Jose Cotes (DJJC), born October 15, 1974 in Barranquilla, Colombia, is one of the world's top cross-over DJs.

Do you consider yourself the best latin dj in the world? "I would not call myself 'el mejor dj latino del mundo'. I would not even call myself a 'latin dj', because the ones that play straight merengue and salsa might feel insulted by it. But I can say that my style has influenced a lot of other DJs and it's a unique, different flow."

In 1992, Jose moved to Boston, MA, USA, to study English and pursue a career as a computer engineer. He graduated from Boston University in 1996. While studying English, he met Javier Duque, a well known Colombian DJ and producer. Javier showed him the art of mixing and introduced him to different genres of music.

"Javier let me play with his Technics 1200. He would warm me: 'whatever you break, you pay for it'. He only stayed in the U.S. for a couple of months, but I had seen something I like, and knew that this was going to be my new hobby."

Jose started making mix tapes for friends, where he mixed different genres, but mainly dance, trance, house and a little bit of Latin. One of those tapes landed in the hands of a couple of promoters that had just started a new night in an iconic, now defunct, Boston club called M-80. In 1995, Jose became the new resident of M-80's front room, and stayed there until the club closed in 2000.

"If M-80 was in New York or Los Angeles, it would have been as big as Studio 54. It was a different club. Nothing you can find now. It had so much mystic. Wherever I go to play, people mention M-80, some of them were not even born and they refer to it like a legend."

After the closing of M-80, Jose landed a residency in Aria and Il Panino, upscale clubs in the Boston area. Then it was Embassy, Avalon and The Modern on Lansdowne St., after that it was Venu, and today, he is the resident at RumoR on Thursdays and Saturdays. During all these years, he has tour in many occasions to different countries: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, and has appeared as a guest DJ in tons of events and clubs in the Boston circuit.

Jose has also been known by his many remixes and productions. In 2006 he released a trance song called I Know Pain (Sorry). A video followed it, and was played by different DJs around the world. Then he surprised his fan base with an Spanish ballad called Perfume, where he featured a Mexican singer called Ana Laura.

"Those were two experiments that taught me a lot. I Know Pain (Sorry) was inspired by a dark moment I had. Perfume compiles a lot of the emotional experiences I have had during the years. Nobody was expecting a mellow song from me, but I liked it so much that I had already written about 10 more songs."

In 2007, he uncovered his first all-original, officially released: Roller coaster, a mix of sounds that stay true to its name and take the listener into different states of mind and genres of music.

"This is the first song that I did not use the base of any other song. For I Know Pain (Sorry) I used a Tess song as a base. For Perfume, I used a Chayanne song. Roller coaster was born from scratch, inspired by a very special friend that would love me one day and hate me the other. It describes all the confusion, the ups and downs, that one person can experience when its feelings are being put into a roller coaster. It is happiness, sadness and in between."

Jose is also the host of a weekly Spanish podcast called The Cave. The Cave has been running since 1998, when the word podcast did not even exist, and is arguably the most popular show of its kind in the iTunes network.

"In The Cave we talk about everything current: music, sex, trends, news, relationships, etc. We have listeners from around the world that share their stories, and we try to be serious, with a bit of humor and sarcasm. We have had interviews with famous people as well, and have done some crazy things during the years."

Influenced by DJs like Paul van Dyk, Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten, among others, Jose promises to keep producing, and despite an announcement of retiring in mid 2007, it seems, for the joy of his fans, that he will bring the lively spirits of his roots to dance floors around the world for at least some more time.

"I have said that I was going to retire in July 2007. I still love DJing, but I hate the politics behind it, and the sacrifices are sometimes overwhelming. I have not had a nice, quite dinner on a Saturday night for a long time. For girls, is hard to understand my profession, and to get along with it, and one day I want to become a father."