colombia
This summer, singer-songwriter Yeison Jimenez achieved his lifelong dream of selling out the coveted Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia — not once, but three times, with more than 40,000 collective fans attending the shows. The feat was not only historic for Jimenez, but for any música popular (regional Colombian) artist. “No one in the genre has been able to [sell out] a solo arena throughout Colombia,” he says.
Música popular — which fuses ranchera and the string music known as carrilera in Colombia — was born more than five decades ago in the country’s coffee region, which has four departments: Caldas (where Jimenez was born), Quindío, Risaralda and Tolima. Initially known as música de carrilera or música de cantina, its inspiration derived from regional Mexican music and first gained traction in small towns and local bars with the help of genre pioneers including Darío Gómez, Luis Alberto Posada and El Charrito Negro.
As Jimenez tells it, música popular traces back to Gómez in particular. The former notes that when the latter arrived at radio stations with the newborn fusion in the ’70s, they told him he was crazy.
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“This is not like vallenato, which is something authentically ours — we did not invent this,” música popular singer Pipe Bueno says. “We are a subgenre that comes from Mexico but with our essence and our flavor. The fact that we are Colombian gives it a different color.”
Lyrically, a regional Colombian song will often focus on despecho (heartbreak) or rejoicing in good times. Sonically, the arrangements can mirror the instrumentation of mariachi and ranchera music, such as trumpets, violins and the guitarrón (six-string acoustic bass), blended with the accordion, commonly used in vallenato.
As part of the new wave, Bueno and Jimenez — alongside artists including Paola Jara, Luis Alfonso, Jessi Uribe and Arelys Henao — have not only given the genre a modern twist but also propelled it to an international scale. Jimenez first reached Billboard’s Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay charts with “Tu Amante” in 2021, and he’s now touring nightclubs and theaters across the United States. Bueno, who entered the Latin Digital Song Sales and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts with his 2014 song “La Invitación” (featuring Maluma), has since collaborated with Grupo Firme and inked a deal with Warner Music Latina earlier this year.
“We are an aspirational genre,” Bueno says. “We have been at the top of the streaming charts alongside Peso Pluma. We are filling arenas. It wasn’t like this [when I started my career].”
“When we came into the game, we wanted to make music that would reach other countries and, above all, other generations,” Jimenez adds. “On one hand, there’s a lot of admiration. On the other hand, we are criticized a bit… I don’t pigeonhole myself because we are in another era.”
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Fito Páez has been forced to cancel his September shows in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Bogotá. The acclaimed Argentine musician announced Wednesday (Sep. 4) on his social media that he broke five ribs over the weekend at his home. “On Sunday morning, I had a domestic accident that resulted in the fracture of five ribs,” […]
On July 6, Colombia’s national team scored a stunning 5-0 victory over Panama in the quarterfinals of the Conmebol Copa América 2024. Now, the Colombian team will face Uruguay on July 10 at 8pm ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC for a berth in the final and a chance to win the […]
Fueled by ambition, determination and hard work, Ryan Castro represents the new generation of urbano hitmakers. His highly-anticipated debut album, El Cantante del Ghetto, is not only a reflection of the qualities that have catapulted Castro to the top of the charts, but it also serves as a mirror that showcases the culture of his […]
Vallenato, a folkloric genre with roots in the department of Cesar, northern Colombia, has seen many artists take its essence beyond their homeland. Taking as a basis its typical instruments, such as the accordion, the snare drum, and the guacharaca — and adding modern musical arrangements that have given it a contemporary sound — artists […]
Revisiting the entirety of El Dorado for a live 25th anniversary edition — which ended up materializing a few years later due to the coronavirus pandemic — was something special for Aterciopelados, the Colombian rock group led by vocalist Andrea Echeverri and producer Héctor Buitrago.
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“Facing a repertoire from 28 years ago is difficult, you are not the same anymore,” Echeverri admits in an interview with Billboard Español. “The challenge was to retake that album that had a ’90s sound, bring it to the future, and preserve the essence of that era, but make it sound more appropriate for these times,” adds Buitrago.
Today (March 15), they release El Dorado Live, a version of the seminal ’90s Colombian rock album that made them transcend the boundaries of their country, with classics like “Florecita Rockera,” “Siervo sin Tierra” and “De Tripas Corazón.” Recorded on April 22, 2023, at the Palacio de los Deportes in Bogota, the new independent production features the 16 songs from the original LP, with the participation of Café Tacvba‘s Rubén Albarrán on “Mujer Gala” and “La Estaca,” and Carlos Vives on “Bolero Falaz.” The project includes videos for each song that have been released on Aterciopelados’ YouTube channel, with Vives’ debuting Thursday night, just hours before the album came out.
