Meet Kiko Villamizar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiko Villamizar.

Kiko Villamizar Born in Miami to Colombian parents was taken to Colombia as a child and raised on a coffee farm where he learned Colombian folk music through oral tradition with his family. He studied jazz in Miami, and then began traveling, collecting melodies and rhythms that make for a genuine world class fusion of Colombian rhythms. Kiko’s first album, “La Remolacha” was released in March of 2015 on Peligrosa Records. It is a beautiful collage of Latin American and Caribbean rhythms. The softmore release “Aguas Frías” (also on Peligrosa), transports you to the Colombian Andes and Caribbean with traditional Afro-Colombian drums and the Indigenous Colombian “gaita” flutes meshed with a full psychedelically electric ensemble.

This eight piece carries the traditions of their ancestors while staying relevant in any modern setting. 20 years of trajectory, two world tours later, and a third on the way, from Viena or Bogotá, to Berkeley or New York, Kiko’s stories are always received with standing ovations and hip shaking workouts. That’s a music bio. But, I founded and run a nonprofit cultural arts center. I grew up during a war in Colombia and have experienced poverty in this country and my story is long.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I grew up during War in Medellin. I have overcome diagnosed PTSD but it has been a ride I lost a baby sister in terrible car accident I had when I was 16 and had to learn to walk again Have been a full-time artist and teaching artist no matter what as my family is generations of Colombian folk music. So I played on the buses in Colombia and have street performed all over this country. Lost my mother accidentally in an easy surgery where they made a mistake. . These are but some of my struggles.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do a few things. I studied voice and theater I am a singer. I have a backing band and I do solo things with a guitar or piano. In College and High School I did a lot of theater and lately I have taken up stand up comedy. I founded a nonprofit called Casa de la Cultura Austin. To teach kids that can or cannot afford classes as my single mom could never afford classes for me growing up. It helps the kids and I have a job I am proud of, but I do it for her. We have other teachers also. We teach Piano, Voice, Guitar, Ukelele, Colombian folklore, little kid Music games, DJ and Production, theater, and visual arts. I also have a recording studio called Wepa Studios. I record any style but I specialize in Colombian folk music. I also founded the Wepa Cambia Roots Festival where I bring artists from Colombia and the world to play the diaspora of Cumbia music. We have not only done it in Austin since 2017, but we did the festival in Germany, Austria, Spain, Colombia, SanAntonio, and Houston. The objective is to give traditional elders and youth that keep this ancestral tradition alive. As well as to give a platform to people making new fusions with this.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I have chosen art over girlfriends, or family approval. I have been homeless for my art. We only have so long on this plane. If the purpose is true a risk is going to be taken either thing you choose. Risk of not evolving is never considered when speaking of this. The risk of the stale cubicle if you are called for something else. For thousands of years, the troubadours and harlequins of the world have brought the news and it has been medicine. It seems like I’ve risked what a lot of folks consider important, but what is important to me is what they lack. So, I don’t know. Tough question in the long run.

Contact Info:

• Email: kiko@casadelaculturaaustin.com | kikovillamizar@gmail.com
• Website: www.casadelaculturaaustin.org | www.kikovillamizar.com
• Instagram: @casadelaculturaaustin, @kikovillamizarmusic, and @kikokomedy
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kikovillamizar
• Twitter: @kikokomedy
• Youtube: Kiko Villamizar

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