ASARA

In motion by FIKIRA MUSIC

BIOS

A man wearing a gray fedora hat and a sleeveless beige shirt, playing drums with a smile. Another musician, dressed in a vest and patterned shirt, is seen in the background, possibly playing a guitar. The setting appears to be an indoor stage with green and black decor.

Lead Composer, drummer, producer

Fiaindratovo "Mimy" Manavihare is a Malagasy-born, Portland-based composer, drummer, percussionist, and bandleader. He leads Fikira Music, an ensemble dedicated to preserving and expanding Southern Malagasy musical traditions—including Banaike, Tsapike, and Salegy polyrhythms—by synthesizing them with modern jazz harmony, symphonic arrangements, and Afro-Latin elements.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Music Performance, Manavihare has toured and performed internationally with premier global and contemporary classical ensembles, including Pink Martini, Seffarine, Okaidja Nii Afroso, and Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos.

In Fall 2026, Manavihare released Fikira Music’s debut vinyl LP, BEKO. His recent work focuses on ASARA, an ambitious symphonic project rearranging Fikira Music's repertoire for chamber orchestra. Beyond his musical composition and leadership, Manavihare is an active cultural community educator and an accomplished woodworker and custom furniture artisan operating Mimy Designs in Portland.

A man wearing glasses and a white shirt playing a grand piano on a stage with dark background.

Co-Arranger & Orchestrator

Uziel Colón is a pianist, arranger, and composer. He has performed with Grammy-winning percussionist Eguie Castrillo, legendary vibraphonist Victor Mendoza, percussionists Giovanni Hidalgo and Marc Quiñones, trumpet players Greg Hopkins and Humberto Ramirez, and accomplished bassists Oscar Stagnaro, Oskar Cartaya, and Abraham Laboriel.

In addition, he has performed with Latin superstars Juan Luis Guerra, Ruben Blades, and also the late drummer John Blackwell and singer Chaka Khan.

He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Composition, and earned a master’s degree in Commercial Music from Cal State, Los Angeles.

Uziel wrote and co-produced music for telenovelas for the Spanish-language television network Telemundo. He authored a monthly piano technique column for the most important Latin American music magazine of its time, MusicoPro.

As an educator, Uziel has been teaching music performance and theory in jazz, pop and afro-latin music. Currently, he works as an undergraduate and graduate-level adjunct professor/lecturer at both Cal Lutheran University and Cal State University, Los Angeles.

With FIKIRA MUSIC, Uziel Colón plays the piano and key-board. He also co-arranges and  orchestrates our music.