Margie Perez

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By Jorge Fuentes

Margie Perez gets to do what she loves in many ways. As a singer and songwriter, she performs around town in different settings and sings in several genres.

She likes to perform her own songs accompanied by a guitarist or a small group, she enjoys singing back-up vocals when her musician friends invite her, and she loves to make people dance when she’s leading her Latin band, Muévelo. 

“I don’t come from a musical family, but my mom had music around me all the time,” she says.  

Born in Washington D.C. to Cuban parents, Margie came upon her calling one night when an acquaintance heard her sing and told her about a band that needed a vocalist.  

Shortly after that, she ended up traveling to New Orleans for Jazz Fest and began visiting the city regularly. She was invited by Marva Wright, a famous local blues singer, to be one of her back-up singers, and Margie moved here permanently. 

Margie survived Hurricane Katrina. She has recorded two albums, and now performs a few times a week all around the city, enjoying the camaraderie of her fellow musicians. “I love it when a musician takes one of my songs and adds something distinct to it,” she says, smiling. “I love the writing process, I love to write with other people, I love to sing, and I love to sing with other people,” she said.  

Muévelo started about three years ago, when presented with the opportunity to play a tribute to Celia Cruz.  “That first gig was unforgettable,” she says, “I had no idea that there was this other side of me that came out when I sing in Spanish.” The 10-piece band has musicians who come from all over Latin America and they perform every month at a local venue in the CBD.  She explains that the music business can be difficult, but it is also rewarding.  

“As a musician, you have to wear a musical hat, but also a business hat,” she said, adding “music is so healing for me.  I love it when people dance, I love to see a dance floor full of happy people.”