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“Aterciopelados for me is one of the gods of Bogota rock with whom I grew up,” Vives said in a press release. “For me, it is an honor to sing this song with them.”
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The release will be followed by the El Dorado Tour, a 12-date North American journey that begins on April 9 in Phoenix and will make stops at cities such as Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Miami, before ending on April 27 in Toronto (for the entire itinerary, click here).
Echeverri and Buitrago were young idealists and dreamers when they debuted as Aterciopelados in 1993 with the album Con El Corazón en la Mano, in which they mixed their punk rock influences with sounds of Colombian folk. But it was El Dorado, released on October 24, 1995, through Sony BMG, that put them on the international map, with an original sound and relevant lyrics on ecology, feminism and human rights.
“We are not [academic] musicians, it’s all very much by ear and sensitivity,” explains Echeverri. “I think that because of that … we have done things in different ways, and we come out with all kinds of weird things that work great.”
Three-time Latin Grammy winners, and five-time Grammy nominees, Aterciopelados has appeared on the Billboard charts with their album Gozo Poderoso (2001), which reached No. 11 on Top Latin Albums and No. 7 on Latin Pop Albums, while their song “El Álbum” (from that same set) entered the Latin Pop Airplay ranking.
In 2021 they released their latest studio album, Tropiplop, while their last single was “Liberté” with Dr. Shenka, Susana Baca, and Bunbury, released in December 2023. They are currently working on a new album that they hope to put out before the end of this year. Echeverri and Buitrago discuss returning to El Dorado below.
It’s been 28 years since the release of El Dorado. What was it like to re-live the entire album after so much time?
Echeverri: Well, we were going to celebrate the 25th [anniversary] because a big festival here [in Colombia] had suggested it, but then the pandemic happened. That’s why it ended up being the 28th, which is kind of an odd date. What did we feel? Many things, because facing a repertoire from 28 years ago is difficult, you are not the same anymore. At least vocally, I suffered, because I used to have a light, naive girl’s voice, and now I have a more mature woman’s voice. [Laughs.]
What songs were particularly challenging for you?
Echeverri: All of them! In fact, I changed my vocal coach, I worked on the whole thing. The idea was not to sound the same as before. The idea was more about adjusting the songs to my current sound, which is what we achieved. But there are also many very fast songs, there are many very fierce ones, like “Pilas,” like “No Futuro,” which we have never stopped singing … It was a challenging and difficult process, but in the end I think we pulled it off. The other day I was listening to it, and it does sound powerful, with a thick, strong voice, beautiful.
Hector, what was the hardest thing for you?
Buitrago: The challenge was to retake that album that had a ’90s sound, bring it to the future, and preserve the essence of that era — but make it sound more appropriate for these times. We did the work all these previous months where we rehearsed the songs, and I think we achieved a balance between everything we were thinking we wanted to do with this album. In my case, it was also stressful because I was the producer, but there were also many more details — and it’s an album that we released independently, so we had to keep an eye on the cameras, the lights, the video, the guest musicians…
Echeverri: …the set design, the costumes… and also put out the money! That’s also hard. [Laughs.]
Can you give us an example of a song that particularly changed to make it more current?
Echeverri: I think the most noticeable one is “Tripas,” because we didn’t have a keyboard back then.
Buitrago: Yeah, “De Tripas Corazón” was perhaps the rockiest one, the one we felt was the most repetitive and was going to sound more like the ’90s, so we added a keyboard there. Let’s say that was the only one we transformed that much. The rest are closer to their time.
Many things have happened in your lives and in the industry since you released El Dorado. Do you still identify with your songs in the same way?
Echeverri: I think that in the midst of the difficulty, the tension, the most beautiful thing was to meet the songs again, because they were songs that we wrote years ago. We are not [academic] musicians, everything is very much by ear and sensitivity, but when you hear the songs you say “Wow, we were good!”
I think the one that impacted Héctor and me the most was “Siervo Sin Tierra.” In fact, yesterday, when I was watching the [concert] videos, at “Siervo Sin Tierra,” many people cry. We cried during rehearsals.
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Aterciopelados has created an important legacy for rock en Español and has been a great influence for other artists. How do you feel about it?
Echeverri: I think that precisely because we are not academic musicians, we have done things in different ways, and we come up with all kinds of weird things that work great … But I think the legacy perhaps also comes more from the identity side and the conceptual side because, from the beginning, Aterciopelados has been talking about feminism, environmentalism and anti-war themes, when these were not such common topics.
Many of your songs are still relevant 25 years later. Did you think back then that you were creating anthems?
Echeverri: I think we’ve always been ahead of our time. [Laughs.] But did we think it was going to last? No! I think that precisely because we went from rehearsing in a laundromat … to recording albums, we were very inexperienced, very naive. But we were also kind of punk, so we were very bold. I think nobody imagined anything. And there was not even a music scene in Colombia, you did it because it was fun, because it was good to do it.
