Draft:Maceo Hernandez

Maceo Hernandez is an Chicano musician who specializes in taiko. He is the founder and director of East LA Taiko, director of J-Town Taiko Club, director of Taiko Center of Los Angeles, a former member of Ondekoza, and a former member of Quetzal (band).

Maceo Hernandez
Born	(1971-12-07) December 7, 1971
Origin	East Los Angeles, California
Genres	taiko
Occupation(s)	musician
Instrument(s)	taiko
Years active	1985-present
Website	elataiko.com

Personal Life

Maceo Hernandez grew up in East Los Angeles, California. Being in close proximity to Little Tokyo, Maceo connected with Japanese culture from a young age, embracing Japanese traditions along with his own Chicano roots. He spent some years of his childhood living in Japan, where he briefly attended high school in Atami.

Taiko

Maceo Hernandez was introduced to taiko as a 12-year-old child at a wedding. Enamored by the power of the drum, he decided that he would begin to play taiko. In 1985, Hernandez began playing taiko at Sozenji Buddhist Temple, learning from Shuichi Thomas Kurai. A year later, Hernandez's talent was noticed by the acclaimed Japanese taiko group Ondekoza at a performance at Zenshuji Soto Mission, where Ondekoza was training and storing equipment. After being recruited to Ondekoza by Den Tagayasu, Hernandez spent some of his high school years in Japan, training rigorously with the group. In 1989, a large metal pipe fell from a passing truck onto his left leg, which was later amputated. In the difficult following months, Hernandez directed his passion toward taiko, which he said helped him through the emotional pain of his injury.

One year after the accident, Hernandez ran the New York Marathon for the first time on a prosthetic leg and played a taiko solo onstage immediately afterward. He also performed taiko at Carnegie Hall in 1990. Hernandez left Ondekoza after the performance at Carnegie Hall due to his injury. In 1995, Hernandez and Alfredo Ortiz founded East LA Taiko, self-described as a "Latino Taiko group with a twist, that marries Afro-Cuban rhythms with driving taiko beats." Hernandez was a childhood friend of Quetzal Flores and became a founding member of Quetzal (band) in 1993. Hernandez incorporated taiko instrumentation and rhythms into the band's sound.

In October 2021, Hernandez founded J-Town Taiko Club with Walter Nishinaka at Terasaki Budokan in Little Tokyo, where he gives taiko lessons to all ages and skill levels.

Documentary

In 1986, Maceo Hernandez was approached by director and family friend John Esaki to begin filming Maceo: Demon Drummer from East LA, a documentary about Hernandez's life inside and outside of taiko. Though it was difficult to continue the project after Hernandez lost his leg, the documentary was completed in 1993. Maceo: Demon Drummer from East LA explores Hernandez's journey in taiko and is described by Esaki as a story of triumph in the face of adversity.