The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra is the premier Latin Jazz ensemble of the Midwest, and the only performance and education non-profit in the region dedicated to Latin Jazz, Afro-Caribbean and South American music. Founded and directed by Pablo Sanhueza, an international percussionist, and a mainstay in Kansas City since 2003, as a recording artist, educator and bandleader as well as an ambassador of Kansas City music in Latin America. In 2019, Pablo was endorsed by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz as well as the Chilean Office of Culture in Arica, Chile. KCLJO is both a high-performance ensemble and an educational institution of Afro-Caribbean and South American jazz through which three generations of Kansas City musicians have acquired the fundamental cultural competence and immersion necessary to comprehend and honor this cultural legacy.