Luis Silva Parra
Luis Silva Parra, known as Lucho Silva, was born in Guayaquil on February 9, 1931, and died on December 30, 2015. He is considered Ecuador’s first important saxophonist in jazz. In 2012 he received the Premio Eugenio Espejo, Ecuador’s National Prize in Art.
His father, Fermin Silva de La Torre, was a violinist and orchestra director who founded Ecuador’s first Big Band. At age 12, Lucho played violin with his father at weddings, but he preferred the saxophone. He even made a wooden instrument that looked like a sax. He also enjoyed drawing saxophones. His father enrolled him at the Santa Cecilia Academy of the Philanthropic Society of Guayas. At 13 he studied with Bolívar Claverol, and at 15 he joined the Costa Rica Swing Boys. After saving up, he bought his first saxophone and joined Blacio Jr.’s orchestra and the Sonora Rubén Lema.
He sang and played flute with Los Cuatro, and later played with De Luxe, Los Hermanos Silva (with his brothers), and Los Gatos. He also performed street serenades in Guayaquil to earn money. In 1983 a song he performed was used as the opening theme of a TV program directed by Freddy Ehlers. He became one of Ecuador’s most recorded instrumentalists, playing the saxophone, clarinet and flute.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:25 (CET).