer.
Guajirón is a San Francisco orchestra led by tres player, composer, arranger, and dancer Michael Terkowski. Years of Cuban dance shape every arrangement: how rhythms connect, phrases leave space, energy builds, and music invites people to move.
The repertoire brings Cuban son, bolero, guaracha, and tropical jazz together with original compositions—music with rhythmic drive, expressive melodies, and detail for dancers and attentive listeners alike.
As Guajirón’s musical and artistic director, Michael writes its original songs and creates the arrangements and rhythms for every instrument. Each musician brings an individual voice to the whole, developing Guajirón’s sound together onstage.
A life shaped by dance
Michael’s relationship with Cuban music began in 1998 with the Buena Vista Social Club album, sparking years of exploration, travel, and friendship. In 2001, he began playing with Los Cruzin Coyotes, a Rock en Español band based in San Francisco’s Mission District, and studying jazz guitar in San Francisco State University’s music program.
He began dance training with RicaSalsa in 2003 and studying casino and son with Ryan and Sidney at San Francisco’s ODC in 2007. His broader training includes Afro-Cuban and Afro-Haitian traditions, ballet, contemporary dance, hip-hop, and Lindy Hop with Frankie Manning.
By 2014, he was dancing casino five or six nights a week and performed with fellow dancers at Holguín’s annual dance competition. Since 2015, he has studied son, casino, and danzón with Santiago All Stars director Jorge Luna.
Michael represented Cuba with the Santiago All Stars at New Orleans Mardi Gras in 2017. In 2018, he co-organized Carnaval San Francisco’s Cuban contingent under choreographer Temistocles Fuentes.
Learning through people
Michael’s musical studies include conga with Louie Romero and direct work with musicians in Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. In 2015, while in Santiago, he encountered the tres cubano and spent time with Familia Valera Miranda, Estudiantina Invasora, Sones del Oriente, and Tambores Enrique Bonne.
Since 2015, Michael’s relationship with Changüí Guantánamo has deepened through changüí study, hands-on musical exploration, friendship, and performance. That connection later brought Grammy-nominated changüí singer José Andrés to perform with Guajirón.
His friendship with La Chacona, a celebrated changüí dancer in Guantánamo, is captured in “La Chacona pide un consuelo,” a song widely known locally. Michael also appeared in the documentary Peña Changüisera “Distinia del Río”.
Teachers and collaborators
Michael gratefully acknowledges these teachers and collaborators:
- Louie RomeroFania All Stars, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón
- Jorge Luna RoqueSantiago All Stars
- Geovanni RodriguezFamilia Valera Miranda and Estudiantina Invasora
- Prof. Osmar AsinEscuela de Bellas Artes, Guantánamo; Ariel y su Mezclan
- José Andrés Rodriguez, Carmelo, and PiroloChangüí Guantánamo
- Vladimir SolorzanoTambores Enrique Bonne
- Ernesto ValeraLa Familia Valera Miranda
- Yuri Rivera CamachoSones del Oriente
Their generosity, knowledge, and everyday music-making remain part of Guajirón’s foundation.
Bringing the music home
Founded in 2023, Guajirón has given more than 160 performances across Bay Area clubs, cultural venues, festivals, neighborhood celebrations, and dance nights, including La Peña Cultural Center, Ashkenaz, Valencia LIVE, and San Francisco’s neighborhood stages.