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Augusto Polo Campos

Augusto Armando Polo Campos (Puquio, February 25, 1932-Lima, January 17, 2018) was a
Peruvian former policeman, musician, singer-songwriter, composer and music teacher, considered
one of the most influential and renowned musicians in the country and a legend of the Afro-
Peruvian Creole musical world. He was recognized by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture as a
"Meritorious Personality of Culture" for having contributed to the validity of musical genres
representative of the Peruvian Intangible Cultural Heritage, such as the Creole waltz and for having
added themes of important symbolic value for the national identity.

He was known nationally for his strong voice, but he gained fame and international recognition for
being the composer of several musical themes mainly for his originality and identity that he
represented. His greatest period of success began with "Cariño malo" and "Cariño bonito", at the
same time the success of the Peruvian Soccer Federation in international tournaments made his
creations "Y se llama Perú" and "Contigo Perú" part of the Peruvian popular songbook.

His waltz "Regresa" and "Cuando llora mi guitarra", performed by Lucha Reyes and Óscar Avilés
respectively, are considered his most emblematic works and were the ones that allowed him to
produce singles for various artists of different genres such as Palmenia Pizarro, Tania Libertad,
María Dolores Pradera, Raphael, Cecilia Barraza, Soledad Pastorutti, Lucía de la Cruz, Natalia
Lafourcade, Gian Marco, Julio Iglesias, Julio Jaramillo, Juan Diego Flórez, Armando Manzanero,
Cecilia Bracamonte, Eva Ayllón, Arturo "Zambo" Cavero, Los Troveros Criollos, Alejandro Lerner,
Los Morochucos, among others.

He was born on February 25, 1932, to Captain EP Rodrigo Polo Alzamora (born in Lima) and Flor de
María Campos (born in Ayacucho).

In 1933, the family moved to Lima's Rimac district. From a very young age he discovered his love
and facility for verses and rhymes. His parents' house was frequented by artists and singers, the
bohemia and the jarana nurtured his creativity, soon turning him into a prolific and successful
composer.

He entered the School of Auxiliary Investigations of the Investigation and Surveillance Corps (CIV)
of the National Police School, which at that time was located on Avenida Sebastian Lorente Ibáñez
in the Barrios Altos, Cercado de Lima, graduating with the rank of Auxiliary of 3rd CIV, having
retired at his request, with the police rank of Auxiliary of 3rd. CIV, having retired at his request,
with the rank of Auxiliary 3rd Assistant of the Investigation Police of Peru, by Resolution No. 9 of
February 17, 1964, after rendering 10 years and 17 days of real and effective services in said
civilian police force.

He had love affairs with several artists, such as Cecilia Bracamonte, with whom he had a daughter
named Selena. With the singer Lina Panchano, with whom he had Marco Polo, with the vedette
Carmen Belahonia "Zulu", with whom he had a son named Giomar Augusto, and also with the
vedette and former congresswoman Susy Diaz, product of the relationship, Flor Polo Diaz. In total
he has seven children.
He was self-taught, as he did not study music or play any musical instrument.

In 2009, the song "Cariño Malo" generated a controversy with his friend and compadre, Mexican
singer Armando Manzanero over royalties, an issue that damaged the friendship that existed
between the two artists and also involved the Peruvian Association of Authors and Composers
(APDAYC).

In 2013, the miniseries Los amores de Polo was made, inspired by his biography, starring Paco
Bazán.

On January 14 (three days before he passed away) there were rumors that Polo Campos had
passed away, a fact that turned out to be false. On the morning of Wednesday, January 17, 2018,
the doctors treating him announced that Polo Campos' health had deteriorated to an alarming
level and that his situation was critical. Augusto passed away at 11:40 p.m. of the same day at the
Good Hope clinic located in the Miraflores district of Lima, at the age of 86 years old due to
problems of a fulminant heart attack, due to the diabetes he suffered.

In view of this unfortunate event, the municipality of the District of Rimac declared days of local
mourning on January 18 and 19 and ordered that the district flag be flown at half-mast in all public
and private institutions in its jurisdiction.

Admired for his compositions and musical arrangements, he can be considered one of the best
composers of Creole music of the modern era. His artistic career can be divided into 3 stages, each
of them intimately linked to a Creole music ensemble:

Thus, Polo Campos' work is very multifaceted and has no political allegiances. Several times Polo
Campos himself acknowledged, with great pride, that he was a professional composer and sold his
work to the highest bidder. He composed waltzes about nationalists and militarists ("Y se llama
Perú"), traditionalists ("Limeña"), popular ("Romance en la Parada") and romantics ("Vuelve
pronto").

Other of his most outstanding compositions are:

He has also composed several hymns for schools in Lima and in the interior of the country, such as
the theme for the Lima-San Carlos School, where he attended school.