Velasco Maidana was born in Sucre in 1901. He composed several musical works for his ballet group and symphonic works. His work, Suite India, is an autochthonous reference of his work. In 1940, he founded the Symphony Concert Orchestra, the precursor to the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia. He also organized the Amerindian Ballet, with which he toured several countries in America and Europe. In addition to his musical career, Velasco Maidana is also known as the fundamental filmmaker of the silent stage of Bolivian cinema. His first major film was La Profecía del Lago [The Lake Prophecy] (1925), the story of the daughter of a landowner falling in love with an Aymara man that was never released due to government censorship. His second film of the time, Wara Wara (1930), a story of the Spanish conquest in the lake area, was positively received. Wara Wara was a grand feature film during this time, as it featured recreated set designs and models of the original period and a great cast. Velasco Maidana spent the last years of his life in the United States, where he died in 1989 in Texas at age 88.
