He began his music career in 1980 as a singer of Peruvian cumbia, a type of popular music.
Tongo was largely unknown outside of his musical niche (traditionally of the lower class) until his song "La pituca", whose theme focuses on social status and inequality, attained national notability at the start of the twenty-first century.
In 2010, Peruvian newspaper El Comercio listed Tongo as one of the most popular artists in Peruvian show business.