Raúl Vargas and his flamenco rumba duo Dos Bandoleros

One of the Latin genres that has been gaining more popularity in California, specifically in the Bay Area, is the Spanish flamenco rumba, so it is no coincidence that every day there are more and more exponents of this genre who have achieved a huge level of fame and respect among both their peers and the public.   

One of them is Raul Vargas, who has given us the honor of talking to us about his career and the projects he is currently working on, so we cordially invite you to read in order to learn more about this talented Spanish singer.   

How Raúl got started in music   

Raul remembers being fascinated by music when he was still very young in his hometown, Madrid. At home, they he used to listen to what his parents played on the radio, but he does not remember anyone in his family being a musician or working it, so he was the first one to have a professional interest in this field.   

He also remembers listening to his mother’s cassettes with which he could enjoy all kinds of artists such as Julio Iglesias, Raphael, Camilo Sesto, Pimpinela and many others. However, as Raul grew older, he began to listen to what he liked just like his brother.   

When he was 16, he began to learn on his own to play the guitar using the songs he liked at the time. At age 17 he wrote his first song and, shortly after he went to live in Eklanda, Sweden, where he started writing many more songs and  take music more seriously, but he still did not see it as his profession.   

It is important to note that, while it is true that music was a very important part of Raul’s life, this was not what he did for a living, but cooking. Thanks to his career as a cook, there were many countries and cities that the young man managed to visit, although he was always accompanied by a guitar or drum he played during his free time.   

Arrival in the United States   

After having visited many places around the world, Raul met a group of Spaniards in Australia, who suggested him to go to a guesthouse for traveling musicians in the Latin Quarter in San Francisco to see what he felt about it. It turned out to be an excellent decision as he met many professional musicians who were able to make a living from their art, which prompted the young cook to do the same and follow the dreams he felt truly passionate about.   

This is how Raul decided that San Francisco should be his final destination, so he decided to remain in that city permanently. From then on, he continued to travel to other places for work and pleasure, but always returned to what he considered his new home.    

Once he settled in the United States, he started playing for several bands and focused all his time and effort on what really filled his soul and spirit: music.   

First groups and bands   

Despite being born in Spain, Raul had never played Spanish music before and preferred rock and pop, but contact with artists from so many countries in San Francisco made him rethink everything he had done so far. Many began asking him why he had never before sung or played flamenco rumba being Spanish, which led him to do more research on the genre from his country and start playing it. 

No much time would pass before the guitarist created his own flamenco rumba band, which he named ”Mala Maña” and was conceived as a circus theater and music group composed of eight people. It had a duration of three years and all these musicians, long time later, became part of the band Makrú. 

Additionally, he was also part of a duo alongside a guy from Guadalajara, Mexico called ”Fulanos”, which also contributed to the artist’s experience in terms of groups. 

Dos Bandoleros 

The duo Dos Bandoleros started about six or seven years ago and its creation is described by Raul as a ”very lucky accident” thanks to which he met who today is his partner in this project. 

It turns out that Raúl and his Makrú bandmates were experimenting with playing in duos and trios to see how things went, which led him and his guitarist to play at a French wine bar on Monday nights. One of these days, they were approached by a young man named Alberto Gutierrez, known artistically as Muchacho Mandanga, who introduced himself and also started playing at the bar along with another Spanish percussionist.  

Weeks passed before both Raul and Muchacho could not take their partners to play due to personal problems, so the venue manager proposed the to join them that day. The chemistry between them was so great that they continued playing together and never apart again.   

At the beginning, they only played flamenco rumba, which was what got closer to each together in the first place. Later on, they started playing cumbia, Latin rock, salsa, Cuban son and many more. 

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