Johnny Polanco was born in the South Bronx, New York, to Dominican and Puerto Rican parents who loved the music of the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican rhythms. He grew up listening to Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Machito, Cortijo y su Combo and traditional trio music from Los Panchos and Johnny Albino. Johnny Polanco got his first real guitar at age 5, but it was not until about the age of 10 that he really started to get interested in playing Latin music.

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