A Barú Volcano Guide Climbs an Alternative Rock with his Cell Phone

Jorge López, a singer from Chiriquí known artistically as Jorge López Morrinson, never imagined that his greatest musical inspiration would come not from a large studio, but from his own phone. Today, the tour guide from the Volcán district is making his way in the alternative rock and rock opera scene with an intimate and organic sound that he learned to shape since adolescence.  “My dad always instilled in me the love of composing; he was an accordionist and composer. His name was César López,” he says. His father wrote songs for Dorindo Cárdenas, Alfredo Escudero, and Javier Morales, a legacy that Jorge inherited from childhood. 

Life near the Barú Volcano National Park also shaped his musical identity. “We lived on the slopes of the volcano, so since I was a kid we would camp in the mountains with a guitar in hand,” he recalls. That’s how his acoustic style, infused with nature, was born.  At 17 he wrote his first song, ‘Ella’, followed by ‘Tan Amada’ and ‘Piso Tres’, productions that later interested an American producer, Tom Ren, who helped him record them with professional quality.  But the real breakthrough came after the pandemic, when he decided to record himself. “I had two options: either I gave up on music or I used what I had on hand. So I grabbed my phone and went for it,” he explains.  And it worked: his homemade videos got more views than all the covers he’d uploaded over the years.

Some recordings were even made with Tascam recorders like the ones journalists use, as was the case with ‘La Caja de Pandora’ (Pandora’s Box), the song that opened doors for him in international media.  With his voice and guitar as his foundation, Jorge began to build a rock opera titled ‘Everything Travels Through Time,’ a story told song by song. “A rock opera is a story told in several songs, not just one emotion. It’s a complete narrative,” he explains.  Among the songs included in the project are ‘Fuego en el Viento’ (Fire in the Wind), ‘Flor de la Calle’ (Street Flower), ‘Caja de Pandora’ (Pandora’s Box), and the one she is currently working on recording, ‘Te Llevo Aquí Adentro’ (I Carry You Here Inside).

Each single is first created acoustically and then evolves with the support of her musicians and friends.  Before dedicating himself entirely to his original music, Jorge mastered more than 200 covers, mainly classic rock. “I play everything: Héroes del Silencio, Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, Calamaro, The Eagles, Alpha Bay, REM, Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, Coldplay,” he lists.  These repertoires were for years his calling card in venues in Chiriquí, where he would mix in one or two of his own songs to test the public’s reaction.  The impact of his organic videos not only connected him with new followers; it also caught the attention of magazines and media outside the country, such as international broadcasters, La Carne Magazine from Spain, Agencia Nova from Argentina, and other magazines that have published his artistic review. 

Today, Jorge López Morrinson combines his work as a tour guide with his burgeoning music career, proving that talent doesn’t always need luxury, but rather a boost. “If my cell phone could get people to listen to my songs, then I don’t need anything else. That’s the important thing.