HUMBERTO SANTANA – Miya Santa

For Humberto Santana, better known as DJ Miya Santa, music begins long before the first note is played. Born in Mexico and shaped by a rich constellation of influences, from rock & roll and popular music to Mexican folk traditions, he discovered early on that sound can become a trigger of endless possibilities, a language capable of transforming the ordinary into something deeply personal. His name carries the imprint of a philosophy that has stayed with him from the beginning. Miya Santa evokes the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, whose Heiho path - “way of the sword” - was a path of discipline, purpose and devotion to what one loves. For Humberto Santana, that principle finds its contemporary expression in sound: a belief that anything audible can become a source of music, and that every environment holds the potential for rhythm, texture and emotion.

Artist Humberto Santana next to the painting "Orchids at the Window" (2011, Marinela Măntescu-Isac)

WIN Alliance: An international DJ, a musician, a world traveller Humberto Santana uses his talent to reach the mind and soul of a very diverse audience. He is better is known by his artistic name, DJ Miya Santa. Who is Miya Santa, beyond this succinct description?

Miya Santa is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary artist whose work brings together music, spirituality and visual art. I’m interested in creating connections between different forms of expression - whether that means incorporating the work of other artists or translating my own vision into sound and image. My practice is primarily centred around electronic music and sound design and the exploration of sounds that do not necessarily exist in a conventional form.

WIN Alliance: Where is DJ Miya Santa based at the moment?

DJ Miya Santa: I’m currently based in Dubai, although I travel frequently. Romania, the United States and Mexico are among the places I often return to.

WIN Alliance: What do you want your “voice” to communicate to the public?

DJ Miya Santa: The message I want to share with my audience has a great deal to do with reconnecting with one's own feelings, emotions and thoughts. As I mentioned before, there is also a spiritual dimension to my work, and I try to embed that sensibility in the sounds I create. For me, music can become a space for introspection, a place where people can reconnect with something deeper within themselves.

Artist Humberto Santana at the WIN Herăstrău complex (August 2026)

WIN Alliance: What is your earliest childhood memory of a sound or a piece of music that has stayed with you?

DJ Miya Santa: I don't think there is one specific sound that I remember distinctly, but my early musical influences were incredibly varied: from Mexican folk music to classical music. Those were probably some of the first sounds I was exposed to, not necessarily by choice, of course, but through family life, celebrations and the cultural environment around me.

There is, however, an early memory connected to visual art that has remained particularly vivid. I remember being in a gallery as a child with my mother, father and sister. We were walking through the exhibition when I stopped in front of a painting showing a woman in a field. We could see her from behind: she had long hair, and she was surrounded by grass and flowers. I remember standing there for quite some time, simply looking at it. Eventually, my father came over and I told him: “I really like this painting. I feel something when I look at it. I don't know exactly what it is, but I really like it.”

That may have been the first moment when I realised I had a genuine connection with art. I couldn't explain what I was feeling (and, perhaps, I still can't entirely explain it), but something about that image awakened my curiosity. It was probably one of the first moments when I understood that art had the power to make me feel something beyond words.

Humberto Santana at the WIN Herăstrău complex (August 2026)

WIN Alliance: How old were you at the time?

DJ Miya Santa: I think I was around twelve or thirteen. We were on a family holiday, away from our hometown, and perhaps that made us all more open to new experiences. When you are travelling, you somehow become more receptive; you allow yourself to observe things differently. Looking back, I think that openness may have helped create that first connection I ever felt with an artwork.

Artist Humberto Santana at the WIN Herăstrău complex (August 2026)

WIN Alliance: What musical instrument do you feel most drawn to? Which one do you feel most connected to?

DJ Miya Santa: As a musician, I would say the guitar is naturally the instrument I feel most connected to, simply because it was the first instrument I learned to play properly. I wouldn't necessarily call it my favourite instrument, but it is certainly the one I know best and the one I have developed the strongest technical relationship with.

There are, however, two other instruments that I find particularly fascinating because of their sound and the emotional range they are capable of expressing. The first is the piano. In many ways, it is the foundation of so much of the music we know and love. Its expressive possibilities are almost endless.

The second is the handpan, an extraordinary instrument with an almost otherworldly appearance, something between a musical instrument and a small UFO. You place it on your lap while sitting down, and its surface is shaped with subtle indentations that produce different tones when played. It is often associated with meditation, healing and spiritual practices, and it has a truly unique sound, one that I completely fell in love with. The first time I encountered one, it was being played by a street musician. I immediately went to buy his record, and from that moment on, I became fascinated with the instrument. Owning one is definitely on my list.

