Rafael Escalona

Über Rafael Escalona

Composer regarded as the greatest songwriter in vallenato history, even though he rarely recorded himself. From the 1940s he turned the news, gossip, and landscapes of the Valledupar region into hundreds of songs, blurring the line between journalism and folk poetry. His friend Gabriel García Márquez described his compositions as a sung account of the province, and Carlos Vives later revived them for a new generation. His work helped lift vallenato from rural tradition to national treasure.