“I would like music to affect people in the sense that they can see and feel what happened to them. For example, that night when they listened to blues, did they feel that the music touched their soul? Or did they feel what the musicians were conveying while they played? Things like that.”

César Valdomir: Harp Attack Blues Breaths

César Valdomir is a musician, harmonica player, and singer born in Buenos Aires in January 1977. He began his career with the harmonica and blues in 1994 in the same city, studying with teachers from his hometown and participating in international workshops with Carlos del Junco (Canada) and Rick Estrin (USA). With a career spanning over 25 years, César Valdomir is currently one of the most prominent blues musicians and harmonica players in Argentina and Latin America. In 2002, he moved to Córdoba, Argentina, and participated in blues and jazz groups, standing out on the local blues circuit in the province, such as the International Blues Festivals in 2006 and 2007 alongside artists such as Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, Captain Luke, Pura Fe, and Adolphus Bell. He often accompanies musicians from the United States who visit Córdoba, including John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Eddie Shaw, Tail Dragger, Anthony Sherrod, and Tom Holland, to name a few of the most important. Valdomir has recorded several albums that reflect his commitment to traditional blues: Blowing the Blues (2010); 4 Armónicas Argentinas (2014), alongside other national harmonica players; Working for the Blues (2016), featuring special guest John Primer;Blowing on the Countryside (2025), an EP with the band Poor Boys, focused on country blues.

(Cesar Valdomir, musician, harmonica player, and singer born in Argentina  / Photo by Lorena Jastreb)

Participated or shared stage with: Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, Larry McCray, Slam Allen, Bill  HowlN Perry, Sharon Perry, Mike Munson, Randy Cohen, Reverend Robert, Stan Street, Heather Crosse, Sean Bad Apple, Studd Fordd, Josh Parks, Sterling Billingsley Blues, Tia Caroll, Rip Lee Pryor, Captain Luke, Beverly Guitar Watkins, Bruce Ewan y Flavio Guimaraes. Latin American artists such as Alejandro Medina (Manal), Botafogo, Danny Vincent & Robson Fernandes (Brazil), Javier Calamaro, Adrián Jiménez, Luis Robinson, Indio Márquez, Marcelo García (León Gieco) and other great musicians not so well known. Valdomir defines himself as a guardian of classic blues, rooted in rural traditions with contemporary branches. His approach emphasizes authenticity, improvisation, and respect for the genre’s African-American origins.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What do you learn about yourself from the blues? 

Music has influenced my view of the world from the perspective that music gives me the opportunity to travel, meet other people and learn about their culture, and that is the most enriching thing. The blues allows me to express myself, how I am and how I feel, and to do so through music by playing the blues.

How do you describe your sound and songbook? How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started and what has remained the same?

I think my sound is warm and aggressive at the same time. These days, I like my sound. I think I'm very close to achieving the sound I have in my head. I feel like I've grown a lot since I started out with the harmonica and singing, and above all, I think I understand the blues better and better. What remains the same is my desire to keep learning.

If you could change one thing in the blue’s world/industry and it would become a reality, what would that be?

If I could change something, what I would like is for people to understand more about what the blues is and who really plays it. Today, the current blues scene is made up of many musicians who have little interestin continuing the true legacy of the blues and its origins and are onlyconcerned with projecting an image that has little to do with the blues.

“Music has influenced my view of the world from the perspective that music gives me the opportunity to travel, meet other people and learn about their culture, and that is the most enriching thing. The blues allows me to express myself, how I am and how I feel, and to do so through music by playing the blues.” (Cesar Valdomir & John Primer / Photo by Lorena Jastreb)

Make an account of the case of the blues in Argentina. Which is the most interesting period in local blues scene?

In Argentina, I believe that the most important blues scene occurred in the 1990s, with visits from very important musicians such as BB King, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rogers, Honey Boy Edwards, Lurrie bell, John Primer, etc., and where blues was played on the radio and TV. Then, between 2010 and 2018, there was a resurgence of blues with manybands and solo artists, and many albums were recorded.

What has been the hardest obstacle for you to overcome as a person and as artist and has this helped you become a better blues musician?

I don't know if I could point to one particular obstacle, but what I can sayis that what made me grow a lot as a musician and as a person was the factthat I moved from Buenos Aires to Cordoba, to a city where I knew almostno one, and having managed to bring several African-American musicians who had never been here before, such as Lurrie Bell, John Primer, Eddie Shaw, Tail Dragger, Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, as well as having beenlucky enough to accompany them and spread the blues in this place.

What is the impact of the Blues on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

Where I live, the sociocultural impact is very slight, as it is not a popular genre of music where I live. I would like music to affect people in the sense that they can see and feel what happened to them. For example, that night when they listened to blues, did they feel that the music touched their soul? Or did they feel what the musicians were conveying while they played? Things like that.

How can a band/musician truly turn the blues into a commercial and popular genre of music for the today's audience?

I think that's unlikely, given that blues was never really a massivelypopular genre, but what is undeniable is that it's the only genre in the world that has musicians playing it in every country on the planet, and I think it'sthe only genre that has achieved that.

Are there any similarities between the blues and the genres of local folk (Argentinian) music and traditional forms?

I believe that there are some similarities between blues and tango, for example, especially in their lyrics, and perhaps also a little with Argentine folklore from some areas. There are also similarities, for example, with northern baguala.

Cesar Valdomir - Home

(Cesar Valdomir / Photo by Lorena Jastreb)