Born in Monte Grande, a town twenty miles south of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Luis Salinas was born into a musical family where he was encouraged by his father and step-father, both of whom are musicians, to play the guitar. Though he took his first musical steps at the age of eight, it wasn't until he was fourteen that he began to take the instrument seriously. It was at this time that Luis discovered the local music of Argentina, thus beginning a love affair with his own musical heritage as well as the American jazz music he heard on the radio.