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Self-taught musician and Quito native Jorge Sánchez Paucar began his musical career with the Choir of the Central University of Ecuador, where he recorded an album in 1976 in homage to the group’s 60th anniversary. Later, he worked in Chimborazo and Riobamba as a water engineer on rural projects. This experience in public service has informed his musical style, which, as he puts it, ‘tries voice to the voiceless and to strive for greater social justice.’

Both as a soloist and as a member of the group Yubana, Sánchez has strived to democratise culture by making it more accessible and in tune with the lives of the people. He has entered his socially-themed compositions in various competitions, including that held by the Radio phonic Schools. Working with the group Pitch from 1995-2000, he recorded the CD Tierra...Lluvia...Mujer (Earth…Rain…Women), an album which yields our MP3 selection.

Sánchez have toured and performed widely in Ecuador, performing his most popular tunes at various festivals and concerts where he has shared the bill with such luminaries as Argentina’s Victor Heredia and Highland of Chile in the Festival. His abiding concern for the people made him a natural choice to appear at the festival El olor de la esperanza (The Scent of Hope), a fundraiser for the victims of the April 2003 explosion at the Galapagos military base in Riobamba.

Today, Sánchez continues to pen socially-themed songs. His latest work, Esta agüita es nuestra (This Water is Ours), is a collection of tunes, poems, dramatizations and testimonies dedicated to important issues such as the primacy of water as a life-giving natural resource. This CD doubles as training materials for the nationwide CAMAREN system dedicated to protecting rural communities’ water supplies.

Sánchez is a hard-working and soulful singer who embodies the ethos of ‘Think Globally, Act Locally.’ A common theme of his repertoire is that of concern for the planet and humanity.

Artistic productions:
Music from the video "Nosotras sí podemos", Quito 1997.
CD Tierra... Lluvia... Mujer", Riobamba, November 1998.
Song "Caballero" in homage to Jaime Hurtado CDs, Quito, March 1999.
Song "Manuel Curiviño", in the Municipality of Riobamba CD, June 1999.
CD "Esta aguita es mía", Riobamba, December 2002.
Music from the video "La vida del aguatero", Riobamba, April 2003.