Humberto Santana next to the painting "The Citadel" (2011, Laurențiu Midvichi)

WIN Alliance: You are clearly an admirer of art and beauty. Do you feel there are places in the world that possess more beauty-or perhaps a deeper relationship with art-than others? Which places have left the strongest impression on you?

DJ Miya Santa: I think those are actually two different questions, because a place can possess extraordinary artistic depth without necessarily being the most naturally beautiful; and the opposite can also be true. And, of course, if we consider nature itself as a form of art, then the question becomes even more complex.

There are several places I feel deeply aligned with, but two immediately come to mind. The first is Japan. I feel that art and nature are profoundly interconnected there. Traditional Japanese art has always drawn extensively from foliage, trees, animals and landscapes, and there is a remarkable sensitivity in the way nature is represented. What fascinates me is the contrast between precision and abstraction. Architectural forms and natural elements can be depicted with extraordinary detail, while human figures are often treated more abstractly, with exaggerated proportions or deliberately undefined features. I find that contrast incredibly beautiful.

Japan is certainly one of the places where I have felt that nature is not simply something surrounding life - it is deeply embedded in the cultural identity of the place.

Another city that genuinely surprised me with its beauty is Bucharest. The beauty I find here is present in the streets, the architecture, the atmosphere and even in the people. I have really fallen in love with this city. Again, what fascinates me most is its sense of authenticity. There is something raw about Bucharest, but at the same time, something profoundly aesthetic. It is the coexistence of those two qualities that makes it unique to me. In many places, there is a tendency to make everything appear perfect: clean, polished and carefully controlled. Here, there is a different kind of beauty. You can find an extraordinary historic building, abandoned for decades, standing next to a striking new structure with contemporary architecture. Those contrasts are incredibly powerful to me.

There is beauty in that imperfection, in the fact that the city doesn't always try to hide its layers.

Artist Humberto Santana at the WIN Herăstrău complex (August 2026)

WIN Alliance: I would like to return to the idea of connection, but this time the connection between an artist and an audience. As a DJ and musician, how do you create and sustain that connection? How do you keep an audience immersed in what is happening on stage?

DJ Miya Santa: That's a very good question. But I think that, for any artist, the primary purpose of creating art should simply be to create it. Once the work exists, in a way, it no longer belongs entirely to the artist, it belongs to the observer, to the listener, to the person experiencing it.

For me, the artist's responsibility is not necessarily to maintain a connection with an audience; the responsibility is to remain honest in the act of creation. The moment I begin thinking, „How do I keep these people interested? How do I retain this audience?”, I risk turning art into a product and the audience into customers.

Perhaps that's just my personal perspective, and maybe some people would disagree with it. But whether I am producing music or performing as a DJ, I don't approach the creative process by thinking about how to maintain a particular audience.Especially as a DJ! The audience is often completely different every night. I don't necessarily expect to maintain a connection once the performance is over. What matters to me is creating something meaningful in that particular moment. The connection exists there—in the room, in the energy, in the shared experience. My role is simply to help create that moment.

WIN Alliance: At this stage of your career, which fellow artists inspire you to push yourself further and become better at what you do?

DJ Miya Santa: Recently, I have encountered a few DJs who do something I find particularly fascinating. It isn't necessarily about the individual tracks they play, but about the intelligence behind their musical selection and the way they construct a journey throughout a set.

Through the choice and sequencing of certain musical phrases, they are able to control the energy of an entire room. They can gradually increase the intensity, slow everything down, accelerate it again, or create a moment in which you suddenly feel that everyone present is connected through the same emotional experience. And what fascinates me is that they do it almost invisibly. You don't necessarily notice the technique behind it, but you can feel its effect. For me, that is one of the most sophisticated forms of DJing: the ability to understand the emotional architecture of a room and guide it through music. I know very few DJs who can truly do that.

And when it comes to artists in general, there is a Romanian one that has the power to wake you up emotionally. I am referring to visual artist Ioana Raluca Zamfir, whose work speaks in a silent language directly to your deepest feelings. Whetheryou are aware of the emotion or not, through her paintings she is able to „shout” at you with what you can only hear as a whisper in your soul. Her art works function in a similar way to the Rorschach Test. The interpretation is directly influenced by the observer’s life experience. I had the honour and privilege to observe Raluca`s work evolving through the years and I can only admire the courage and dedication she expresses through brush strokes, and to convey what spoken words cannot make you feel.

