MELCOCHITA mi mundo y mis exitos - Artículo Breve

Latin Beat Magazine, Feb, 2002 by Nelson Rodríguez

Sometimes in life we meet individuals who leave us with a lasting impression and my meeting with Pablo Branda Villanueva (aka Melcochita) was one of those moments. His unique character is a clear expression of a man who is sure of who he is. Of Afro-Cuban and French ancestry, he was born in the village of La Victoria in Uma, Peru on September 17, 1936 to Nicolas Villanueva and Constanza Branda, and was involved in music at a very young age. He played maracas and tumbadora at family gatherings and village festivals and by the late '40s had already performed at local clubs. In the '50s he and his siblings formed a group called Son Cubillas before he went on his own as a comedian. During one of his appearances on a program hosted by Augusto Ferrrando, the latter nicknamed him "Melcochita" (one who "sugared" the audience) because of his particular style of entertaining the crowds, that included dancing and playing various instruments. Melcochita became a wizard at imitating some of the world's top performers such as Daniel Santos, Los Compadres, Rolando LaSerie, Guillermo Portables and Los Guaracheros de Oriente. His musical virtuosity landed him a gig playing drums and singing back-up vocals and that eventually led to a career as a vocalist. As his career developed he went on to record the single Dos Almas, with Tito Chicoma y su Orquesta (a very popular band in Colombia), then with La Sonora de Nelson Ferreyra, El Limoncito and with Bertico Salas, Libre de Pecado. For the MAG label he recorded on three LPs, including Dejen Bailar al Loco and Llegaron Los Locos with another comedian named Karamanduka.

In 1978, he moved to New York in the pursuit of better wages than he was receiving in his own country. He made his debut at the famous Queens club Chibcha, but it was his friendship with trumpeter Hector "Bomberito" Zarzuela that helped him get his start doing coros at the Latin Sound Studios owned by Raul Alarcon of Super KQ/MEGA fame in New York. His first break came with Roberto Torres, doing coro on the track Buchipluma Na'Ma', and that led to more work on recordings by Wilfrido Vargas, Gonzalo Fernández, Conjunto Crema, Orlando Contreras and many more.

Melcochita went on to record for various labels beginning in 1984 on the top seller Monte Adentro, that contained the hits Mulata and Como Cantaba Mi Viejo, followed by Con Sabor a Pueblo, that generated the hits Son de Los Viejitos, Ya Cali Tiene Un Son, Tibiri Tabara, and one of his best all-time compositions, Pegaso.

He recorded two LPs with El Conjunto Camaguey (Kamaguey) and in 1989 the Johnny Pacheco-produced La Estrella del Son. In 1993 he released El Retorno de Melcochita with the hot club jams Baila Mi Rumba, Rumbera Mayor, and another outstanding Melcochita composition that today ranks as his best, Madre.

Mi Son Sabroson in 1996 was then followed by Tributo a Daniel Santos in the late '90s. Melcochita has also written for Celia Cruz, his own sister Lita Brenda, Conjunto Barroco and Carlos Miranda. His early inspirations were Trio Matamoros, Compay Segundo (of Los Compadres), Pachito Alonso, and Vicentico Valdés.

When asked about inspirational moments in his career, he responded: "Some of my biggest moments included a performance at a theatre in Barranquilla, Colombia, where the people were just sitting waiting and during intermission I decided to go out and entertain them with my comedy and the entire house went into an uproar. They loved it and I'll never forget it. I also will never forget performing in front of 15,000 people in Amsterdam, the majority of whom didn't speak or understand Spanish. They lust loved the swinging music and my comedic antics on stage. The funniest thing that ever happened to me was on a tour that took me to Santa Ana, California with a horrible back-up band. I got rid of them and continued the performance by myself with just a guitar and it was a huge success." Melcochita has performed on the LPs Salsa Ritmo Caliente, Mascara Salsera and Salsa Sudada, and is currently on tour to promote his latest CD, Mi Mundo y Sus Exitos.