Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo is a Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his interpretation of traditional music styles of Colombia such as vallenato, cumbia, champeta, bambuco and porro as well as genres such as Latin pop, reggaeton, dance pop and tropical music.
The music of Colombia is an expression of Colombian culture, music genres, both traditional and modern, according with the features of each geographic region, although it is not uncommon to find different musical styles in the same region. The diversity in musical expressions found in Colombia can be seen as the result of a mixture of Amerindian, African, and European influences, as well as more modern American.
Vallenato, is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in north-east Colombia. The name also applies to the people from the city where this genre originated: Valledupar. In 2006, vallenato and cumbia were added as a category in the Latin Grammy Awards. Colombia’s traditional vallenato music is Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, according to UNESCO.
Monchy & Alexandra were a bachata musical group from the Dominican Republic. They sang together as a duo beginning in 1998. Their first big hit was "Hoja en Blanco (song)", which they released in 1999. Since then, they had many other hits, such as "Hasta El Fin" and "Perdidos", both from their 2004 album Hasta el Fin, as well as "No Es Una Novela" from their 2006 Éxitos y Más album. They have been often credited with being instrumental in popularizing bachata music outside of the Dominican Republic.
Diomedes Díaz Maestre was a Colombian vallenato singer, songwriter, and composer. His nickname, "El Cacique de la Junta", was given to him by another vallenato singer, Rafael Orozco Maestre, in honor of Díaz's birthplace.
No Podrás Escapar de Mí is the second album released by Colombian singer/composer Carlos Vives. It was released in 1987, Vives was best known as the star of soap operas at the time of its release. The album contains romantic ballads and Rock music sung in Spanish. Vives embraced Vallenato later in his career. Although the title track reached number 30 in the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, the album was largely ignored by the public, and is a collector's item for fans.
Kaleth Miguel Morales Troya was a Colombian vallenato singer and songwriter, best known as the leader of the "Nueva Ola" movement in Vallenato, having released singles such as Vivo en el Limbo.
Iván Francisco Villazón Aponte, is one of the most renowned vallenato singers in Colombia. His career as a singer began in 1984 after dropping out of college where he was pursuing a degree in law.
Silvestre Francisco Dangond Corrales is a Colombian singer. He attributes his talents to his father, the singer William José "El Palomo" Dangond Baquero, who during the mid-1970s recorded 10 singles with Andrés "El Turco" Gil; and his mother, who comes from a musical family and passed down her charismatic nature to him, while also playing a major role in his formal and personal education.
Binomio de Oro de América is a Colombian Vallenato group that was founded by lead singer Rafael Orozco and accordionist Israel Romero in the Caribbean Region of Colombia on June 16, 1976. The group grew up in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s and developed mainstream popularity in Venezuela, especially in the city of Maracaibo and in Mexico, mainly in the city of Monterrey.
Hoja En Blanco is the debut studio album by Dominican bachata duo Monchy & Alexandra. The album contains the hit single, "Hoja En Blanco" which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Tropical Airplay chart. It was originally written and performed by the Colombian vallenato band, Los Diablitos.
Jorge Celedón also known as Jorgito Celedón is a Colombian musician and singer of vallenato music. Celedón was one of the backup singers for the vallenato group Binomio de Oro de America who joined after the death of Rafael Orozco Maestre. In 1998, he decided to create his own vallenato group and teamed with accordionist Jimmy Zambrano.
Lágrimas Cálidas is the debut studio album by Colombian recording artist Fanny Lu, released on August 8, 2006. The record contains ten tracks, most of which were composed by Jose Gaviria, and produced with Andres Munera. Musically, the album experiments with tropipop, which is composed of the genres of vallenato, merengue, and pop music. Recording for the album took place in 2004 in three cities: Miami, Bogota and Medellin. An international version of the album, containing two remixes, was released exclusively in United States, Spain and Colombia.
Jimmy Zambrano, is a Colombian accordion player.
"Fruta Fresca" is a vallenato song written and performed by Colombian recording artist Carlos Vives and produced by Emilio Estefan and Juan Vicente Zambrano as the lead single from his studio album El Amor de Mi Tierra (1999). The song incorporates the sound of Latin pop and Colombian vallenato music. In the song, he compares his lover's kisses to fresh fruit. The track was well received by critics who praised the production of the record. "Fruta Fresca" became Vives' first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It is recognized as one of his signature songs.
Bachata Romántica: 1's is a compilation album released by Machete Music on January 27, 2009. The album includes tracks recorded by several artists from the bachata genre, such as Aventura, Ivy Queen, R.K.M. & Ken-Y, Jayco, Watson Brazoban, José Feliciano, Monchy & Alexandra, Frank Reyes, El Chaval de la Bachata, Zacarías Ferreíra, Daniel Monción, Fanny Lu, Toby Love and Xtreme, featuring content dating back to 2004.
Bachata #1's, Vol. 2 is a compilation album released by Machete Music. The recording features tracks performed by several artist from the bachata genre, such as Aventura, Xtreme, Toby Love, Óptimo, Monchy & Alexandra, Leny, Domenic Marte, Zacarías Ferreíra, Frank Reyes, Carlos & Alejandra, Joe Veras, Yoskar "El Prabu Sarante", and Alex Bueno. It also features a bachata performed by Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi exclusive to this release.
Bachata #1's is a compilation album released by Machete Music on July 3, 2007. The album features several artists from the bachata genre, such as Xtreme, Aventura, Monchy & Alexandra, Alex Bueno, Frank Reyes, and Los Toros Band with production being handled by Anthony Santos, Lenny Santos, Sergio George and Franklin Romero among others. Musically, the album features musical arrangements combining bachata and R&B.
"La Tierra del Olvido" is a song by Colombian singer Carlos Vives from his seventh studio album of the same name (1995). The song was written by Iván Benavides and Vives, who handled production alongside Richard Blair. It was released as the lead single from the album in 1995. The song is a neo-vallenato number that utilizes the folk guitar and accordion, on which Vives longs for his homeland. The song received positive reactions from three music critics, being found as one of the album's catchiest tunes by them. It was a recipient at the ASCAP Latin Awards in 1996.
Monchy & Alexandra were a bachata musical group from the Dominican Republic. They sang together as a duo in the period 1998 to 2008. Their discography consists of three studio albums, three compilation albums, two live albums and ten singles.
