Alexei Ýtto Meza Jauregui is a Peruvian artist that you can always meet on one of the streets of Bucharest, the place where he exhibits his art. He says that destiny brought him to Romania, a country he calls “home” and where he integrated perfectly because of the friendly people he met here. He is very involved in the artistic environment of the Capital, being a regular figure of the Latin-themed musical events.
Born in a small village in Peru, Ýtto lived his first years of life in this locality. He later moved to Trujillo, where he attended middle school and high school. The college also started there. He studied only one year in the field of agronomy, but he could not continue, so he chose to devote himself to his great passion: music.
When he introduces himself, he does it in a very simple and direct way: “I am a Peruvian Andean musician.”
He is proud of his origins, and this pride is also reflected in the way he promotes the Peruvian tradition at such a great distance from where he was born. But at the same time he is proud of the places that adopted him and allowed him to express himself from the artistic point of view.
“Bucharest is a beautiful capital, with a lot of life”
When you have in front of you a person who has come from far away, you cannot help but wonder how he got to Bucharest and why he chose to stay in this city.
“I think it was destiny. I had to get here. After obtaining a gain, I arrived in Hungary. There I learned a lot about Romania. I was told a lot of stories about Count Dracula’s Castle and I really wanted to get to visit it. The opportunity to come to Romania appeared when the Peruvian Embassy in Bucharest launched a book by the writer Mario Vargas Llosa, the event being accompanied by an Andean music concert. As there were no Peruvian musicians in Romania to call, they called the Peruvian Embassy in Hungary. I found out and proposed to come to Bucharest. And that’s how I got to the country I live in today,” says the Peruvian artist.
He integrated very quickly into the Romanian landscape, being immediately co-opted by the artistic environment from us for organizing cultural events. In this way he made many friends, began to produce music, attend concerts.
Ýtto says he chose Bucharest because it is a city good for art in general. “I am a street artist and I started to sing, to exhibit my art, and the people received me very well. We produced the first music tapes in the studio of the great Valeriu Sterian”, stresses the artist.
When he first arrived in Bucharest, he already knew a lot about our country, because he knew many Romanians in Hungary. At first glance, what impressed him was not the urban landscape, he was impressed by the people of this city who treated him generously, with friendship.
Over time he discovered the whole city and says that today he has his favorite places in Cișmigiu Park and the Old Center.
Although he does not know the Romanian language so well, so that he can express his feelings perfectly for the city that has accepted him generously, Ýtto states that: “Bucharest is a magnificent capital, with a lot of life”. And, like most people in Bucharest, he is disturbed by the crowds in the city and the fact that there are too few parking lots and too expensive.
He got used to everything that Bucharest means and loves his life here. In fact, he has an ordinary life, being perfectly integrated into the social landscape of the city. During his free time, he likes to visit malls “just like everyone else”, but he also relaxes in Latin clubs, walks through parks.
The road from Peru to our country allowed him to see other cities of the world, so he can make a comparison between the capital of Romania and other cities. Ýtto states that nowhere has he met the joy that Bucharest has. “It differs from other cities in the world because it is cheerful, lively. In addition, it is a very friendly city with foreigners, a tolerant city in which you find all cultures”, mentions the Peruvian artist. Moreover, he loves the fact that Romania is a country where art is appreciated and, says Ýtto, “well paid”.
Life in Bucharest has made him since his arrival in Romania to consider the possibility of settling in the country of adoption. After living so many years on the Romanian lands, Alexei Ýtto Meza Jauregui is more determined than ever to stay in Bucharest, the place that allowed him to fulfill his destiny.
Author: Ștefania Enache
Photo: Corina Gheorghe
