He is 70 years old, makes music with his 5 children and announces a new album: Pochi Marambio explains what success is

At 70, the pioneer of Peruvian reggae, Pochi Marambio, still has many songs to sing along with Tierra Sur. With an artistic trajectory of 40 years of uninterrupted presentations and productions, the band released “Hay amor”, the advance song of their new album “Siempre bien”, which will be available in spring.

Tierra Sur is currently made up of the five children of Pochi Marambio, three friends and a grandson, and has gone through various formations throughout its history. In its current configuration, it has Raquel Marambio and Camila Visscher (vocals), Alec and Joaquín Marambio (guitar), Noel and Andrei Marambio (bass), Daniel Vigo (drums) and Lorenzo Susti (keyboard). It was together with this talented team that the artist premiered “Hay amor”, a song that talks about a spiritual love and whose video clip is directed by Donald Wilson, the same director of his song “Tocan a la puerta”.

Of all the members of the band, Pochi Marambio witnessed the emergence of renowned groups such as La Renken or Laguna Pai, as well as the disappearance of Hojas Secas, Los Nuevos Predicadores or Turmanye. However, these events did not discourage the singer, who persevered in the music scene. “He knew he would not be recognized until much later. I’ve been composing since the 70s and I had to wait until 1992 for a record label to pay attention to us and produce ‘Mi marimba’.adds Pochi, whose musical journey into reggae was started by hearing Eric Clapton perform “I Shot The Sheriff”.

“The song was very good, but it wasn’t by Clapton, but by Bob Marley, so we asked some foreigners if we could copy some cassettes they had of Marley and that’s how we entered that world.”, comments the artist who, under the influence of the iconic Jamaican singer, composed his most popular song. “The song ‘Mi marimba’ came out spontaneously while we were doing a Bob Marley choir at a show, after that concert, the audience asked us to always play it, and then we started to compose something more serious.”, he subscribes.

the new marimba

Under the idea of ​​producing a new album that equals the impact of his acclaimed album “Mi Marimba”, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, Pochi Marambio is focused on creating a work that keeps him active and reflects the harmony present in his life. Despite the fact that his audience continues to demand some of the 14 songs from that iconic album at each concert, the singer considers it important to continue evolving and surprising his followers. “I am still full of energy to continue producing music. At this age, I understood that success is not based on signing records or earning large sums of money, but on feeling the gratitude of the public on stage.”, comments the artist who does not believe in the decline of a musical genre, but in new opportunities for change.

This positive mindset is reflected in the title of her next musical production, “Always good”, a phrase that Pochi always responds to, even in difficult times. “My song says: ‘Word and faith make the real thing’. That represents my personal optimism, it is ‘pochitivo‘” says the singer, who didn’t always have the ambition to be a musician. “My dream was to be a recognized painter, but I was discouraged when my exhibitions did not attract public to the galleries. I was living something unreal in an environment where the state of culture was not favorable”, adds the artist, who now proudly exhibits a self-portrait he created with the help of his daughter Raquel Marambio.

Regarding the premiere of the song, the artist hopes that what he calls “false winter” ends to launch his new production that will have a foreign production, national guests, original former members of Tierra Sur and unpublished songs that he wrote when he was young. “I am completing my works to leave that legacy, I am also encouraging myself to make folklore and spiritual music, it will no longer be from lip to ear or pocket, but from heart to heart”, he concludes.