Felipe García Villamil arrived in the United States during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, bringing with him the sacred batá drums passed through generations from Yoruba ancestors in the city-state of Oyo in present-day Nigeria. His mastery spanned the three most prominent Afro-Cuban ritual traditions — Lucumí/Santería, Palo Monte, and Abakuá — earning him recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, Yale University's Museum for African Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Caribbean Cultural Center in New York.