Los Hicsos

Costa Rican cumbia pop band
The name Hicsos was an idea by the only female singer who has had the band, Flora Matilde Vargas, who was the first woman to address the oldest school in the country, the San Luis Gonzaga de Cartago. The name originates from the Asian warrior people, predominantly inhabited by Semites, who invaded and took over Egypt in 1674. Hicsos is the term Hellenized Egyptian name: heqa-jasut (hq3 ḫ3s u t) meaning Foreign Rulers.

It was in 1968 when a brother Gerardo Ramirez spoke on a set that was looking for a singer. The group, called Ateneo Christian Youth, was the basis for what would later become Los Hicsos. This small group was joined by Roberto Quesada, Rodrigo Salazar, Octavio Pena, Johnny Diaz Rodolfo Quesada and Carlos Navarro. After several months of trials a February 14, 1968 the group was officially presented the Cartago City Garden salon and since then began the career of one of the groups most popular and successful in the history of Costa Rica popular dance music.

A presentation of Los Hicsos guaranteed full house and a unique show in the country. Soon came touring US cities such as New Jersey, Los Angeles and New York and major tours throughout Central America that made the group was unveiled and was established as a symbol of Latin music, being active until 1996, when they decided to separate.

Following their separation in 1996, Gerardo Ramirez continued as a member of a church choir, along with Carlos Navarro. Carlos, however, had in his keyboard music sequences Los Hicsos, and decided to go back to playing those songs at that time were memories of an iconic era.

They started playing at private parties, and public acceptance was complete. From that moment began to appear in various places, but now under the name of "Recuerdos" (Memories). As things worked out, they decided to contact the missing piece: So, Martina joined the group. In 2004, after a partnership with businessman and supporter of the group Gerardo Cruz, the group was reborn again, now named Gerardo Y Los Hicsos.

Gerardo Y Los Hicsos are since then, a symbol of the country music that has transcended generations, borders, and whose enduring success. In 2008 the municipality of Paraíso de Cartago told the ensemble as a cultural emblem of the Carthaginian canton.

The music of Gerardo and Los Hicsos has always remained at the heart of the public. The group continues to perform around the country and make successful tours abroad at least twice a year. Its members now combine the maturity and experience of some of its founders, with the knowledge and energy of young musicians who together continue to delight, falling in love and doing dance to children and adults.