Buitrago: But later we found out that yes, there were many bands that said that Aterciopelados had been an influence at some point at the beginning of their careers, that they saw Andrea or saw Aterciopelados and were inspired by the lyrics, by the attitude.
Today Colombia is a great exporter of music, with many artists entering the Billboard charts and touring globally. How do you see the current music scene in your country?
Buitrago: I feel that everything that happened in the ’90s, when there was no scene — there were not even stages, there were no festivals — that’s when everything began to grow, an infrastructure began to be generated that did not exist before: managers, technicians, recording studios … and I think that what began to develop at that time is what makes Colombian music be everywhere today.
What is happening currently with Colombian music is, first, the reflection of a country that has many geographies and therefore also a lot of sound richness — there are not only Caribbean sounds but there are Pacific sounds, sounds from the coasts but also from the inland. All this richness is now being shown to the world with a very powerful infrastructure.
Listen to El Dorado En Vivo by Aterciopelados here:
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Colombian law enforcement have made a considerable dent into their narcotics problem. They have busted a cartel that allegedly moves five tons of cocaine a month.
Raw Story is reporting that local Bogota police have partnered with officials from Ecuador for a major bust of the Los Curva criminal organization. The ring is estimated to do about $2 billion in profits a year via an international network that distributes the illegal substance to various parts of the world including Europe. Lawmen also claim that Los Curva worked with the Sinaloa Cartel, ran formerly by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in Mexico.
On Saturday (Jan. 6), the two leaders were arrested. Brothers Hader and Dairon Cuero were nabbed on various drug trafficking charges; Hader is also wanted by the United States. “This operation stops the shipment of five tons of cocaine per month,” said General Nicolas Zapata, deputy director of Colombian National Police.
According to Reuters, William Villarroel, national director of Anti-Drug Investigations in Ecuador, detailed that their operation transported the cocaine via speed boats and other sea vessels that ran maritime routes to Mexico. “This network dedicated to international drug trafficking operated strategically by sea, coordinating Colombian and Ecuadorian citizens on the Ecuadorian coasts” per the official statement from Ecuador’s Interior Ministry (according to Google Translate).
The bust comes just days after the nine tons of cocaine was seized in Bolivia.
Lisandro Meza, one of the biggest names in Colombian music, died on Saturday (Dec. 23) at the age of 86, almost three weeks after being hospitalized due to a stroke, informed the Specialized Clinic La Concepción in Sincelejo, in his native state of Sucre, Colombia, where he was.
“La Concepción regrets to report the sensitive death of maestro Lisandro Meza Márquez, minstrel of sabanera music, cumbia, porro, vallenato and disseminator of Colombian music to the world,” the clinic said in a statement signed by its manager, Guillermo Ruiz.
En estos momentos de profundo dolor, la familia Meza se une para lamentar la partida de nuestro pilar, Lisandro Meza. Su amor, sabiduría y música seguirán inspirándonos. Agradecemos el apoyo y las condolencias en este difícil momento. 🕊️🌹 #LutoFamiliar #LisandroMeza pic.twitter.com/IMeFhDIFkh— Lisandro Meza (@Lisandromeza) December 24, 2023
Meza’s family confirmed the passing of their “pillar” on the singer’s official account on X (formerly Twitter,) saying that “his love, wisdom and music will continue to inspire us,” and thanking everyone’s “support and condolences at this difficult time.” The Colombian Ministry of Culture highlighted that “his art embraced cumbia, porro, paseo and vallenato” and that “songs like ‘El Guayabo de la Ye’ and ‘El Hijo de Tuta’ will remain forever in our memory.”
Lamentamos el fallecimiento del cantante y compositor Lisandro Meza. Su arte abrazó la cumbia, porro, paseo y vallenato. Canciones como “El guayabo de la ye” y “El hijo de Tuta”, quedarán por siempre en nuestra memoria. Descansa en paz, maestro de la música colombiana. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/IH4xMCoTvF— MinCultura Colombia (@mincultura) December 24, 2023
Born on Sept. 26, 1937 in Los Palmitos, Meza became known in the 1950s with compositions that became popular in the Colombian Caribbean, according to El País. In 1965, he joined Los Corraleros de Majagual as an accordionist, a group in which he worked with other greats vallenato singers and songwriters such as Alfredo Gutiérrez and Calixto Ochoa. In 1969, he competed in the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata and came in second place, after Nicolás “Colacho” Mendoza, but the attendees stated that Meza should have won, and nicknamed him since then “el Rey sin Corona” (“the King without a Crown”,) reports the same newspaper.
