Erick graduated from the National School of Arts of Cuba as a dancer and singer with a potent voice, grand improvisational skills, infectious personality, and confident stage presence. As any good Cuban will tell you, he was born tremendously influenced by idiosyncrasies such as love for music, dance, and joy. Erick was inevitably inspired by the contagious and palpable traditions of carnivals and floats, Rumba on the street, and especially by his humble family, where every minute was spent engulfed in dance and music. His father, Luis Barberia, current singer of the famous orchestra Jorrin, is one of his biggest influences.
Erick is crowned Omo Eleggua, Awo Orunmila, and comes from the Afro-Cuban Yoruba family of Papo Angarica. Erick is Omo Ala Aña, (Son of the Drums secrets) consecrated in the tambor Bata Fundamento (Aña bi), one of the oldest sets of Tambores Bata that exists in Cuba today.
Erick teaches Afro-Cuban Folkloric and Popular (Salsa, Mambo, Cha Cha) dances, songs, and Afro-Cuban percussion throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.