Vallenato Legend Festival 1968

Vallenato Legend Festival 1968
GenreVallenato music festival
Dates27–30 April 1968
LocationsPlaza Alfonso López, Valledupar, Colombia
Coordinates10°28′39″N 73°14′40″W / 10.47750°N 73.24444°W / 10.47750; -73.24444
Next eventVallenato Legend Festival 1969
Organised byCesar Departmental Institute of Culture

The Vallenato Legend Festival 1968 (Spanish: Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata 1968) was the first edition of the Vallenato Legend Festival, and was held from 27 to 30 April 1968 at the Plaza Alfonso López in Valledupar, Colombia. The main event of the festival was the accordionist competition, which was won by Alejo Durán.

A 2013 report by the Colombian Ministry of Culture wrote that "an important factor in the dissemination and consolidation of vallenato music as a cultural emblem of Colombia was the creation, in 1968, of the Vallenato Legend Festival" and that "the promotional success of the Vallenato Legend Festival led to the creation of more than fifty festivals celebrating vallenato culture nationwide."[1]

History

Background

The genre of vallenato first appeared in the communities of the Colombian Caribbean in the first half of the 20th century.[2] The origins of the genre are disputed, but one common version alleges that early vallenato performers travelled from town to town, spreading news in the form of song, and often accompanied by the music of a diatonic button accordion, which had been brought to the region from Germany in the 1880s.[2]

Several vallenato music competitions took place prior to the creation of the Vallenato Legend Festival. The first known was the Fiesta de los Vallenatos, held in Barranquilla in November 1948; another took place in Pivijay in 1960, and was won by Alejo Durán.[3] The Casa Chams, a recording studio in Fundación, hosted several vallenato competitions in the 1950s, whose winners included Pacho Rada and Luis Enrique Martínez.[3]

Creation of the Vallenato Legend Festival

In March 1966 a vallenato festival was organised by Gabriel García Márquez and Rafael Escalona in Aracataca; it was won by accordionist Colacho Mendoza, and other attendees included Julio de la Ossa, César Castro, and Andrés Landero.[4] Márquez reportedly claimed that the festival would be held the following year in Valledupar.[3]

In December 1967, the Colombian department of Cesar was created out of 12 municipalities taken from the existing department of Magdalena.[5] Several new departments were being considered for creation in Colombia at the time, and politician Alfonso López Michelsen had promoted the cause of Cesar by travelling the country accompanied by accordionists including Colacho Mendoza and holding vallenato parties.[2] López Michelsen became governor of the department on its creation, and Rafael Escalona was made public relations chief.[2]

The Vallenato Legend Festival 1968 was organised by López Michelsen, Escalona, Consuelo Araújo Noguera, and Miriam Pupo as a way of consolidating the musical culture of Cesar, and of promoting the department as a tourist destination.[6]: 155 

Accordionist competition

The main event of the festival was the accordionist competition, with a prize of 5000 Colombian pesos.[7]

Results

Thirty groups entered the competition, and on 27 April they performed to three panels of judges, comprising:[8]

  1. Rafael Escalona, Hugues Martínez, and Evaristo Gutiérrez,
  2. Gustavo Gutiérrez Cabello, Jaime Gutiérrez de Piñeres, and Carlos Vidal,
  3. Alfonso "Poncho" Cotes, Tobías Enrique Pumarejo, and Rodrigo Montero.

Six finalists were selected from the entrants.[9] The final took place on 30 April, and was judged by Rafael Escalona, Gustavo Gutiérrez, and Tobías Enrique Pumarejo, whose compositions were not permitted to be performed.[7]: q  Alejo Durán won the competition and was awarded the title of vallenato king (Spanish: rey vallenato). He was accompanied by Juan Manuel Tapias on guacharaca and Pastor "El Niño" Arrieta on caja, and performed the songs "Alicia Adorada", "Corralito", "Envejeces Corazón", and "Pedazo de Acordeón", the only competition entry that was in the style of puya.[10][11]

Finalists and results[9][11]
Rank Accordionist Department Conjunto
1st Alejo Durán Cesar
2nd Ovidio Granados Cesar Los Playoneros
3rd Luis Enrique Martínez La Guajira
Fabri Meriño La Guajira Fabry y sus Muchachos
Toño Salas La Guajira
Emiliano Zuleta Baquero La Guajira

Legacy

Alejo Durán is considered one of the greatest performers of vallenato, in part due to his winning the accordionist competition of the first Vallenato Legend Festival.[12]: 94  Luis Enrique Martínez was the only other finalist to later win the competition and be crowned vallenato king, in 1973.[13] Ovidio Granados competed again in 1975 and 1983, coming second both times.[14][15] Following her performance at the festival, Fabri Meriño was approached by Alfredo Gutiérrez to join his band. She competed once more in 1969 before her death aged 19 in 1971.[16]

