cotito: hechicero

Julio Medrano Cotito has developed a very prolific career as a singer-songwriter and performer of the Peruvian cajón. He is one of the emblematic figures in the world of Afro-Peruvian music today and his name appears in many of the main fusion ensembles that have lead way in the exploration of black rhythms in Peru. Cotito has traveled around the world, sharing his music and knowledge of the cajón in schools and universities. Hechicero, his new album, and the second volume of the collection Perspectives on Afro-Peruvian Music, is an entry into the sources of the Afro tradition. It is a celebratory album, which invokes Manuel Vásquez, Eusebio Sirio, and Julio Algendones, the three great Peruvian cajoneros who are honored here in separate compositions based on the instrumental mixture of cajón, chekere, jawbone, cajita, bell, congas, bongo, guitar, and bass, in powerful and exuberant rhythmic interactions which makes up the essence of Cotito's style, and at the same time presents the genuine Afro-Peruvian sound: Festejo, Son de los Diablos, and Zamacueca. Produced by Manongo Mujica and Daniel Mujica.