Born in Houston, David Pulkingham is the Austin band Catavento’s lone native Texan, but his musical tastes and abilities cross many borders. He is equally at home playing the lyrical, almost classical lead on Brazilian choro; the irresistible groove of a cumbia; or swinging on a jazz standard. Born into a musical and spiritual family, Pulkingham grew up in the tradition of church music. He spent the ages of four to twelve living on a spiritual commune in the British Isles, then returned to Houston, where his flute and Barry Manilow t-shirt provoked the derision of the other boys on the school bus. But Pulkingham survived all that. He received a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from Northwest Texas State in Denton, Texas. In addition to teaching guitar at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and helping organize the choir at St. James Episcopal Church, he has gigged with some of the most successful Latin bands in Austin, including Ta Mère (led by Christian Fernandez) and, currently, La Tribu, Son y No Son, and Catavento.