Yesterday was a day that marked the municipality of La Paz with nostalgia and memories, on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of the death of Jorge Oñate, the greatest exponent of Vallenato folklore who knew how to position his roots and music before the country and the world.
‘The Strongest’, ‘The Invincible’, ‘El Ruiseñor’, ‘El Jilguero’, ‘La leyenda’…, are some of the qualifiers with which this artist who achieved a successful career for more than 50 years is remembered.
The tribute was made yesterday by the children and relatives of Jorge Oñate, as well as accordion players, singers and the community in general, who, singing their songs, honored him for the legacy he left to the new generations.
It began at 9:00 in the morning with a field mass in the Central Cemetery of La Paz, where the tomb was also visited for a floral offering that was accompanied by a vallenata serenade performed by teachers such as Chiche Martínez, Álvaro López, among others. .
A discussion on the life and work of Jorge Oñate was also held, which was attended by important exponents of vallenato such as Álvaro Álvarez, Reyes de Luque, Mario Puerta, Cabe Solano and other friends of Jilguero, informed José Enrique Ferias, head of the Office of Culture of the Mayor’s Office of La Paz, who added that the activities were carried out with the support of the Mayor’s Office of La Paz, the Governor’s Office of Cesar and the Oñatista Club.
“As time passes, the memory is greater. Jorge Oñate left a great story to his people, who even made them a song, for this reason the people of La Paz still mourn and miss him, ”he said.
The official announced that work is being done on the project to convert part of his home into a museum where important pieces of the interpreter will rest. The mayor of La Paz, Martín Zuleta, is managing to obtain resources to achieve this dream.
“Jorge Oñate for the municipality of La Paz represented the highest figure in the cultural and artistic field. “He represented us beyond the Colombian border and in the national territory. La Paz cries for him, we are left alone, without that representation in Vallenato folklore, ”he pointed out.
KEEP VALLENATO ALIVE
Raúl ‘Chiche’ Maestre, accordion player, reiterated that Oñate always worked to keep the genre alive. He was the only one who recorded, he took his compositions, he revolutionized folklore.
“Together with him I recorded one of the greatest successes of Vallenato folklore, a song by Octavio Daza ‘Nido de Amor’ in the year 78; the following year we recorded ‘Siempre Unidos’, ‘Canasta de Sueños’, Cántaro de Amor’, ‘La Vieja Sara’. And in the year 1980 we recorded ‘Noche de Estrellas’, authored by maestro Roberto Calderón, among other hits that are collected on three CDs that I made together with Jilguero de América”, he said.
He recalled that during his musical career, he managed to remain anonymous through Jorge Oñate.
Wilber Mendoza, King of Kings of Vallenato, stated that it has been an irreplaceable loss, Jorge Oñate was one of the greatest that Vallenato folklore has given. “He was a partner of my father, ‘Colacho’ Mendoza, and he recorded the best heavy vallenato songs. He protected orthodox, classical music and its most faithful defender.
He did not hesitate to show his great sadness two years after his departure, but the greatest tribute will be to continue playing the accordion, to take the best melodies to heaven and feel proud that his music is still alive in this land of vallenato.