Monday, 23 February 2009

Personal Profile

Carlos has been writing and performing his own original music in a wide variety of venues on Okinawa, Japan, for the past 20 years.  Born and raised in Southern California, he began studying guitar at age 13 and over the years played in various groups with classmates throughout High School.  Upon his graduation, Carlos felt a strong patriotic calling to serve his country, so he promptly enlisted in the U.S. military just before the initial conflicts occurring in Granada, Panama, The Philippines, and the Middle East (1st Gulf War).  His enlistment ran from August 1982 thru December 1992, with his final tour of duty being on Okinawa, Japan.  During this period, Carlos continued to pursue his elusive musical dreams by performing at local Cafés, Restaurants and Clubs at night, while returning to his military duties during the day.

Eventually, Carlos decided to separate from the military in December 1992 as an E-6 with an Honorable Discharge and several key military awards under his belt.  However, he still felt a strong patriotic calling to serve his country, so Carlos accepted a promising career as a “civilian patriot” serving the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) overseas, and has faithfully exercised the duties of that position for the past 15 years.  He is now a senior executive officer working for a civilian unit assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps on Okinawa.  And in this capacity, Carlos is now the most senior-graded Hispanic civilian working for the USMC on Okinawa, Japan.

Carlos’ full musical “Profile” reflects his many years of focused dedication to pursue his love of music after hours, while continuing to address his patriotic duty as both a Military service member, and now as a “civilian patriot” with the U.S. Department of Defense.  As a result, Carlos Saldana has become an “American Ambassador Of Music” in Japan, promoting positive relations and cultural diversity through the internationally recognized language of music.