Hugo Blanco (musician)

Hugo Blanco
Born September 25, 1940 (1940-09-25) (age 71)
Caracas, Venezuela

Hugo Blanco (September 25, 1940— ) is a popular Venezuelan musician. He is best known as the author of "Moliendo Café" and other songs like "El Burrito de Belén" (also known as "El Burrito Sabanero"), "Leche Condensada", "Luces de Caracas", "Sierra Nevada", "Mañanita Zuliana", and others. "Moliendo Café", written in 1958 when Hugo Blanco was only 18 years old, has become one of the most recognized Venezuelan songs in all the world.

Contents

Biography

Blanco was born in Caracas, received only two months of musical education. His first cuatro was bought when he was fifteen years old, and learned to play it listening to the radio. Blanco created a new Venezuelan music style called the Orquídea in honor of the Venezuelan national flower. This Orquídea was a fusion of the Cuban music and the joropo. In the 1960s, composed many gaitas along with Simón Díaz. These gaitas were very popular in that decade. They were called Gaita de las Locas. In that decade too, Blanco founded the first Venezuelan ska group, Las Cuatro Monedas.

In the 1970s, Joselo Díaz, brother of Simón Díaz, recorded many of the Hugo Blanco gaitas. In the 1970s and 1980s, Hugo Blanco created a Venezuelan music group called Los Hijos de ña Carmen. Through his simple and fresh compositions, Hugo Blanco exported his work to European countries, America and even Japan, where he had success without precedent.

Trivia

Discography

With Simón Díaz

With Joselo Díaz

Compilations

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hugo Blanco - Tropicana (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/Hugo-Blanco-Tropicana/release/1839387. Retrieved 2011-02-17.