José Pepo Saavedra has been developing his musical career as a singer-songwriter following the tradition of Latin American song and the musical genre known as Nueva Canción for the last ten years.

Back in 1993 as a university student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Pepo started writing songs that attempted to paint the Puerto Rican reality of the time. As a student, Pepo tried to combine his studies in agriculture and popular education with his music and work with student and community action movements related to human rights, farm workers, social justice, and the colonial situation in Puerto Rico. While in Mayagüez, Pepo was part of many musical groups, learning to play and write music for a variety of genres. Through these musical experiences Pepo's first group dedicated to Latin American song was born. Borikén founded by Pepo, Shana Torres, and guitarist Marcos López also included Elise DuBord on violin, Leonardo Rodríguez on guitar y Aníbal del Valle on cuatro.

Four years later Borikén split up and Pepo continued to follow his dream of integrating popular education, music, and social justice work. He moved to Minnesota where he worked with a variety of non-profit organizations dedicated to social justice issues concerning migrant farm workers and Latino communities. Later Pepo and Elise spent time in Guatemala working with a variety of local groups and organizations dedicated to popular education, community development, and organic agriculture with campesinos and victims of the violence that for many years this beautiful country and its people suffered.

Today Pepo lives in Tucson, Arizona where he is dedicated to working with local communities, now with children with disabilities and their families. Pepo has also collaborated with local groups joining the struggle to advocate for immigrant rights.

In 2004, Pepo, with his wife and long time musical partner Elise DuBord, presented his first album, Veredas Verdes (Green Pathways), following the tradition of Latin America's Nueva Canción and brings to life songs that deal with elements of our everyday lives. Veredas Verdes invites reflection, action, and understanding of what makes us human. In 2005 Pepo, presents his second album Versos Reversos (Verse Reverse) which features Elise DuBord on violin and Michael Hummer on percussion. Versos Reversos combines social commentary, storytelling, and wordplay. The album is simply a celebration of language, music, and poetry that invites us to reflect on what separates us and brings us together.

In 2004, Pepo starts working on music for film. With his music, he has collaborated in the making of several short films dedicated to border issues with Pan Left Productions. In 2005, Pepo scores the music for PRESENTE: inside the migrant trail walk, directed by Jason Aragón. The film is about a 7 day, 75 mile walk from Sásabe, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona, that raised awareness about the quantity of immigrants that die crossing the border every year as a result of U.S. border policies. Pepo's songs have also been featured in several compilations dedicated to benefit social justice organizations in Puerto Rico and the U.S.

The year 2007 brings a new collection of songs with the album Ver Cada Ver (To See Every Sight). The album, recorded in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Tucson, Arizona, brings together stories, musicians, and old friends. It presents a collection of songs that reflects on empathy, struggle in times of war, repression, and our ability to feel solidarity not only towards others but towards ourselves. Ver Cada Ver tries to capture and reflect upon themes ranging from U.S. intervention in Puerto Rico, the U.S.-Mexico border conflict, as well as the simple beauty of weaving words together. The album, produced by Pepo and long-time friend and songwriter Walter Morciglio, features Pepo on guitar and vocals as well as members of La Desgracia Music Ensemble, Elise DuBord on violin, Michael Hummer on drums, and Becca Bleich on viola. The album also features a number of very special guests, from Calexico's Joey Burns on cello to Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Walter Morciglio, Fernando Ferrer, and Shana Torres.

Ver Cada Ver is, as its title suggests, a call to reflection, questioning, action, and solidarity among all humankind.