Be honest - do you think this guy looks like Michael Jackson? Um, we don't either. But as a teenager in Barranquilla, Colombia, Jose Cotes was hell-bent on singing, dancing, and dressing just like The Gloved One. The fantasy paid off - Jose moonwalked his way to first prize in a high school dance contest.

These days, Shakira is more his style (though he stays away from dressing the part) as well as trance, house, salsa, and electronic funk. Come to think of it, Jose Cotes likes it all, which is why he started spinning vinyl during his college days at Boston University. He was so good his friends asked him to mix tapes for them. Next thing he knew, he got a phone call to replace a sick DJ at a local haunt: three hundred clubbers and one Jose, scared out of his mind. He broke out his favorite Latin tunes, threw in some Pet Shop Boys, and added a dash of MC Hammer. All of a sudden, people started wiggling! They wiggled so hard that old nightclub started shaking. Jose landed himself a job.

It's been all uphill since Jose hit the big time at Avalon on Lansdowne Street and developed a cult following that spawned international tours. Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia: he's scratched his way through all of the hottest clubs. Although he works full-time as a computer engineer, he hopes to make the jump to a career in music. His first single, "Roller Coaster," which he wrote, hits the market soon, and he's lending his very fine ear to co-produce some of his favorite musical artists.

In the meantime, you can catch Jose every Thursday and Saturday night at Rumor in the Theater District. You'll know you've hit the right place if every living soul is rocking and rolling. You'll catch Jose bopping around, too -- and maybe, just maybe, wearing a glove for old time's sake.


Roll over Jose's picture to learn more.