Collaborators since 2005, Oscar Merino and Garth Trinidad have partnered once again, poised to edutain, safeguard, and map a new, faithful trajectory for diasporic music and culture.

As we enter a marvelous and uncertain age, we reach back to reclaim our human spirit. Our vivid analog history lights the path to a neon digital future. Beneath it all are the connections that make us who and what we are. There is a new world music and culture movement, and Afro Latino Los Angeles is at the helm - a testament to the profound power of music, dance, and community to create magic and celebrate our commonalities.

Oscar Merino - Founder

Photo: Maria Merino

Oscar honed his creative leadership skills as Manager of Promotions of Hip Hop and Dance Music for Sony Music/Columbia Records in the 90s, responsible for a national footprint that included LA, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Miami. Merino helped launch the careers of several notable artists, including Nas, Cypress Hill, The Fugees, Mariah Carey, and Jamiroquai. His passion for crafting world-class music and cultural experiences inspired him to launch 52BLEND, an agency devoted to event curation, production, creative direction, and artist management rooted in an Afro-Latin, Hip-Hop, and Dance music aesthetic. Merino’s production of the inaugural Afro-Latino concert at the Ford Amphitheatre in 2016 is widely recognized as a catalyst for Los Angeles’ modern Afro-Latin music and cultural renaissance. 52Blend connected the corporate to the creative, guiding and protecting core artistic values throughout the production process. Agency clients included the annual Sony Latin GRAMMYs Afterparty, aRTS Brookfield, Grand Park, The Music Center, and FIGat7th. A bilingual Angeleno with Salvadoran roots, Merino is relentless, driven by his passion to learn, educate, and expand the conversation of Afro-Latin music and culture. IG: @oscarmerino

Garth Trinidad - Co-Founder

Trinidad is a modern-day griot - award-winning DJ, artist, and culture critic, credited in part with shaping LA's modern music landscape, dubbed one of the world’s most influential DJs by press and peers. Through radio, events, music supervision, and journalism, he has introduced the world to such artists as Little Dragon and Janelle Monae, interviewed the likes of Quincy Jones and Diplo, while remaining a primary source for music discovery and a staunch supporter of independent artists worldwide. Trinidad lists Nike, Apple, Sony, HBO, and Prince as clients, has been featured in Vanity Fair, Wallpaper, Rolling Stone, and has appeared on ABC7, KTLA5, History Channel, and in various documentary films. Garth recently stepped away from his 25-year post as a DJ and radio personality at NPR affiliate KCRW 89.9fm in Santa Monica to enjoy an extended vacation and chase some other dreams. IG: @garthtrinidad

Oscar and Garth met through a mutual friend in 2005 and immediately noted a musical and familial kinship. As Garth approached 10 years on air at KCRW, he asked Oscar to join him in producing the anniversary event in the fall of 2006 at The Roxy on Sunset, featuring a live performance from Van Hunt and DJ sets by Randy Jackson and Macy Gray. Since then, the dynamic duo has collaborated on a myriad of projects and events, including the early years of Kiss-n-Grind, the MojaMoja Grammy Brunch, and the Beats & Bites series at the Viceroy Santa Monica, etc. Their exploits have helped numerous bands, DJs, dancers, visual artists, designers, photographers, and chefs launch successful careers while elevating brands and charitable partners with taste and cool. Together, the pair brings a wealth of knowledge, perspective, and unmatched aesthetic value to whatever they touch.