Raul Batista Romero

1946-

Raul Batista Romero was born in Acapulco, Mexico in 1946 by Esmeralda Dolores Montoya (1927-1962) and Xavier Fransisco Romero (1922-1962). His mother was a talented sculptress and his father a poet, composer and piano player. As members of the mexican art scene, the Romeros loved to entertain, throwing popular parties in their big house in Mexico City. Young Raul often sneaked down late at night to see people like David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, Octavio Paz and, of course, Frida Kahlo, sit around the kitchen table, talking about art, literature, music and the future of Mexico.

Raul's first instrument was a melodica that his father gave him for his fourth birthday. He loved it, always carrying it with him. He spent much time in his mothers studio, watching her work for hours, as well as going with Xavier to recitals and concerts, watching the world unfold before his young eyes. When his parents died in a tragic car crash in 1962 Raul was devastated, losing not only his parents but also his home in Mexico.

Raul went to live with his grandmother in Italy, a retired burlesque actress. Life in Rome was very different. The death of his parents had turned him into somewhat of a loner and he explored the increasingly modernist Italy of the 1960's on his own. He loved the cinema and sometimes stayed all day at the movie theater, taking in all the latest movies. Mastroianni, Fellini and Nino Rota were the heroes of his adolescence, shaping him in new ways, different from the influences of his childhood.

In the spring of 1966 his life took a new turn as he laid eyes on his first Cimbasso in a neighborhood pawn shop. He was fascinated by this big, cumbersome instrument and immediately decided to make it his own. He sat all day in his grandmothers living room, practicing all the songs he had heard on the radian and in Fellini's movies, going out each night to sit in with whatever band he could find to play with.

In 1967 he formed his first band; "Artcombo Dosmil", and started to write music of his own. Becoming a regular in the underground art scene of Rome, the band soon acquired a steady crowd of fans. Romero recorded a number of records at this time, on a variety of labels, most of which were printed in very small numbers and remain sought after collectables even today.

Romero's first international appearance was at the Monterey jazz festival in 1967. Coming to California made Romero rethink his musical approach and he decided to quit the band and move to San Francisco. He looked for a new sound, more electric, influenced by the psychedelic culture he had found in the US. He met dancer Akiko Matsuki, fell in love and promptly got married. She became his muse and inspiration as they explored the "inner space" together. Unfortunately, following a number of experimental albums, his new lifestyle started to take it's toll. The psychedelic drugs he had been experimenting with left him creatively drained and he withdrew from the public eye in 1974 to redefine his life.

They moved back to Mexico, reclaiming his old family home in Acapulco. He took up surfing as a way of cleansing his soul, spending most of his time on the beach, writing poetry and playing with their daughter, Toshiko Esmeralda. During this time he befriended musician Juan Garçia Esquivel who was the one to eventually inspire him to take up music again. In 1976 he started playing again, though from this day on, he would only record the music of others. Romero would only perform his original compositions on small, underground clubs, again catering mostly to the "art crowd".

Through the 1980's Romero got increasingly withdrawn, not appreciating the general direction popular music was taking and he soon ceased to perform live altogether, as well as making records. He has been out of the public eye ever since but still plays, teaching in the privacy of his home. Romero is currently working on his autobiography "RBR - A life in the key of F". Show less