In July of 2022, I opened Cusco’s first jazz club:

WHY CUSCO, Peru?

In May of 2021 I achieved my dream of landing a fully remote corporate job as an RPA Developer at American Family Insurance in Madison, WI.

Alas, after some months of carefully accrued vacation time, I took a trip in January of 2022 to Peru after 11 years to visit some friends.

And, of course, I brought my saxophone with me. My first night in Lima I went to a jazz jam where I met the guitarist Alexis Kagüe, who insisted upon this small but thriving jazz scene brewing in Cusco. Sounding too good to be true, I bought a flight to the so called “belly button of the world,” to confirm his claims.

Let the party begin…

Long story short

I will never forget arriving in Cusco, walking through the city center with Alexis and hearing, for the first time, Ruben Alonso (a jazz drummer) loudly practicing along to Michael Brecker’s “Nothing Personal.” I was not expecting the soundtrack of this magical Andean city to be 80’s Brecker. I mean, what were the chances? I was speechless.

We soon arrived at the source of all the music, just a block away from the city square. It was a 20 x 20 x 20 ft room inside of a Spanish colonial era palace. There I met the rest of the jazz hang, and more importantly, Juanjo Herrera, an upright bassist who owned the place. Hearing them rehearse jazz standards left me in utter disbelief; I felt my destiny beginning to unfold before me.

I’m Peruvian. I’m a jazz musician. I love the mountains. I had to stay, and so I did. Since I was working remotely, I went home and packed my bags for Cusco. The cost of living is 4x less in Peru, so I saved my money. A few months later, around May 2022, I realized that working remotely would be unsustainable long term, so I proposed an idea to Juanjo: “Let’s turn this place into a jazz club.”

photos taken

by me

IT WASN’T EASY

But we managed. And it went really well. Specifically, I:

  • performed with various groups (salsa, jazz, fusion) 3-5x a week

  • managed all social media presence

  • honed my Photoshop skills by designing all the flyers

  • honed my coding skills by developing an administrative app in appsheets

  • managed full cycle recruitment of staff

  • crafted and designed the cocktail menu

  • booked bands for 6x shows a week

  • researched and implemented all types of marketing strategies

  • learned the (hard way) how to properly track inventory

  • had a lot of fun.

I made lots of flyers

All the photos featured in the flyers below were shot and edited by me at Casa Palacio (except as noted). I used a Nikon D5600 to shoot, and Photoshop to edit.

  • Sonqo Suas

  • the Fake Fusion Quintet

  • Casa Palacio's Menu

  • Nio Collective

  • Salsa Night

  • Giovanni Machuca

  • intimo

  • cesar "checho" charcape

  • afro latin jam

  • the real fusion quartet

  • jose mendez

  • salsa night

  • noche tropical (photo in green not mine)

BUT All good things must come to an end

Due to various personal and external circumstances, I was forced to sell my shares of the company. It was very difficult to do, indeed, but I took it as a necessary step in the pursuit of my destiny. What gives me tremendous joy is knowing that it’s still strumming along, changing the lives of Cusco’s musicians along with those travelers who come to hear them every night.