Mexican singer and songwriter Alejandro Santiago started his career at the age of seven while participating in a band called Voces y Cuerdas de Veracruz. Living in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Santiago started songwriting, getting his first chance to show his own work at a national festival of young artists, coming in first place at Villahermosa, Tabasco, and being a finalist at Mexico City. While living in Tijuana, Alejandro Santiago decided to concentrate his musical skills on a Latin style known as Canto Nuevo, which also has been called Nueva Canción and Trova Contemporánea. In 1993, Santiago came in first place at Cancun's International Festival singing a song called "Magia Negra" and also being nominated for Best Male Performer. In the late '90s, Santiago recorded En Pie de Guerra, followed by 2000's A Tu Voluntad. ~ Drago Bonacich