Héctor is well acquainted with several latin rhythms, especially from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, and South America. He admires piano giants such as jazz great Thelonius Monk, and salsa "maestros" such as Chucho Valdés, Papo Lucca, Eddie Palmieri, and Richie Ray, among others. Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, he comes from a family of musicians. His father plays "el cuatro" (puertorican string instrument), and his beloved grandfather was a "plenero" (puertorican afro musical form) from a city in Puerto Rico called Mayagüez. He took initially guitar and accordion classes at the Magdiel L. Espiet Academy of Arts (PR). But he soon started devoting full time to the learning of the piano. After years taking piano classes, and short stints with "Orquesta La Clave" and also in a Nueva Trova group, he decided to shorten his musical career and devote full time to an education in Medicine. He is now an Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, but continues to compose original material and writes many of the instrumental arrangements for SL Son.