Miami native 'Cuban Cowboy' Orlando Mendez returns home for Country Bay Musical Festival
Country Bay Music Festival is returning to Miami for its second year, with organizers hoping the event can earn a permanent spot in the city's music scene alongside events like Ultra and Rolling Loud
MIAMI (AP) — Miami-native Orlando Mendez had been an aspiring actor when a pandemic shut down live entertainment in 2020. But the break gave Mendez a chance to embrace his love of county music and reinvent himself as the “Cuban Cowboy.”
After COVID-19 locked the world down, Mendez said he turned to YouTube and taught himself to play guitar. Once restrictions began to lift, the 28-year-old said he put a band together and started getting gigs in South Florida and other parts of the state.
“We brought country to a lot of bars that never had country before, a lot of these bars that are staples here in Miami but never really had a country act,” Mendez said. “We started playing country music, and I think it was just the right place, right time. Got a momentum and started building quickly.”
Mendez is returning to Miami this month to perform at the Country Bay Music Festival scheduled for Nov. 9-10 at the historic Miami Marine Stadium, just southeast of downtown on Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay.
