Antonio Guillermo "Tony" Succar (born 18 May 1986),Wall Street International Magazine, 11 July 2012

retrieved 1 June 2013. is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

percussionist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and producer.

Early life

Succar was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, Peru. When he was two years old his family emigrated to the United States and settled in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Among his relatives were a number of musicians who encouraged Succar to develop his own musical interests. The family's musical tradition began with his paternal great-grandparents, Mexican composer Lauro D. Uranga and Spanish

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura a ...

dancer Adelina Esteve Gregory. Succar's father Antonio F. Succar is a Peruvian pianist and his mother Mimy Succar Tayrako Sakaguchi is a Peruvian-American singer of Japanese descent. FIU Magazine, Winter 2012–2013
The King of Pop gets a little 'aSuccar'
retrieved 1 June 2013. Since he was 3 years old Tony started playing the Peruvian cajón. When Succar was 13, he began playing drums with his parents' band when they performed at weddings and other private and corporate functions, mainly in Miami.

Education

Succar attended

Miami Sunset Senior High School Miami Sunset Senior High School is a secondary school of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. The principal is John C. Lux. It is located in the Kendale Lakes census-designated place in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. - Compare thi ...

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

. At the time his ambition was to be a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player,WLRN Miami
Tony Succar Mixes Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson
retrieved 4 June 2013. and he played in several teams, including his high school team when it won the 2004 state championships. Later he tried to earn a soccer scholarship at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

. Unable to obtain a scholarship, he asked his father for study advice. The advice he got was to apply for FIU's School of Music. Seeking an interview with the school's drum instructor he ended up auditioning for the Latin Jazz ensemble and was quickly accepted. Succar gained a Bachelor of Arts in

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Performance in 2008 and went on to study for a master's degree, which he gained in 2010.

Musical career

Succar already had an active musical career while still an undergraduate student. As a college junior he took over as musical director of the family band, which he rebranded as Mixtura. On 21 September 2010, Succar released an album recorded at his graduate recital, a live concert featuring Mixtura at Miami's

Wertheim Performing Arts Center The Wertheim Performing Arts Center (also known by the abbreviation WPAC, full name The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center) is a performing arts center that opened in 1996. Situated on the main campus of Florida International Univers ...

. This CD/DVD contains a mix of Latin-influenced arrangements of classic

numbers and original material. It received numerous positive reviews including Audiophile Audition and JazzChicago. After graduating from FIU, Succar became an artist-in-residence there in 2012, continuing to work with the school's music students on a number of projects. He is the youngest artist ever to hold this appointment at FIU. Succar has worked with a number of prominent artists in the Latin music genres. These include

Tito Nieves Humberto "Tito" Nieves (born June 4, 1959; also known "El Pavarotti de la Salsa") is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and raised in the Unite ...

La India Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Awa ...

, Kevin Ceballo,

Michael Stuart Michael Stuart (born January 13, 1975) is an American salsa singer, songwriter and actor. Early years Stuart was born in New York City, to Puerto Rican parents who settled in the 1960s after moving from Puerto Rico. There Stuart received h ...

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music f ...

Jennifer Peña Jennifer Marcella Peña (born September 17, 1983) is an American Tejano/Latin pop singer who has sold over 3.5 million records internationally. Peña was born in San Antonio, Texas, and is the third and youngest daughter of Jaime and Mary Peñ ...

Jean Rodríguez Jean Carlos Rodríguez López-Cepero (born December 10, 1980), also known as Jean, is a Puerto Rican singer, the younger brother of Luis Fonsi. Rodríguez has released a handful of solo albums and mixtapes, hitting number one on ''Billboard'' L ...

and

Obie Bermúdez Obie Bermúdez (born January 10, 1981) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop, salsa singer and composer. Early years Bermúdez was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico into a family who loved music. His father and grandfather were both musicians. He received ...

, who all collaborated with him on Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson. In 2019, Succar was nominated for a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

in four separate categories, winning for Best Salsa Album and as Producer of the Year.

''The Unity Project''

'' Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson'' is a collaborative project to produce a musical tribute to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

. As well as live performances, the project plans to release an album consisting of 14 Jackson songs rewritten to include Latin influences, primarily

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

. and Latin American Ritmos, Succar, who was a long-term fan of Jackson's work, is the founder and producerUrban Music Scene, 17 October 2012
Unity Releases Its 2nd Solo Track, "Será Que No Me Amas" in Tribute to Michael Jackson
retrieved 1 June 2013. of the project. Unity was launched in 2015 with a concert at Olympia theater in Miami Sponsored and transmitted by PBS TV, 360 Stations, and also Sponsored by Universal Music Classic. Unity features more than 100 musicians, such Latin superstars as Tito Nieves, Jon Secada, La India, Obie Bermudez, Jennifer Pena, Michael Stuward, Angel Lopez, Sheila E., Judith Hill,

, Fernando Vargas, Maribel Diaz, Kevin Ceballo, Presented in PBS TV by Gloria Estefan, mixed by engineer

Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien (; April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedien fi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Succar, Tony 1986 births American male musicians American salsa musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Living people Peruvian emigrants to the United States Peruvian people of Japanese descent Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year American people of Japanese descent American musicians of Japanese descent Latin music record producers Latin music songwriters