Manzanita y su Conjunto

The Little Apple

Manzanita y su Conjunto is a Lima band led by the guitarist Berardo Hernández, called Manzanita, the little apple; born in Laredo, near Trujillo, he died in Lima on May 5, 2007, aged about 64. KLOF Mag says he moved to Lima at 12 in 1955 and was a self-taught guitarist in the criolla style with a fast picadito technique. The producer Alberto Maravi wanted something catchier than Berardo Hernández y su Conjunto, and Manzanita was his school nickname; he was later also called El Monje Loco, quiet and humble off stage, and he began as a singer of boleros and waltzes under the name Jack Sabu, per a fan blog. He played in Los Pacharacos from 1962, 1965 or 1964 depending on the source, and in 1967 formed Los Pachas. The usual early line-up, per KLOF Mag, was Héctor Mattos on congas, Antonio Medina on bongos, Ricardo Valles on timbales, Enrique Ibérico on bass and Hernán Huamán on organ.

"Arre Caballito", with "La Parada", was the first 45 on Dinsa in 1968 or 1969, a hit in Peru that led to the debut LP Arre Caballito (Dinsa DLP 0023), dated 1969 by Wikipedia and 1970 by MusicBrainz and Discogs. He left Dinsa after a dispute with Maravi, signed to Virrey in 1973 for El Nuevo Sonido de Manzanita, with a horn section unusual for the time, and made Manzaneando con Manzanita in 1974. In 1971 to 1974 he recorded in Trujillo and Lima, including with the local group Los Caneros, and in 1976 he founded his own label, Edysamber. He later withdrew from the industry, and the last LP was El retorno de Manzanita on Jayedan.

Infopesa reissued Arre Caballito on LP in December 2019, remastered by Aldo Montalvo, with a collage cover by Yerko Zlatar, and Analog Africa released Trujillo, Peru 1971-1974 on July 2, 2021; Songlines gave it 4 of 5, Clash 8 of 10, and ukvibe called him one of Peru's undisputed masters of the electric guitar. His son Berardo Jr. leads the band, which made its first UK tour, La Leyenda Continúa, in June and July 2024. With Enrique Delgado of Los Destellos he is credited as a founder of electric-guitar cumbia, and followers include Los Beta 5, Los Diablos Rojos and Los Girasoles.