Pepe Aranda Biography

Classically trained as a child, Pepe Aranda has grown into one of Latin music’s foremost pop singers. Residing in Ecuador, Aranda is a two-time winner of the OTI (National Songwriter) Awards. A former member of Latin rock band Barro, with whom he performed for seven years, Aranda continued to dominate the pop charts of Chile as leader of his own bands (Pepe Aranda Y Las Rockmanticos and La Banda Metro). He performs as a soloist and with a duo he shares with bongo player Charry Garcia and a member of contemporary Latin dance ensemble Solazo. Aranda’s talents as a musician were obvious from an early age; entering a Chilean music academy at the age of seven, he contined to study classical violin and piano as a teenager. By the age of 19, he performed with the Chilean Symphony Orchestra. Turning his attention to pop music in his early twenties, Aranda took the first steps toward international recognition.