Roberto Enrique "Tito" Chicoma Bancer, born in Chiclayo in June 1936, established himself as a respected Peruvian trumpeter in the late 1950s by working with orchestras led by Lucho Macedo, Koki Palacios, and Mario Cavagnaro, before joining Los Mujica Boys around 1960 and later forming his own ensemble, Tito Chicoma y Su Orquesta, which became a fixture on Peruvian television shows like El Show del Tío Johnny and El Show de Juan Silva during the 1960s. In 1966 he issued his first self-titled album on MAG, featuring adaptations of Colombian cumbia by Los Teen Agers, followed in 1967 by El Ritmo de Moda, and in 1968 by the LP Cumbias y Boogaloos—a vibrant fusion of Colombian cumbia and boogaloo rhythm, including his own composition “Dale U” and interpretations of works by Hugo Blanco and Graciela Arango. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, he released a string of genre-blending albums: Salsa y Soul Andino (1976), Fiebre de Salsa (1976), ¡Te pasaste Tito! (1978), Disco Zambo (1979), Te pasaste de ritmo (1979), ¡Qué tal selección! (1981), Mejor que nunca (1982), and Atrevidísimo (1988), reflecting his inventive mix of salsa, cumbia, Andean influences, and soul. In 2003, he became the musical director for Habacilar, supervising the house band until 2009 when his health declined. Posthumously, his music continues to be rediscovered through compilations like Guaguancó con Tito Chicoma (2015) and reissues of Cumbias y Boogaloos (2022), which highlight his enduring influence in Peru’s tropical music scene.
