بیوگرافی
Chiko Mendez
Chiko arrived in New York as an infant. By age ten, he had taken lessons in tap, guitar, and trumpet, with English firmly established as his first language. On his tenth birthday, he returned to his hometown, where he lived for several years. Despite facing hardship and poverty, his top priority was completing school. During this time, he fully immersed himself in the culture, dialect, and lifestyle as his family moved throughout Central America. As a child, he helped his mother organize weekend events called "veladas," an early form of theater popular in mountain regions without electricity, where almost everything was handmade. Chiko designed and cut admission tickets, selling them for a nickel each. The stage was made of rocks and sand, and the curtain was a bedsheet hung between two trees with twine. Other favorite pastimes included playing baseball, writing songs and poems, riding horses, and hitchhiking barefoot across town with a three-string guitar to perform live on local radio stations after school.
Always drawn to rhythm, Chiko learned to play a native drum called the "Tambora," crafting his first from two milk containers stuffed with a twine sack. By the time he graduated high school, he had found his voice to accompany his guitar. He frequently performed in school plays and local bands, often playing with missing strings, embodying the motto he always believed in: "the show must go on." During this formative decade in a foreign environment, he attended Bellas Artes, a community institution serving the underprivileged. There, he discovered advanced theater and sculpting and commuted daily to nearby forests to stay with his grandparents. He pursued theater and music passionately.
After graduation, Chiko returned to the US and resumed his studies, attending college and various institutes where he acquired technical skills. By this time, he had mastered essential trades to survive as a dedicated artist in New York City. Fluent in both English and Spanish, he embraced both cultures as native. Years of persistent dedication led to appearances on American TV shows such as NBC's Saturday Night Live, TLC's Junkyard Wars, A&E's Watching the Detectives, Japan TV's Astonishing News, HBO's Sopranos and Law & Order, USA's Burn Notice, among others. His work in Spanish-language programs aired on Spain's Tele 5, Telemundo, Univision, and more.
To further hone his craft, Chiko attended HB Studios in New York, after which he participated in over 100 projects in various roles—a period he fondly calls the "boot camp" of his career. Notable roles include backup singer for Marc Anthony in the film "El Cantante," starring Jennifer Lopez, and a key scene as a guitarist for Mexican actress Ana de la Reguera in "Paraiso Travel," alongside John Leguizamo. Other film credits include "Lavoe," about famed salsero Hector Lavoe, starring La India and Patricia Monterola. Chiko has collaborated with notable performers such as Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen (SNL), Debbie Rochon (Toxic Avenger), Paul Kratka (Friday the 13th), Javier Sarda (Tele 5, Spain), actor Steven Bauer, and stage directors like Richmond Shepard (Richmond Shepard Theatre) and acclaimed playwright Dennis Richard.
Musically, Chiko is a self-taught vocalist, composer, musician, and producer. His interest in electronics led him to build his first computer, which evolved into his first home recording studio where he taught himself music production. Over the years, he has collaborated with stars including R&B and hip-hop artist Lisa Lisa, Tito Puente Jr., salsa legend Jimmy "The Velvet Voice" Sabater, Latin Grammy-winning jazz flutist Dave Valentin, and many others. His songs have been featured in films like the award-winning comedy "Garbage," starring Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Steven Bauer, and Billy Baldwin, as well as in commercial DVDs and CDs available worldwide on platforms such as Netflix, Blockbuster, CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, and On Demand.
Chiko has been featured in publications including El Diario, El Especial, Un Chin, Daily News, The Source Magazine, Kiss FM, La Mega, WBLS, and in a book published in Spain where he proudly opens the New York chapter, which also describes an improvised scene between him and the host. His live stage and studio music experience includes performing with the "MTG All-Stars" (the musicians behind "El Cantante"), "K2," a Merengue-Bachata album featuring seven of his original songs sung in English, Spanish, and Italian. He also contributed to two "Get Busy" projects, writing, singing, co-arranging, and co-producing multiple tracks inspired by the Chano Pozo/Dizzy Gillespie classic "Manteca." The "Revival All-Stars" recorded these in 1976, featuring renowned artists like Babi Floyd on scat vocals and conga master Little Ray Romero, whose percussion session was his last.
As a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the New York Conservatory for the Arts, Chiko is also eligible to join the Actors Equity Association (AEA), the union for live theater performers. He is a BMI recording artist, passionate about writing, producing, and recording songs with experimental approaches that fuse genres and cultures while bridging language barriers, primarily between English and Spanish. Currently, Chiko is collaborating as a screenwriter, producer, vocalist, and actor with various producers and networks, developing content across film, television, music, and theater.