Other performances and activities

Rita Fernández performed at the festival with Las Universitarias, her all-female vallenato conjunto from Santa Marta.[17][8]

Other events at the festival included a crafts exhibition, cockfighting, a historical reenactment of the first arrival of the Spanish army to the Upar Valley, and a large number of private parties and piquerias.[8][18][7]

References

  1. ^ "Los festivales vallenatos", Plan especial de salvaguardia para la música vallenata tradicional del caribe colombiano [Special safeguarding plan for traditional vallenato music from the Colombian Caribbean] (in Spanish), Colombian Ministry of Culture, November 2013, pp. 61–66, retrieved 11 November 2025
    • Quotation p. 61: "Un factor importante en la difusión y consolidación de la música vallenata como un emblema cultural de Colombia, fue la creación, en 1968, del Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata"
    • Quotation p. 64: "El éxito promocional del Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata, motivó a nivel nacional la creación de más de cincuenta festivales de la cultura vallenata."
  2. ^ a b c d Peter Wade (2000). Music, Race, and Nation: Música Tropical in Colombia. University of Chicago Press. pp. 61–64, 176–178. ISBN 0-226-86845-1.
  3. ^ a b c Abel Antonio Medina Sierra (2022). "Los Primeros Festivales". Introducción a la vallenatología (in Spanish). Bogotá: Editorial Gente Nueva. pp. 89–93. ISBN 978-628-7581-15-9. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Comienza Hoy el "Festival Vallenato" en Aracataca" [The "Vallenato Festival" in Aracataca Begins Today], El Tiempo (in Spanish), p. 7, 17 March 1966, retrieved 11 November 2025
  5. ^ "Historia" [History], Government of Cesar (in Spanish), retrieved 11 November 2025
  6. ^ Fredy González Zubiria (2017). "Valledupar: La nueva meca del acordeón, Festival Vallenato". La Odisea del Acordeón (in Spanish). Universidad de La Guajira. pp. 154–156. ISBN 978-958-8942-77-3.
  7. ^ a b c Juan Amas (1 May 1968), "El Concurso de Acordeoneros: Alejo Durán, de Otro Departamento, el Ganador" [The Accordion Competition: Alejo Durán, from Another Department, the Winner], El Tiempo (in Spanish), p. 6, retrieved 11 November 2025
  8. ^ a b c Juan Amas (29 April 1968), "El Festival Vallenato: Seleccionados los Finalistas" [The Vallenato Festival: Finalists selected], El Tiempo (in Spanish), p. 6, retrieved 11 November 2025
  9. ^ a b Nicolás Cortés Mejía (27 April 2018), "Un Festival de Leyenda celebra sus 50 años" [A Festival of Legend celebrates its 50th anniversary], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 11 November 2025
  10. ^ Liliana Martínez Polo (8 February 2019), "Así fue competir contra Alejo Durán en el primer Festival Vallenato" [How it was to compete against Alejo Durán at the first Vallenato Festival], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 11 November 2025
  11. ^ a b Jhonatan Diaz (9 February 2019), "Alejo Durán: el rey del pueblo" [Alejo Durán: king of the people], El Heraldo (in Spanish), retrieved 11 November 2025
  12. ^ Jaime Andrés Monsalve Buriticá (November 2024). "Alejandro Durán y Luis Enrique Martínez – Los campeones del Festival Vallenato!". En Surcos de Colores: La Historia de la Música Colombiana en 150 Discos [In Colourful Grooves: The History of Colombian Music in 150 Records] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Rey Naranjo Editores. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-628-7589-47-6.
  13. ^ Santiago Calderón Díaz (1 May 1973), "Luis E. Martínez 'rey vallenato'", El Tiempo (in Spanish), p. 8-A, retrieved 11 November 2025
  14. ^ Infante Moreno (30 April 1975), "La octava corona, para Julio de la Ossa" [The eighth crown, for Julio de la Ossa], El Tiempo (in Spanish), p. 9-A, retrieved 11 November 2025
  15. ^ Liliana Vanegas (25 April 2023), "Ovidio Granados, el 'médico de acordeones' y líder de una dinastía de reyes vallenatos" [Ovidio Granados, the 'accordion doctor' and leader of a dynasty of vallenato kings], Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), retrieved 11 November 2025
  16. ^ Liliana Martínez Polo (19 October 2023), "Fabriciana 'Fabri' Meriño, la acordeonera perdida en la historia del vallenato" [Fabriciana 'Fabri' Meriño, the accordionist lost in the history of vallenato], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 11 November 2025
  17. ^ "Los 75 años de Rita Fernández Padilla" [75 years of Rita Fernández Padilla], Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), 20 June 2021, retrieved 15 August 2025
  18. ^ Juan Amas (30 April 1968), "El Festival del Valledupar: "La Cosa Está Peliá"" [The Vallenato Festival: "Things Are Getting Hairy"], El Tiempo (in Spanish), p. 7, retrieved 11 November 2025
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.