It all started by chance in 1975. Rodolfo Montagne had composed a song for a nationwide contest that was going to choose the song that would represent Peru at the OTI Festival, and he asked Yoshi Hirose, his neighborhood friend, for support.
Yoshi Hirose, musician of memory
Yoshi had never made music professionally. He barely played the guitar, but he mastered it: he made changes to the lyrics of the song and contributed his “messy” voice to the recording.
At the contest Hirose went on stage with Montagne to perform the song. He didn't win, but he was a finalist and made them popular. Yoshi remembers that people congratulated them and at the same time criticized the jury's ruling. “The cholito and the chinito must have won,” the street shouted.
In the long run they won. They signed a contract with Sono Radio and began a musical career for which they are remembered to this day. Rodolfo was transformed into Luigi (by the Italian player Luigi Riva) and thus Yoshi and Luigi were born. They recorded albums, participated in twenty festivals (they were successful in several) and became regular guests on television programs.
In 1979 they decided to separate. Luigi became a soloist and Yoshi began studying music. In 1987 he debuted as an arranger at a festival. Since then he has been making music both on stage and behind it. In 2000 he got together again with Luigi. Four years later they lowered the curtain on their second stage as a duo.
Yoshi has participated in everything that the Nikkei community has put together in musical matters: New Voices, Pan-American Nikkei, Interclubes, Nights of Remembrance, etc. He digs into his memories and names come up like the Serenade orchestra and the Fresa Nisei group, great entertainers of the seventies parties that brought together Nisei youth.
THE MAGIC SIXTY
Although Yoshi burst onto the music scene in the 1970s, his favorite years are the sixties. I could talk for hours and hours about those times dominated by Beatlemania.”
Although Yoshi burst onto the music scene in the 1970s, his favorite years are the sixties. He feels privileged to have experienced them. I could talk for hours and hours about those times dominated by Beatlemania. You only have to wind it once for its memory to take off.
The music he loves most was created back then. Favorite group: The Beatles. Song: “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band .
The vast majority of artists who come to Peru today had their heyday in the last century. Yoshi says that in the '60s the country welcomed stars, like Bill Haley and Chubby Checker, at the height of their popularity. “We saw the greats at the time,” he remembers.
How can I forget the morning sessions, which I went to without fail. He followed the Doltons, his favorite group, from movie to movie. He was a fan of its vocalist, César Ychikawa. Yoshi shares an anecdote that featured his colleague: “One day when I was passing by (the Museum of) the Inquisition there was a commotion on a corner. I got off the bus and it was César Ychikawa who was being 'assaulted' by people. I sneaked in too, I 'assaulted' him too, I said (laughs). He was an incredible idol, to this day.”
Another capital band of the time was the Shains. According to Yoshi, in Peru the Doltons were the Beatles and the Shains were the Rolling Stones. He also mentions the Yorks, who stood out for the originality of their songs; the Belkings, one of the best instrumental combos in the country; and the Saicos, pioneers of punk, to whom – he admits – he did not pay much attention because their music was not in tune with the time.
He doesn't just miss that decade because of the music. “The world of the sixties was calm, they were going to assault you in the street, you walked at five in the morning… El Jirón de la Unión was the best place to walk,” he recalls.
The spell is broken when the biggest band of all time disbands. “In 1970 the Beatles decided to break up as if to indicate that the magic was over,” he explains. More than forty years later, Yoshi tries to relive the magic every time he goes on stage.
YOSHI AND THE BLUE STARS
Hirose is currently part of a trio with a very sixties name: Yoshi and the Blue Stars, along with Akira Tokashiki and Tito Silva. They perform songs from yesteryear such as “The Last Kiss”, “Puerto Montt” and “Sukiyaki” (the most requested by the public), and from artists such as Raphael, Nino Bravo and Formula V.
Akira is an architect and was part of Arizona Nisei in his youth. He left music for work and family, but returned to the stage summoned by Yoshi. Tito has been singing since he was a child and although he sings songs by other artists, he does not imitate but rather seeks to give each song his own stamp. “So that they remember us,” HE SAYS.
Yoshi and the Blue Stars
* This article is published thanks to the agreement between the Peruvian Japanese Association (APJ) and the Discover Nikkei Project. Article originally published in Kaikan magazine No. 67, May 2012 and adapted for Discover Nikkei.
© 2012 Asociación Peruano Japonesa; © 2012 Fotos: Asociación Peruano Japonesa / Álvaro Uematsu
