Alfredo Manuel De La Fé (born February 6, 1954) is a Cuban-born and New York-based violinist who lived in Colombia for more than 16 years and is responsible for transforming the violin into an important sound of Salsa and Latin 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 more than one hundred albums by such top-ranked Latin artists as Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, José Alberto "El Canario", Cheo Feliciano, The Fania All-Stars, Santana and Larry Harlow. His second solo album, Alfredo, released in 1979, received a Grammy nomination as "Best Latin album". 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. Early life He was born in Havana, Cuba, to a family of musicians. De La Fé began studying violin at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana in 1962. In 1964, he received a scholarship to attend the Warsaw Conservatory in Poland. In 1965, he performed compositions by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. A scholarship to Juilliard Arts enabled him to further his studies. 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. Career In 1972, he joined Eddie Palmieri's orchestra. He remained with the group for five years, moving temporarily to San Francisco where he joined Santana in 1976. Returning to New York, De La Fé joined Típica 73 in 1977. Two years later, he released his debut solo album, Alfredo, and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. His song, "Hot to Trot", appeared in the top 50 in the US. In 1980, De La Fé signed with Sars All Stars, and produced thirty-two albums for the Latin record label. His second solo album, Charanga '80, was released the same year. In 1981, De La Fé became musical director of Tito Puente's Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble. In 1981 he resumed his solo career, signing with Taboga, for whom he recorded the album Triunfo. Relocating to Colombia in 1983, De La Fé signed with Philips and released three