Pablo Villanueva Branda (pseudonym Melcochita) was born on 17 September 1936 in Lima. Little Pablo was growing up in the music environment. Thanks to an early start, he managed to become famous rather fast. Even though Pablo is already 81 years old, he is still young at heart and works in show business. Melchochita has a long discography. Many albums were recorded in New York studios. He appeared on many TV programs, performed in a few films, and attended radio shows.
The Melcochita pseudonym came to Pablo after the appearance on the TV show Trampolín a la Fama. The show host Augusto Ferrando said that Pablo “sweetened up” the program. In Peru, melcocho means sweet. Pablo always knew what to say or sing at any of the numerous shows he was invited to. He was even noted on the celebrity list as Sonero Nato, which stands for “The King of Improvisation.” Pablo has exceptional mimicking and gesturing skills. He can also use different voice tones. This makes him a wonderful comedian and an exceptional singer.
In 1950’s, together with his brothers, Pablo established his first music band Son Cubillas. Back then, he used the pseudonym Pacocha.
In 1960’s, when garage rock and rock-n-roll were conquering Lima, Pablo was recording just that music, which made him famous all over Peru. It was rather problematic to book Melcochita for any event as either a comedian or a singer. Event planners spent a substantial amount of time and effort trying to snag Melcohita’s performance. At that time, Pablo also worked with different bands, such as Los York and Traffic Sound.
