Cheo Hurtado
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| Cheo Hurtado | |
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| Born | May 2, 1960 Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela |
Cheo Hurtado is a Venezuelan musician, one of the most celebrated virtuoso performers of the cuatro, whose extremely agile strumming technique is currently believed to be unsurpassed. He is also a mandolin player, a bandola player, a guitarist and a musical producer.
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[edit] Biography
Cheo Hurtado was born in Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar state, Venezuela, May 2, 1960, the son of the guitarist and composer Ramón Hurtado. He was christened Asdrúbal, but the nickname "Cheo" took hold firmly since early childhood.
Hurtedo started his first steps as a musician at the age of 7, under the trusteeship of his father, and the influence of Carmito and Hernán Gamboa. At the age of 13 he won the first place in the Concurso Nacional de Cuatro de Venezuela, the national Cuatro Contest.
Between 1975 and 1983, he dedicated himself to the education of cuatro, guitar and mandolina in the House of the Culture of Ciudad Bolívar, where he founded the Estudiantina Carlos Raul Villanueva performing group, that was soon to be called La Cuerda de Carmito, as a tribute to the composer Carmito Gamboa. With this group he recorded three albums, playing the mandolina, the Bass guitar, the cuatro and calypso drums.
Since then, he also played with the Orquesta Angostura, directed by Juanito Arieta; Un Solo Pueblo, Costa Caribe and the group Bandolas de Venezuela.
In 1985, he took a definitive step when, together with Luis Julio Toro and Cristóbal Soto, founded the Gurrufío Chamber Ensemble, that later added other musicians and changed its name to Ensamble Gurrufío, a widely celebrated quartet, whose main proposal has been to rescue folk music but making improvisation a fundamental element. To be able to watch Ensamble Gurrufio performing live is a unique and most enjoyable experience.
[edit] Concert tours, collaborations and other activities
Hurtado has shared scenarios with other great artists like: Alirio Diaz, Aldemaro Romero, Paquito D’Rivera, Oscar D'León, Simón Díaz, Béla Fleck, Serenata Guayanesa, Soledad Bravo, Lilia Vera and María Teresa Chacín, among others.
As a soloist, as accompanying musician, and as musical director, Hurtado has participated in international events in the America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean countries. Among his most treasured endeavors are the Camerata Criolla project, and his campaign of the Siembra del Cuatro ("Seeding the Cuatro").
Hurtado's performances have been acclaimed in both the national and international scenarios. Besides his native Venezuela, he has performed in Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao, Martinique, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, France, Spain, England, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Between October and November 2005, Hurtado staged 21 concerts in Japan and Taiwan, featuring the best of Venezuelan traditional music featuring the cuatro. To date, he has recorded in at least 70 albums.
