Francisco was born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1978 and moved to Chevy Chase Maryland with his family before the age of 2. He started playing guitar at the age of 13 and although he studied and played different genres he was captivated by the sound and expressivity of blues music. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Colby College in 2000 and then moved to Boulder, Colorado where he began his career as a performer and music educator.
Ironically it was in the Rocky Mountain of Colorado that Francisco reconnected with his Brazilian ancestry and learned his first samba grooves on the guitar. It was there that Francisco met some of his friends and colleagues that would eventually form the band, GINGA, and alongside those musicians began a total immersion into the study and practice of Brazilian music. For many years they would meet every Monday evening, religiously, for hours on end, to study and play choro, samba, MPB, forró, or any other Brazilian music that piqued their interest.
Through the many years of dedication, Francisco and the Boulder community were able to create multiple different Brazilian music ensembles and annual events that still thrive today and are essential to the preservation, cultivation and proliferation of Brazilian music, dance and culture in Colorado.