Lucho Barrios

Who was Lucho Barrios?

Luis Barrios Rojas, better known as Lucho Barrios, was a popular Peruvian Bolero singer, well known throughout Latin America, and especially popular in Chile. He was also referred to as "Mr. Marabú".

Luis Barrios Rojas was born in Callao, where he lived until the age of nine, when he moved to the Barrios Altos area of the Lima District. He had a long relationship with Zenobia Caceres Sanchez, with whom he had two children: Luis and Armando Barrios Caceres. He had a daughter with the Ecuadoran singer Mary Arauz named Angelica Maria Barrios Arauz, and one daughter with Elsa Espejo, the former general manager of Radio San Isidro, named Milagros Barrios Espejo.

In the 1950s, when he was still an amateur, Lucho Barrios was a finalist in a competition called "The Stairway of Triumph" that took place in the theaters in Lima. Later, he formed the trio "Los Incas", a group which lasted only a short while. He recorded a few small albums on the Smith label, but it was Edith Barr who helped his international success. She took him to Radio Callao where he met Julio Jaramillo, who was impressed by his voice, and invited him to sing in Ecuador. In 1957 he entered the National School of Opera, and studied until the age of 19 alongside Alejandro Vivanco, brother-in-law of Yma Sumac.