Venezuela

Venezuela is best known for joropo, the harp-and-cuatro music of the llanero plains whose anthem Alma Llanera serves as an unofficial national song, and for gaita zuliana, the swinging folk music of Maracaibo tied to the December festivities. It also built a fierce salsa scene that produced Óscar D'León, a strong balada-pop tradition led by stars like Franco De Vita and Ricardo Montaner, and a modern diaspora wave from Danny Ocean to the Latin Grammy-winning Rawayana.

Joropo is the national music of the Venezuelan and Colombian plains, played on harp or bandola, cuatro, and maracas over a fast, waltz-like rhythm. It is the music of the llanero cowboy, with lyrics about the grasslands, cattle work, and love. Its most famous piece, Alma Llanera, is treated as a second national anthem, and Simón Díaz's tonada Caballo Viejo became one of the most covered Latin songs ever written.

Two names stand out. Simón Díaz, known as Tío Simón, is the country's most beloved composer, whose Caballo Viejo has been recorded worldwide and adapted into the Gipsy Kings hit Bamboléo. In salsa, Óscar D'León is an international giant known as El Sonero del Mundo. Among younger artists, Danny Ocean and the band Rawayana, who won the 2024 Latin Grammy for Album of the Year, have carried Venezuelan music back onto the global stage.

Gaita zuliana is the folk music of Maracaibo and Zulia state in western Venezuela, played on cuatro, tambora, the friction drum furro, and the charrasca scraper. Traditionally performed during the December festivities honoring the Virgin of Chiquinquirá, it ranges from joyful celebration to biting social and political protest. Ricardo Aguirre made it a vehicle for popular grievance, and the band Guaco grew out of the gaita scene before evolving into its own tropical fusion.

The Venezuelan diaspora has produced a wave of global success. Danny Ocean scored a worldwide streaming hit with Me Rehúso, the band Rawayana won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year in 2024, and songwriter Elena Rose has become a sought-after hitmaker across Latin pop. They join established stars like Óscar D'León and Ricardo Montaner, who both remain active, as the contemporary face of Venezuelan music.

Last reviewed: 2026-07