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...