Pedro Suárez-Vértiz Alva (13 February 1969 – 28 December 2023) was a Peruvian singer-songwriter, and guitarist.^[1] He founded the popular rock band Arena Hash with his brother Patricio, Arturo Pomar and Christian Meier in 1987; a few years later, the band broke up and Suárez-Vértiz began his solo career.

Suárez-Vértiz was the winner of Orgullosamente Latino 2004 (Proudly Latin 2004) and winner of the Best Latin Soloist of the Year in Mexico.

Suárez-Vértiz was well known for his multitudinous concerts, his vocal rhythm, his extensive guitar collection, his abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, his philanthropy and his personality. In 2020, Billboard magazine named his hit song "Los Globos Del Cielo" as the number 14 song of the list of The 25 Timeless Masterpieces of Rock in Spanish.^[2]

Biography

Pedro Suárez-Vértiz was born in the Hospital Naval del Callao in the Callao district of Lima, because his mother and his maternal grandfather belonged to the Marina de Guerra del Perú for many years. His younger brother, Patricio Suárez-Vértiz, is also a musician. They spent their whole childhood and adolescence in San Isidro, in front of the Olivar park, which is his favorite park in the world.^[3]

Suárez-Vértiz was passionate for the music since he was a little kid. At the age of one, Pedro settled the ornaments of his house down like a xylophone and smacked then with a wand to get melodies out of them. His father immediately bought him an old celesta Dulcitone, Pedro's first musical instrument. Just a few years later, his parents could buy him a piano.

Suárez-Vértiz knew he wanted to be a singer when saw for the first time the movie A Hard Day's Night, in which the famous English band The Beatles appears.

Suárez-Vértiz learned to play the piano and the guitar before he began school. At the age of 18, he attended the University of Lima, graduating with a degree in communications. In 1985 he formed his first band, "Paranoia", together with his brother Patricio Suárez-Vértiz and school friends Edward Málaga-Trillo, Arturo Pomar, Eduardo Quevedo and Alex Kornhuber. In 1987, he formed the band Arena Hash with his brother Patricio, Arturo Pomar and Christian Meier. A few years later the band broke up and Suárez-Vértiz began a solo career.

In 2007, he was diagnosed with dysarthria.

From 2011, Pedro had shown an obvious bad diction. He explained that it was consequence of a muscle nerve disorder that developed with the age, also he admitted suffering from chronic Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which made him look extremely distracted and tangled speech. This significantly affected his singing.

Death

Suárez-Vértiz died from a heart attack in Lima, on 28 December 2023, at the age of 54.^[4] He is survived by his wife and 3 children.^[5] Waldemar Cerrón, member of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, submitted a motion to recognize the accomplishments of Suárez-Vértiz, with Cerrón noting that his music "contributes to maintaining cultural identity among Peruvian citizens living abroad."^[6]

Discography

References

External links

• Official website
• http://scolas.skyrock.com/article_942487856.html
• http://bonnetmedia.com/_wsn/page9.html
• Pedro Suárez-Vértiz at IMDb
• Pedro Suárez-Vértiz discography at Discogs