Born and raised in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, Madera, an accomplished percussionist and recording artist, developed his musical abilities while performing with groups specializing in Afro-Caribbean rhythms in a variety of cultural and classical events throughout the island. In Madison, Wisconsin, Madera was one of the founding members of the band Bentetú in 1989, which was the only musical group performing the traditional Puerto Rican rhythms “bomba” and “plena” for five years. Bentetú participated in many folk-music festivals and cultural celebrations throughout the mid-west. Madera has also performed with a wide variety of Latin bands and groups including Paragüas (Latin American music), Sotavento (Andean music) and the Bembe Orchestra (Salsa). Additionally, he made appearances at the annual African Diaspora with Ritmo Del Corazón (Latin Rhythms) and with Soul Vibrations (Reggae and Garifuna music) from Nicaragua. In 1992, José became one of the founding members of MadiSalsa, Madison’s own ten-piece Salsa/Latin jazz band that has been voted “Best Dance Band” for two consecutive years. Moreover, Madera has worked as an accompanist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Dance Department, specializing in Caribbean and African rhythms. His latest project was working together with renowned Cuban dancer José Franciso Barroso and with John Santos, one of the foremost experts of Afro-Latin music in the world. Madera currently holds an Academic Advising Dean position with the College of Letters and Science at UW Madison where he is a doctoral candidate in Soil Science with UW Madison.