Pack Musica Vallenato 2013
Tom Donahou
This form of music originated from farmers who, keeping a tradition of Spanish minstrels (juglares in Spanish), used to travel through the region with their cattle in search of pastures or to sell them in cattle fairs. Because they traveled from town to town and the region lacked rapid communications, these farmers served as bearers of news for families living in other towns or villages. Their only form of entertainment during these trips was singing and playing guitars or indigenous gaita flutes, known as kuisis in the Kogi language, and their form of transmitting their news was by singing their messages.
The first form of vallenato was played with gaita flutes, guacharaca, and caja, and later adopted other instruments like guitars. These troubadors were later influenced by Europe's instruments: piano and accordion. Impressed by the sound of the accordion, troubadors probably later obtained accordions from Aruba and Curaao. Vallenato was considered music of the lower class and farmers, but gradually started penetrating through every social group during the mid-20th century.
Alfonso Lpez Michelsen, a prominent Colombian politician, showed interest in the region as his ancestors and wife were born there. While a Senator, he pushed for the creation of the Department of Cesar and became, in 1966, its first governor. Once in office and together with writer and reporter Consuelo Arajo Noguera and vallenato composer Rafael Escalona, they created the Vallenato Legend Festival.
The piqueria vallenata is a type of typical musical showdown Colombian Caribbean folklore and Vallenato. As in the contrapunteo Joropo burrowing, or trova paisa within the music, litigants demonstrate their improvisational skills in building verses that challenge their opponent. This type of musical confrontation arose as a result of chance encounters between vallenatos minstrels who roamed the northern part of Colombia brightening binges and to demonstrate their talent on the accordion and the art of improvisation faced with songs and rhymes. One of the most important meetings of the Piqueria was between Emiliano Zuleta and Lorenzo Morales, both vallenato accordionists.[3] From this meeting came the popular song "La Gota Fra" ("The Cold Drop" in English), played in its most popular version by Colombian singer Carlos Vives.
Thanks to the Vallenato Legend Festival, this musical genre became known through the region including regions of Venezuela, and when a popular telenovela, "Escalona", based on the life of Vallenato composer, Rafael Escalona was aired on national television (with vallenato superstar Carlos Vives as Escalona), vallenato became widely known in Colombia and internationally. Some renowned traditional vallenato performers are Guillermo Buitrago, Alejo Duran, Enrique Daz, Emiliano Zuleta, Luis Enrique Martnez, Abel Antonio Villa and Lorenzo Morales. Other important characters such as Tobas Enrique Pumarejo and Rafael Escalona never played any instrument, but were important writers of very well known songs across Latin America. Other well-known Colombian musicians who sing vallenatos are Rafael Orozco Maestre, Miguel Morales, Diomedes Daz, Jorge Oate, Ivan Villazon, Nicolas "Colacho" Mendoza (accordion player and composer), Juan Humberto "Juancho" Rois (accordion player and composer), Omar Geles (accordion player and composer), Israel Romero, Peter Manjarrs, Silvestre Dangond, Los Gigantes Del Vallenato, Galy Galiano, and Lisandro Meza among others.
The current ambassador of the genre is Carlos Vives, who has progressively helped vallenato gain popularity worldwide by combining traditional vallenato music with pop/rock music, subgenre that has come to be known as "vallenato-pop".
The traditional vallenato developed into a more orchestra type of musical group. Throughout the years, some groups started adding instruments and a group chorus to support the main singer, popularly and sarcastically known as "ay omberos". With these changes. Some of the instruments added or used by some orchestras were: the bass guitar, the congas drums, a Timbal set, drum kit, maracas, guache, electric piano, Spanish guitars, tambourine, cowbell, electric guitar, Saxophone, piano accordion, violins, among others. These groups also started fusioning local genres to the vallenato, usually with cumbia, porro sabanero, gaitas (group of gaita flute interpreters), merecumbe and joropo. Some groups seeking a wider audience started mixing vallenato with other international genres, like salsa, merengue, rock, classical music, reggae, reggaeton, ranchera, techno and house music. Some of these mixes did not become very popular because of their experimental sounds.
La Nueva Ola refers to the new generation of vallenato groups and orchestras that have created a distinctive sound for themselves while keeping some of the essences of their predecessors. Kaleth Morales is considered the leading artist of this young wave of vallenato musical groups, even after his death following a car accident on August 24, 2005. The leader is now Silvestre Dangond, who won five awards in Premios Nuestra Tierra in 2009.[4] Other relevant artists are Silvestre Dangond, Peter Manjarrs and Martn Elas.
Master musician and founding director of Los Macondos, Eugenio Ortega, died in Colombia on December 10, 2009. Born in 1932, Ortega was a pioneer of Colombian vallenato music here in New York for many years and a cultural ambassador of traditional Colombian music throughout the United States.
Though Ortega grew up with the sounds of vallenato music and knew many master musicians, he only taught himself to play when his wife Bertica gave him a button accordion for their first Christmas together in 1957. While playing music, Ortega also worked as an executive for the major telegraph and communications company in Bogot.
While other musicians abandoned their native music after emigrating to the US, Ortega remained faithful to the music of his homeland. Through the years he has taught dozens of Colombian musicians the intricacies of vallenato, whether they were playing the accordion, percussion or learning to sing this engaging form.
Over the years Los Macondos has performed in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (as part of our Touring Artists program), World Music Institute, and at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space in New York City, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. They have earned a national and international reputation as a premier symbol for the Colombian community.
In recent years Ortega moved to Florida for health reasons; and while visiting his family in Colombia he fell ill and died suddenly. Friends, colleagues and family will remember Eugenio Ortega for his knowledge and transmission of tradition, his artistry and generosity of spirit, and above all, his extraordinary, unparalleled contribution to his community.
Esta Fiesta promete ser una de las mejores, con la banda en vivo de Alex Villamil y Vallenato y Mas que estarn aportando Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Vallenato, Tropical y mucho ms. DJ Fercho estar operando el control musical haciendo la abertura y los intervalos con su maestra musical en Las Fiestas Latinas.
How much do you like to Dance?
This party is going to be one of the great ones, live band Alex Villamil with Vallenato y Mas are planning to play Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Vallenato, Tropical and much more. DJ Fercho is going to manage the opening of the party and breaks with his master talent at spinning at Spanish Parties.
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With this beautiful three-reed accordion for beginners and advanced players, we present the REY VALLENATO specifically designed to meet the requirements of the vallenato musician. Create soundscapes to dance, reminisce, and dream to, and carry your audience off into a world of Colombian folklore, full of passion, love, and betrayal.
The extemporaneous composer, who was both vocalist and accordionist, evolved into a professional musician as part of an ensemble comprised of accordion, caja (drum) and guacharaca (scraper). Colombians are proud to point out that vallenato symbolizes the unique and largely imagined harmonious relationship between the races that comprise their country; native Indians, Black Africans and the Spanish. Each group is said to have contributed an instrument to the ensemble.
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