Julio Rosales Huatuco

Biography

Julio Rosales Huatuco (c. **1931–1932 – March 9, 2019) was a Peruvian saxophonist, composer, orchestra leader, and one of the most influential figures in the traditional music of Peru's Mantaro Valley. Widely regarded as one of the last great patriarchs of Wanka music, he played a central role in shaping the sound of the region's orquestas típicas and was celebrated for his contributions to the tunantada, huayno, and muliza traditions.

Rosales was born in Acolla, in Peru's Junín Region. He began playing the alto saxophone as a child, learning largely by ear before entering the Conservatory of Music in Acolla as a free student at the age of fourteen.

During the 1950s and 1960s, he performed with several renowned ensembles, including Lira Jaujina, Aurora Andina, Los Rebeldes de Huancayo, and Sensación del Mantaro. In 1964, he founded Los Engreídos de Jauja, later renamed Los Engreídos del Perú, one of the country's most celebrated folk orchestras. Under his direction, the group recorded approximately 25 LPs and more than 50 singles, helping popularize the music of the central Andes throughout Peru and abroad.

He was also closely associated with legendary folk singer Flor Pucarina (Leonor Chávez Rojas), serving for many years as her saxophonist and collaborating on recordings that became milestones of Peruvian folk music, including the classic Ayrampito.

Rosales became internationally known through El país de los saxos, the acclaimed documentary directed by Sonia Goldenberg. The film follows his return to Peru after years living in the United States and explores the deep relationship between the saxophone, the Mantaro Valley, and Wanka cultural identity.

Julio Rosales Huatuco died on March 9, 2019, at the age of 87, due to kidney failure. His passing was widely mourned across Peru, where he was remembered as one of the architects of the Mantaro Valley's orchestral tradition and a master whose compositions continue to be performed by generations of Andean musicians.