Meet Valichii | Artist & Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valichii and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valichii, why did you pursue a creative career?
Growing up, I learned to define and relate to the world around me through my need to express myself and the world inside my head; and in that way art became my outlet for the small feelings, the very big feelings and the everything in between. I started working in music when I was 13 years old in Lima, Peru. Since then, I’ve always known music was going to be a big part of my life. Little did I know, music became my chosen path, to the extent of moving across the world to pursue it. I strongly believe I would be doing myself a disservice if I were to ignore the voice inside me that yearns to make music and art.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m an artist & songwriter from Lima, Peru and I like to define my music as latin-infused bilingual alternative folk; folk is, to me, one of the most beautiful genres in music because it exists centered around storytelling. Peruvian culture is filled with the stories from our past, our traditions and our people, so once I knew I was meant to become an artist, I knew I wanted to pay homage to the stories I grew up learning, as well as to tell stories of my own.

I’m very proud of my career so far; I’ve made sacrifices I didn’t think I was capable of in the name of passion as well as learned a lot from falling down a thousand times and tripping over myself a million more. It has not been easy to find my voice, and I would argue one should never stop searching for it, yet no matter how tricky the road has been it has led to here, so I couldn’t be more grateful.

I want to be a voice and beacon of hope for latin artists, and especially for my Peru; to tell the stories of our people and shed light to the talents that hail from Latin America and the world. I’m eternally inspired by artists such as Susana Baca, Carla Morrison, Julieta Venegas, Luz Maria Carriquiry, Silvana Estrada, and plenty more latin female artists that fiercely and candidly share their stories with the world, in the pursuit to connect with it more profoundly.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh, one of the places I would for sure go to would be Walt’s Bar in Eagle Rock: Their beer & hot dogs are the best combo ever, and their pinball machines remind me of my childhood in the best way. Hotel Café is also a great place to check out. Every time I’m there I meet and discover fantastic new artists I hadn’t heard before (I’m also such a fan of the Jesse and Friends shows). Finally, I would also like to highly recommend visiting Lucky Boy in Pasadena; every time me and friends are figuring out where to go for food, we will most likely end up there either way.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my Shoutout to my family; if it weren’t for them I would absolutely not be where I am today. They deserve more than credit, I thank my parents and my brother from the bottom of my heart for being the support system I can always count on and celebrate every step of the way with. I also want to thank my family in LA: through the years my friends have become the backbone of everything I do, inspiring me in many ways and encouraging me to always be a better version of myself. I truly have a lot to be grateful for.

Website: https://tiktok.com/@valichii_

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valichiiii/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@valichii

Image Credits
Diego Nebel (IG: @diego.nebel.photo)