Diego Marulanda is a well establish dance, theater, film and television scoring composer. Born in Bogota Colombia. He has developed himself into a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, performing as a vocalist, playing guitar, cuatro, tiple as well as numerous traditional Latin American instruments that make up his extensive collection

From his childhood in Colombia to his youth and adulthood in Canada, his development as a creative artist has led him to explore Colombian and Latin American music as a performer, composer, songwriter and producer, considering both a comprehensive search for the political and social identity of music.

The musical traditions acknowledgements as well as the use of contemporary music technologies facilitate him to work in a wide range of musical genres, with diverse interdisciplinary approaches through Latin America’s music history and sociology, thus allowing him to work with other forms including dance, theatre, film and in television as a scoring composer, drawing upon his vast experience in contemporary and world music.

Diego lives in Toronto, ON where he has had an active music careers since 1988; he has been active as a composer, performer, music director, music arranger and producer. This diverse background has led him to a variety of interesting projects as a freelance musician. Especially well known for his work in the area of World Music, Diego’s talent as a composer, bandleader and musician and his CDs “Ke’Ma”, “Por El Sol”, “El Otro Lado” and “La Verraquera” have garnered acclaim nationally and abroad. He was nominated for the Juno Awards in 1999 and Canadian Music Week in 2001. He was also the winner of the prestigious Latin American Achievements Awards as “Musician of the year” 2004

Diego Marulanda’s fifth album “Rueda La Bolita” is the result of a diverse set of fruitful changes experienced in recent years. Integrating his passion with Latin American folklore rhythms with an ongoing fascination with contemporary rhythms such as reggae, hip hop, rap and electronica, this album blends these elements in creative and original ways.

Highlights (selected)

AWARDS/ NOMINATIONS

JUNO Award Nominee - Best Global Album - ‘Por El Sol’ 1999
Canadian Music Week Award Nominee - Best Global Album – ‘El Otro Lado’ 2001
Latin American Achievements Awards - Winner ‘Musician of The Year 2004

ALBUMS

RUEDA LA BOLITA (2011) / KE’MA (2006) / EL OTRO LADO (2001 solo) / POR EL SOL (1998) / LA VERRAQUERA (1996) with Grupo Pacandé

FILM/TV

Between Midnight and The Rooster’s Crow
Original score. Documentary. Dir. by Nadja Drost. Prod. Rocinarte Productions with the assistance of the National Film Board of Canada 2005 Winner Best Canadian Documentary – Short to Mid-Length, Hot Docs Festival, Toronto ; 2005 Winner Best Documentary, Festival de Cine de Bogotá, Colombia


Original score for documentary short film "Santuary". Dir. Jamie Escallon. Produced by the NFB. CBC Newsworld.
Original Score for documentary film “Killer’s Paradise”. Directed by Giselle Portonier. Produced by BBC and NFB
Original Score for documentary film “Dance of My Heart”. Directed by Ricardo Acosta. Produced by The Santa Fe Community College, USA
Licesed Music for documentary film “La Dany”. Directed by Rim Giles Produced by Brother & Sister Productions
Nunavut Elders. Original music for 6-part television series. Inuit Communications Systems.

LICENSED MUSIC

TV series (Warner Brothes) - La Femme Nikita
TV series (Alliance-Atlantis/International) - Peter Benchley’s Amazon
TV series (CTV) - These Arms of Mine
TV series (W Network/ Dance with Sarina Inc) - The Barefoot Dancer
Air Canada - in-flight Star Alliance radio channel.

THEATRE/DANCE

Nuliajuk: Legends of the Sea Goddess. Original music for multi-media theatre performance. Qaggiq Theatre Company. Performed in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Agua - dance performance. Original music. Choreographer Alejandro Ronceria. Produced by Earth In Motion and World Indigenous Dance. Perfomed at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto. Extended version performed at Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City.

Rodeo del Sol, composer/ arranger/ musical director. One hour rodeo performance. Cozumel, Mexico. Indefinite run. Global Destinations Development.

Earth In Motion Choreographers Workshop. Worked and created music for Choreographer Tanya Linklater

Earth In Motion Choreographers Workshop. Worked and created music for Choreographer Santee Smith

Toonik Tyme. Original music for dance performance. Choreographer: Alejandro Ronceria. Quggiq Theatre Production. Iqaluit, Nunavut.

LIVE BAND PERFORMANCE

Montreal International Jazz Fest; Toronto International Jazz Fest; Winnipeg Folk Fest, Winnipeg; Pan American Games, Winnipeg; Northern Lights Fest, Sudbury; Atlantic Jazz Fest; Islands Folk Fest, Vancouver Island; Ritmo y Calor, Harbourfront; Toronto Winterfest; Toronto Street Fest; Dawson City Music Fest; Museum of Civilization; Royal Ontario Museum; Art Galley of Ontario; Lula Lounge; Toronto Yonge Street Fest; Aboriginal Voices Fest; Waterloo Park Music Fest; Super Latin Fest, Mel Lastman Square; Winnipeg Latinorama Fest; Nathan Phillips Square; Canada Council - Showcase of Culturally Diverse and First Peoples Music Artists; JVC Jazz Fest; Sunfest Fest, London: Three Fires Music Fest, Manitoulin Island; Guelph Spring Fest; Northern Lights Fest, Sudbury, Canadian Music Week; First Night, Main Stage, Toronto; Burlington Latino Fest USA; Metro Square, Toronto; Africabeat; Norwood Village Green Park Fest, Norwood, New York, USA; du Maurier Theatre Centre, Toronto; Folkrawl; International Hispanic Fiesta, Molson Stage, Harbourfront; Le Spectrum, Montreal.