Peruvian student musician helps compose for Hollywood

Daily Sundial, Student newspaper of the California State University, Northridge.

Adrian M. Boluarte Chong lived on $80 a month for six months after arriving at Fullerton College from Lima, Peru. He spent most of his savings on a cheap used car, because it took two hours to get anywhere by bus. He struggled through bureaucracy to get a driver’s license.

But Boluarte Chong was undaunted by obstacles to pursue his dream of studying music in the United States.

“I took that risk. A lot of people criticized me – ‘You’re just wasting your time, you’re going to fail’ – and I just kept working, working, working, because somehow I thought I could make it,” said Boluarte Chong.

Boluarte Chong started playing guitar and listening to American rock and pop as an adolescent and he met a teacher who encouraged his interest in music. However, opportunities to study music in Peru are limited. The U.S. was the place to go.

The first obstacle to overcome was getting the support of his parents.

“Coming from where I come from, a middle class Peruvian family, my parents wanted me to get a degree in something traditional,” Boluarte Chong said. But after a semester of studying industrial design in Peru, he realized his heart wasn’t in it. “I didn’t see myself doing anything other than music,” Boluarte Chong said. His parents eventually agreed to help him pursue his dream. For two years he saved money and honed his musical skills before coming to Fullerton.