Over the decades, Meza recorded dozens of albums, of his own or with other groups, releasing hits such as “Senderito de Amor,” “El Macho,” “El Hombre Feliz,” “Ni que Estuviera Loco,” and many others.
“Maestro Lisandro Meza, on behalf of all the Colombian people, thank you for being born in this land. Until we meet again,” Carlos Vives wrote on his X account, where he also published three photographs of himself with the accordionist and musician.
Other Colombian artists expressed their sorrow for his passing. “Lamenting the death of maestro Lisandro Meza. Condolences to all his family and friends,” wrote Juanes. While Jorge Celedón tweeted: “Maestro #LizandroMeza, a great of Colombian musician, leaves us today. I feel enormous sadness for his departure […] I will always remember that noble hug and greeting every time we met.”
Lamentando la muerte del maestro Lisandro Meza. Sentido pésame para toda su familia y amigos.— JUANES (@JUANES) December 24, 2023
El maestro #LizandroMeza un grande de la música Colombiana, nos deja hoy, siento una enorme tristeza por su partida, un abrazo solidario a su familia, mucha fortaleza en este duro momento, recordaré siempre ese noble abrazo y saludo cada vez que nos encontrábamos…🙏🙏— JORGE CELEDON (@Jorgitoceledon) December 23, 2023
Meza was married for more than six decades to Luz Domínguez and, according to different media outlets, and he was the father of 16 children.
Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has named Catalina Santa Peña as the new managing director for WCM Colombia, the company announced Thursday (March 16). The executive will lead the organization’s operations for the territory while reporting to Gustavo Menéndez, president of U.S. Latin & Latin America, Warner Chappell Music. She replaces Daniel Mora, who was recently named managing director of Warner Music Andes.
Santa Peña will oversee WCM Colombia’s “rapidly growing” roster, which includes Juan Pablo Vega, Santiago Cruz, Lalo Ebratt, Piso 21, Vicente García, Yera and TIMØ and be “key in helping expand the team while also championing local songwriters and global superstars alike,” according to a press release.
Santa Peña, who authored the book Industria Musical Para Artistas, Music Business Para Todos (Music Industry for Artists, Music Business for Everyone), is an industry veteran. In 2019, she founded entertainment law firm The Artist’s Attorney, where she worked with artists such as Karol G, Sky Rompiendo, J Balvin and Aterciopelados. She previously held roles at the Colombian Copyright office, Sony Music (Andean region), SAYCO and the Ministry of Culture in Public Performances Law in Colombia.
“As I’ve gotten to know Catalina over the years, I’ve seen the many hats she’s worn, from being an attorney and author, to becoming one of the industry’s most respected leaders,” said Menéndez in a statement. “Catalina knows the artistic side of the business and her heart is always in the right place, defending songwriters and the creative community. That’s the passion we like to see, and the perfect fit for our team and the philosophy we stand by. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her joining us and continuing our work and expanding our growth.”
“I am very excited for this new opportunity and to continue my journey of empowering musicians and composers, who are the backbone of this wonderful industry of ours,” Santa Peña added.
Daniel Mora has been appointed managing director of Warner Music Andes, where he will oversee the company’s operations in Colombia and Peru, and will report to president of Warner Music Latin America, Alejandro Duque, the company announced. Mora replaces Maria Montejo who left the company earlier this month.
Mora first joined Warner Chappell Music in 2013 as an A&R/Sync consultant at the Colombian office and was later promoted to managing director of WCM Colombia in 2019.
“After spending so many enjoyable years at Warner Chappell Music, I’m pleased to be staying within the WMG family and stepping into this role on the Recorded Music side,” he said in a press statement. “Latin music is in my blood, and I’m delighted to see how it’s currently growing and connecting with people around the world. There are so many great opportunities for our artists to become global stars and I’m looking forward to helping them achieve their dreams. I’d like to thank Alejandro for this new opportunity, and Gustavo Menendez, Guy Moot, and Carianne Marshall for all their support during my time at Warner Chappell Music.”
In addition to his experience as an industry executive, Mora is also an artist and entrepreneur. He previously toured Latin America as part of the tropipop band, Bonka, which made waves with their debut single “El Problemón” (2006) and freshman studio album Lo Que Nunca Nos Contamos; and launched his own audiovisual company in Bogotá, producing films and commercials for brands such as Chevrolet and Adidas, to name a few.
“Daniel is a brilliant exec who has experience of being on both sides of the fence – first as an artist and now as a leading industry figure,” Duque added. “His understanding of both perspectives makes him the perfect fit for Warner Music and our artist-first philosophy. His appointment will enable us to work even closer with our partners at Warner Chappell Music and will open up more opportunities for collaboration. Latin music is exploding around the world and I’m excited to see how Daniel can further propel our Colombian and Peruvian artists internationally.”
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