ANDRÉS CISNEROS

Andrés Daniel Cisneros Birnbaum (He/Him) is a Philadelphia-based musician, composer, hand drummer, vocalist, and educator. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, and shaped by a multicultural upbringing, his work draws from Afro-Caribbean traditions and Black American musical lineages.

As a mid-career artist and cultural educator, Cisneros creates original, dance-centered music grounded in rhythm, improvisation, and community engagement. His practice reflects a deep connection to diasporic traditions while engaging the lived realities of contemporary city life.

Through performance and collaboration, he approaches music as a living, embodied form that carries memory, fosters connection, and brings people together through shared movement and sound.

Project Description
Philadelphia Songbook: El Cancionero de Philly is an original, dance-centered music project by Andrés Daniel Cisneros Birnbaum that brings the spirit of mid-century Latin street jams into present-day Philadelphia.

Rooted in Afro-Caribbean and Latin American traditions, the project draws inspiration from Salsa, Descarga, and Latin jazz, when music reflected the streets, the politics, and the daily lives of the communities that created it. Building on that legacy, Cisneros composes original songs shaped by his experience of contemporary Philadelphia, its neighborhoods, rhythms, humor, tensions, and resilience.

Developed during the Proof of Life Residency, the project treats music as a living archive that documents the city through rhythm and movement. Through open rehearsals, community dance gatherings, and participatory performances, audiences experience the work as it evolves in real time.

Participants, both dancers and non-dancers, become part of the creative process, influencing the energy and direction of each piece. The residency will culminate in a public, dance-centered work-in-progress presentation, laying the foundation for a future album and contributing new, community-rooted music to Philadelphia’s cultural landscape.