Raúl de la Rosa has been a broadcaster, journalist, and cultural promoter and curator of the blues since 1964. In 1978 he organized Mexico’s first blues festival to help share the blues and its history with the Mexican people. Raul produced eleven blues festivals between 1978 and 2012, which were held in some of Mexico’s most prestigious venues. These festivals attracted an average of 10,000 – 30,000 attendees per event. While the first four festivals featured artists such as Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Sunnyland Slim, and Jimmy Rogers, Raúl ensured that the final seven festivals featured more Mexican artists. This awoke significant public interest as well as related workshops, conferences, and exhibitions, which were open to the public and to students of Mexico’s top-rated universities. In 2002, Raúl authored the first journalistic column about blues in a Mexican newspaper which continues to be published to this day. He has been a radio host and product of Por los Senderos delBlues (Down the Trail of Blues) since 2005, where he continues to keep the blues alive in Mexico!
