by jorge » Tue Jul 16, 2013 2:48 am
First decide what kind of music you want to play and what instrument you want to learn, then learn it. Lots of great conga players started on bongo, including Tata Guines. Many great players in Cuba learned mainly on their own, without being systematically "taught to play". The main thing is that you truly enjoy the music, hearing it, singing it, dancing to it. Really wanting to play makes a big difference. Enjoying playing and learning to play well enough that you love to play will come with time and practice.
If you live outside Cuba, which you probably do, you would probably benefit from hiring a good teacher. Not all teachers who can teach well and explain and demonstrate clearly can actually play well, and like JC said, not everyone who can play well can teach well. Hopefully you can find someone in your area who can do both, otherwise there are several online options including JC and other online teachers like Congamasterclass.com, as well as selective YouTube clips if you really know what you are looking for. There are lots of great players and lots of terrible players on YouTube. You can learn a lot from YouTube clips, although that is probably best for more advanced players who can really tell the difference.