Musician born in Guapi, Colombia. Hugo Candelario has dedicated his career to spreading the music of his beloved Colombian Pacific coast around the world. His work has centered around investigation, creation, production and diffusion of the rhythms of this region of Colombia.
Composer, arranger, saxophonist, ‘marimbero’ and musical director with an academic background from Instituto Popular de Cultura, Conservatorio Antonio María Valencia and Universidad del Valle.
Candelario has carried out important research about traditional folclore of the Pacific region and other regions of Colombia. His musical career’s main focus and motivation is investigation. He is responsible for tempering the ‘marimba de chonta’ so it could be played with ‘western’ instruments on traditional musical scales.
The unique interpretation of the Pacific rhythms created by Hugo Candelario, where his ‘marimba de chonta’ takes the lead role, can be experienced in 3 formats of Grupo Bahía: Orchestra, Ensemble and Trio.