11 Facts About Ricardo Lemvo

Ricardo Lemvo was born on September 3,1957 and is a Congolese singer of Angolan descent who lives in Los Angeles, California.

Ricardo Lemvo's music is a blend of African soukous, kizomba, samba and Cuban salsa.

Ricardo Lemvo's family is Angolan, from M'banza-Kongo in the northern part of Angola.

Ricardo Lemvo's grandfather, Joao Mantantu Dundulu N'lemvo, was a Baptist pastor who worked with British missionaries in the 1880s, and was the first Angolan to translate the English-language Bible into Kikongo.

Kinshasa is where Ricardo Lemvo first encountered and enjoyed Cuban music; taking advantage of a cousin's large record collection, he would listen to Orquesta Aragon, Arsenio Rodriguez, Sonora Matancera and Abelardo Barroso.

Ricardo Lemvo credited his musical interest to the fact that his parents' house in Kinshasa was next to a bar, which would loudly play Congolese and Cuban rumba, as well as New York salsa, at all hours.

Ricardo Lemvo moved to California, in the United States, at age 15 to continue his education, and has lived there since.

Ricardo Lemvo graduated from Lawndale High School and later from California State University, Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in Political Science.

Ricardo Lemvo has a daughter, Isabela, whose name is the title of one of his songs and the title of the band's 2007 album.

In 1990, though he does not read music or play any instrument, Ricardo Lemvo formed the band Makina Loca.

At the 2015 Angola Music Awards Ricardo Lemvo won Music D'Ouro for the song "Curticao ".