Julio Jaramillo

One of Latin America's most influential vocalists, Julio Jaramillo continues to inspire Latin singers years after his death. During his relatively brief 20-year career, he recorded thousands of songs -- boleros, valses, pasillos, tangos, and even rancheras. Jaramillo's classics include "El Alma En Los Labios," "Cinco Centavitos," "Flores Negras," "Guayaquil De Mis Amores," "Rosario De Besos," "Licor Bendito," and his most famous tune, "Nuestro Juramento." His contributions to Ecuadorian music made Jaramillo a national hero whose records still fill the jukeboxes in his native Guayaquil.

Born Julio Alfredo Jaramillo Laurido in Guayaquil in 1935, Jaramillo learned to play the guitar at an early age, formed a trio with friends, and recorded his first song for a political campaign by the centrist party, Concentración de Fuerzas Populares (CFP), in the early '50s. Though he played around the country while still a teenager, Jaramillo spent little of his career in Ecuador, leaving for Colombia, then Venezuela, Mexico, and Uruguay. He recorded collaborations with such top-rated Latin performers as Daniel Santos, Olimpo Cárdenas, Alci Acosta, and Pepe Jaramillo. (An album with Santos was recorded in a bar, the favorite haunt of both singers.)

After more than a decade away, Jaramillo returned to Ecuador for a July 1976 anniversary program. His death two years later brought thousands of Ecuadorans into the streets for a massive mourning; the day of his birth was named Día del Pasillo Ecuatoriano ("Ecuadorian Pasillo Day"), a national holiday. ~ TiVo Staff, Rovi