Richard Cepeda

Multi-instrumentalist Richard Cepeda channels his spiritual convictions into music shaped by merengue. As an ordained minister and evangelist, he has overseen sacred recordings by Giovanni Rios, Mary Rodriguez, David and Abraham, Edwin Ramirez, Cristy Towers, Eric Perdomo, and Maribel Grove. His first album, Llenate De Gozo, earned the title of Tropical Disc of 1997, while the follow-up, Con Jubile Con Alegria, arrived two years afterward and proved equally strong. Born in the United States to Dominican and Puerto Rican parents, Cepeda took up violin, piano, and acoustic guitar during childhood and launched his professional career in the merengue band led by his uncle, Bonny Cepeda. Although faith played only a minor role in his youth, a visit to the Alive Water Source church in Carolina, Puerto Rico, left a profound impression. He then committed himself to the