Balam Santos a.k.a. Kin Balam is from the Indigenous lands of Cuxkatan, Nekepio, El Salvador. He was born in the heart of a people’s revolution, raised in the Northern lands of Turtle Island. Burying his heart in pain and urban warfare as a youth, with a soul hungry for meaning and connection, Kin Balam learned years later to die to a lifestyle that has shattered the foundation of his community and country with blood and fire. Kin in Lenca Poton and Balam in Maya, translates to “The path of the jaguar,” is an artist who, in having the courage to live based off what the elders call the ‘Nahual’ or destiny, has also come to originate a new style of music. 
 
Flamenco, Latin American, Indigenous Mesoamerican, Afro Latin Jazz, and Hip Hop are all the elements that makeup the powerful fabric of this new yet ancient rooted musical style. Fusing the hardcore rap delivery usually associated to gangster rap, Kin Balam has decided to utilize that same vein of art to feed the streets medicine, hope, healing, and r/evolutionary guidance. The Mesoamerican Indigenous instruments integrated into bis musical landscape are of Pre-Colombian colonial origin, and therefore bear with them the unique identity of Central American Indigenous culture and spirituality. The Afro Latin rhythms deepen the meaning with the connection and bridging of African culture and struggles in the earth and flesh of America’s terrible and savage colonial history. The virtuoso Flamenco guitar is the sword that ties all of these elements as one diverse family. All of it together speaks as one heart, one voice, in one language - the language of our humanity.
 
Kin Balam studied under the renowned Flamenco guitar master Jeronimo Maya in Madrid, Spain at the age of 22. He has been producing Hip Hop music since the age of 11, playing guitar since the age of 8, and has focused on Afro Cuban percussion since the age of 2 years. Among his peers in any genre of music at the professional level, Kin Balam is held with deep respect and appreciation for not only his level of musicianship, but also the originality and quality of his music and soul.

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