WIN Alliance: Where do you perform at the moment and, which venues have offered you the most challenging -or perhaps the most artistically elevating-experience?

DJ Miya Santa: At the moment, I am a resident DJ at 1920, Amazónico and Paraíso in Dubai. I have held residencies there for approximately the past year and a half. Amazónico and Paraíso are located within the same building, yet they offer very differentatmospheres. One has more of a lounge setting, often incorporating live elements such as a drummer, while Paraíso is a rooftop venue with its own distinct energy and musical identity.

I would say Paraíso has probably been the most challenging experience for me and, for that reason, perhaps one of the most valuable. It is a very intimate venue, you can see the entire room; you can immediately sense who is engaged, who is dancing, who is listening and who is not. You can literally read people's expressions as each piece of music unfolds. That intimacy demands a particular level of awareness. The music is not necessarily underground in the strict sense, but neither is it commercial. At the same time, the audience doesn't necessarily come specifically for the music. It is a small and discerning crowd, and people are often very clear about what they enjoy and what they don't.

There is nowhere to hide as a DJ. Your ability to read the room has to be absolutely precise. I think that is probably the greatest skill I have developed through performing there: learning to understand the emotional temperature of a room in real time and responding to it.

Going back to what we discussed earlier, this is also where I have observed a few DJs whose ability to manage that dynamic I deeply admire. Three names that come to mind are Carmelo LoCoco, Nader Abaky and José Galvis. Watching artists like them perform has taught me a great deal about the subtle art of controlling energy without making the audience consciously aware of how it is being done.

WIN Alliance: Many artists reach a point in their creative journey when they begin to speak about artistic maturity. Do you feel you have entered that stage?

DJ Miya Santa: As an artist, I tend to divide my practice between two different worlds: DJing and music production. As a producer, I do feel that I have reached a certain level of maturity. I wouldn't release music simply for the sake of releasing it, or because I want it to perform on the charts. For me, every piece of music needs to have an intention behind it. I am very aware of the emotions that sound can evoke and of the way vibration can affect people. Music has an extraordinary capacity to influence how we feel, sometimes in ways we don't even consciously understand. Because of that, I feel a responsibility towards what I put into the world. I wouldn't want to release something that feels empty or unintentional.

As a DJ, however, I still feel that I am constantly discovering new dimensions of the craft. Having these residencies and being required to adapt myself to very different spaces has taught me things about myself that I didn't fully understand before. I feel incredibly grateful and fortunate to have had those experiences, because they have changed my intention when I perform. And I believe they have changed it for the better.

Humberto Santana at the WIN Herăstrău complex (August 2026)

WIN Alliance: Art galleries have their own particular rhythm and energy. You have visited WIN Gallery and, more recently, WIN Herăstrău - both part of WIN Alliance. What was your perception of this complex ecosystem- an organisation bringing together art, architecture, real estate and several other disciplines?

DJ Miya Santa: I love the word „alliance”, and I think it is particularly meaningful in this context. The idea of an alliance suggests the coming together of different worlds -art, architecture, real estate and culture -not as separate entities, but as disciplines capable of creating something greater when they interact.

I think there is a powerful idea behind this kind of „ecosystem”: creating spaces that are not simply about business or development, but about community, prosperity and the possibility of imagining a better future. When different perspectives are allowed to meet, new ideas emerge. And perhaps that is what I find most interesting about WIN Alliance: the merging of worlds in order to create something that none of them could have created entirely on their own.

WIN Alliance: You once lived in Bucharest and are now based in Dubai. Could you imagine exchanging your current artistic home for Bucharest once again? Would you come back?

DJ Miya Santa: I will definitely come back to Bucharest. I have always felt that my art will take me where I need to be. I am genuinely in love with this city and, in a strange way, I sometimes feel that the city likes me back. Dubai was my home before, and at a certain moment, it called me back. I think I will continue to go wherever art, music and, of course - life itself! - take me. But Bucharest will definitely remain part of that journey. I know I will return.

WIN Alliance: One final question. What advice would you give to your younger self, the person who had not yet begun to play, create and perform?

DJ Miya Santa: I think the advice I would give my younger self would be very simple: stop chasing and start attracting. Don't spend your life desperately trying to reach something. Instead, become the person capable of receiving what is truly meant for you. Don'tforce every door open and allow the things that genuinely belong in your life to find their way towards you.

WIN Alliance - Affinities

HUMBERTO SANTANA | Miya Santa

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