Born in Mexico City, José-Luis Orozco grew fond of music at a young age, learning many songs from his paternal grandmother. At age 8, José-Luis became a member of the Mexico City Boy's Choir, and traveled the world visiting 32 countries in Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America. It was from his tour around the world that he gained the cultural knowledge he now shares with children through his books and recordings.
At age 19, José-Luis moved to California in search of the American dream. He went to college and earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master's degree in Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco.
José-Luis Orozco dedicates himself to what he truly enjoys — singing for children. He has built a successful career as a children's author, songwriter, performer and recording artist. He has recorded 13 volumes of Lírica Infantil, Latin American Children's Music, and written three successful, award winning books, De Colores (Dutton 1994), Diez Deditos — Ten Little Fingers (Dutton 1997), and Fiestas (Dutton 2002). CD's of De Colores, Diez Deditos and Fiestas, accompany these colorful books and present an extraordinary bilingual collection of songs, rhymes, tongue twisters, lullabies, games and holiday celebrations gathered from Spanish-speaking countries. In 2003, José-Luis released an exciting video and DVD entitled Cantamos y Aprendemos con José-Luis Orozco — Singing and Learning with José-Luis Orozco, filled with live action, animation, and Latino flavor that motivates children to learn about the Spanish language and the rich tradition of Latin American children's music.
José-Luis Orozco's most recent book Rin, Rin, Rin, Do, Re, Mi, richly illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner, David Diaz, is a delightfully, lyrical bilingual (English and Spanish) children's book which shows how everyday family activities such as cooking, singing, reading and storytelling foster essential early literacy skills such as letter recognition and language development. Rin, Rin, Rin, Do, Re, Mi is a book in a series set for publication and distribution by Scholastic's Latino initiative Lee y Serás (Read and You Will Be), which was created to improve the reading and literacy development of Latino children.
In 2003 and again in 2005, José-Luis Orozco was invited to participate in the National Book Festival organized by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady, Laura Bush. During the festivities in 2003, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. honored Mr. Orozco. In the spring of 2009, Jose-Luis received recognition and was honored by the Association of Bilingual Directors affiliated with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE).
José-Luis Orozco is an acknowledged expert in children's music and is a featured speaker and presenter at educational conferences and seminars for teachers, parents, librarians and childcare providers who seek to use music as an important learning tool in multicultural classrooms. He continues to perform for children throughout the country and world at concert halls, libraries, bookstores and schools.
José-Luis Orozco is the father of four and grandfather to two children. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
