Ernesto Samuel Sánchez Fajardo (1928–1988), known by the nickname “El Jilguero del Huascarán”, was a Peruvian huayno singer, composer, and union leader born in Bambas. Sánchez Fajardo began a musical career in 1942 with the ensemble Trío Los Hijos del Sol and later joined troupes including Compañía Folklórica Ollanta. In 1949, Sánchez Fajardo received a gold medal at the Festival de San Juan de Amancaes. His first recordings, including the song “Mujer andina”, were made for the label Odeón in 1948. In 1960, Sánchez Fajardo received the first gold record awarded to an Andean artist in Peru for the song “Marujita”. He founded the Sindicato de Artistas Folklóricos del Perú and was elected as a deputy to the Constituent Assembly in 1978. Sánchez Fajardo died in Lima on December 23, 1988. In 2008, his work was declared Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación.
