Otmaro Ruíz (born June 27, 1964, in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan pianist, keyboardist, composer and arranger. Ruíz began his formal musical studies at the age of eight on piano, classical guitar, harmony, history and aesthetics. He also was exposed to other artistic activities such as drawing and acting. At the same time, he studied organ and pursued a scientific career as a biologist at the Simón Bolívar University, but kept playing keyboards on the side, landing his first professional work in a pop group in 1980. Decided to focus entirely on music, Ruíz dropped out of school in 1983, playing in his native Venezuela. He toured and recorded with local and visiting musicians, and also became a busy studio musician as a jingles composer and arranger.