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Tino Contreras (April 3, 1924 – September 9, 2021) was a Mexican musician and composer born in Chihuahua, Mexico. Coming from a musical family, he began playing drums at the age of eight, and by 15, he formed the Los Cadetes del Swing orchestra with his older brother Efrén. At 17, he moved to Ciudad Juarez, where he established his own band, the Youth Orchestra, and made his debut as a director and soloist on XEJ radio. In the late 1940s, Contreras moved to Mexico City and toured with the Caravans, performing alongside popular artists such as Pedro Infante and Tin Tán. In the early 1950s, he became the star drummer of the Orquesta de Luis Arcaraz, regarded as one of the top orchestras in the world, where his younger brother Mario also played. He contributed to Juan García Esquivel's orchestra and was active in the film industry, composing musical backgrounds for films during Mexico's Golden Age of cinema. While in the Dominican Republic, he embraced the rhythm of Merengue and formed the first orchestra dedicated to the genre in Mexico, earning the title of El Rey del Merengue. He recorded his first acetate in 1953, titled "Volado por los Merengues," and was a pioneer in introducing Tropical Jazz or Latin Jazz with his original compositions. Tino Contreras passed away on September

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