Tito Fernández

Prolific Chilean folk singer-songwriter Tito Fernández, also known as 'The Temucano', is one of the country’s most well-known and controversial artists. Born Humberto Fernández Waldemar Asdrúbal Baeza in Temuco, Chile, on December 9, 1942, Fernández began writing and releasing music in 1971, with his debut El Temucano album out that year on indelible folk label Pena de los Parra. Fernandez was part of Chile’s nueva canción scene – socially conscious leftist political folk – and he released a handful of albums capturing this era-defining sound and movement. However, he also attracted fans from right-wing factions and the military. On September 11, 1973 Augusto Pinochet overthrew Chile’s socialist president Salvador Allende and plunged the country into a right-wing authoritarian military dictatorship that lasted for seventeen years. Over the preceding years, Fernández distanced himself from the neuva cancion scene and from the left, yet continuously released albums, including 1975’s Me Gusta El Vino. In 1974, an alleged encounter with a UFO in Antofagasta set him off down an esoteric path and he founded the Comprehensive Center for Metaphysical Studies (CIEM) in 1988. In July 2020, Fernández was charged with three counts of rape and three other charges of sexual abuse, which he allegedly committed as the spiritual leader of a sect.

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