Original and talented are the first words that come to mind upon hearing the music of Javier Pena Oliveros, the multi-talented singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist who is a popular, endearing face at the Moevenpick Hotel.
Although he grew up in the Columbian countryside, his perspective on music is distinctly young, urban and mindful of both the past and the present. Brought up hearing traditional Columbian music, as well as acoustic guitar, today Havier plays several different instruments and sings flawlessly in English and almost all the Latin American languages.
By the age of eight, young Javier had his neighbours swinging to his self-taught guitar and drums beats, thus encouraging his father to send him for formal lessons from the renowned local music maestro Ali, who officially inducted him into music.
At 15, Javier was adept at strumming Columbian string instruments like tiple and bandola but the pursuit of academic excellence was a goal too. “I trained to be an industrial engineer, but my heart and soul was always someplace else.” Having explored the avenues of Latin, hip-hop, jazz and soul, Javier has come up with a distinctive style that feels surprisingly natural. As a music teacher for almost 15 years in Columbia, he taught and composed some original compositions that shed the confines of genre and could be filed under the label of “good, clean music.”
Whether he’s being a nimble pianist in the Gallery Lobby Lounge daily from 6.30pm to 10pm or an impassioned vocalist in the Silk’s on Mondays and Thursdays, Javier brings in the crowd with both his musical prowess and instantly likeable friendly demeanour.
Fluent in spoken English, Javier’s name is almost synonymous with the Friday Brunch at the hotel too.
