Biography

Alex San Dinero, a multi-talented entertainer born (Vantharat "RAT" Tapanya) has balanced an acting career with a musical career. Alex has worked on feature and independent films, including broadway theatre, musicals, tv shows, and commercials with titles such as Step Up 2, Full Circle, Collide, Auntie Mame, Basement Knokerz, State Farm Insurance, ECOMB (Enviromental Coalition of Miami Beach), Cherry Jem, Delivery Driver, Wachovia, etc.,.

Alex brings a powerful performance in each and every show with his dynamic personality both on and off stage. He lights up the crowd like a firecracker and is unique in his style of work.

Born in a refugee camp in Ubon, Thailand. His family was brought to the U.S. and landed in Rochester, NY when he was two years old. Within a few short years, his family migrated themselves to California where they found an incredibly large population of other Lao refugees who settled in San Diego. His parents left San Diego to find a much lower cost of living in Fresno, CA where he grew up.

He was raised in a very heavy Lao culture with his parents and he being both first generation Lao in the United States. Alex’s loving parents, Aeth Tapanya and Vilayvanh Tapanya are very well known leaders in the Lao Buddhist Community in Fresno, CA and are currently actively involved with all the cultural events at the Lao Wat’s. Growing up in a very populated Lao community, he learned to speak his native tongue by nature. However, he attended McLane High School where at that time, was teaching Lao as one of their foreign language classes. He studied his native language and literature and, unlike many Lao refugees born or raised in America, he still has the ability to read and write in Lao.

After serving seven years on active duty with the Navy from the age of 18, Alex decided to settle in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area where he finished his last tour of duty at the DiLorenzo Tri-Care Health Clinic in the Pentagon. A decorated Veteran and hero during his tour, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his heroic efforts on the Emergency Team during the attacks of 9-11 on the Pentagon. He was one of the many rescue workers in the fire and rubble digging out victims and survivors from the terrorist attacks.

Living in the DC Metropolitan area exposed Alex to a new music culture and genre he had never seen before in Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and REGGAETON! He fell in love with the dynamics of its sound (Dembow) and wanted to bring the same passion to his Lao people. Only…. in his native language. After talking with several other Lao artists about bringing this new genre which he calls, LAOgaeton, they seemed to be interested only in Rap, Hip-Hop, and R&B. So he decided to use his own ideas to bring the world and his Lao people up to speed on a new introduction to the Lao urban culture in America and internationally, LAOggaeton!