Gabriel García Márquez defined his masterpiece ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ as a 400-page vallenatomarking a close relationship between literature and vallenato folklorepraising the cultural richness of accordion music present in the departments of Cesar and La Guajira.
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It is so much the greatness of vallenato, its characters and the story behind each of them, that has motivated several writers, film, theater and television producers to recreate its biography, capturing the attention of viewers nationally and internationally. That is why The First Valledupar Book Fair, Felva 2023, will also address these issues in the discussion ‘Soap operas and movies about vallenato and their world‘.
The event will take place on Friday, June 9, starting at 5:30 pm at the Casa de la Cultura, where Cristina Gallego, screenwriter, producer and film director of the films ‘Los viajes del viento’ and ‘Pájaros Of summer’; John Bolívar, actor, film and television director, and Leider Díaz Arzuaga, director of Maderos Teatro, will talk about how a story is written, the world of acting and how stories on the big and small screen influence audiences .
“Valledupar is a city whose only vocation is tourism and the Vallenato soap operas have given us the opportunity to stand out in that sense, that is why the local leaders and we should all support vallenato productions more because there is the way out of our economic problemsin tourism development and tourism promotion that is done through soap operas, since our future is ecological and cultural tourism”, said John Bolívar, actor and producer of film and television.
SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTIONS OF VALLENATO
During the last decades, vallenato has inspired soap operas, movies, documentaries and other film and television productions that have stood out, either for the plot, the cast or for the magic that vallenato music prints in each production.
STAGE
Television series based on the life and work of the composer Rafael Escalona Martínez; released in 1991 and starring Carlos Vives and Florina Lemaitre, who personified Escalona and ‘La Maye’, the muse of inspiration for various songs by the sideburns musician.
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The series personified events narrated by Escalona in several of his songs, including the death of Jaime Molina, his friendship with the jerre jerre, the Brazilian, the romance of Pipe Socarrás and the miller, and the purchase of the Chevrolito. The series was directed by Sergio Cabrera.
DIOMEDES DÍAZ, THE CACIQUE OF THE BOARD
After the death of Diomedes Díaz in December 2013, RCN Televisión premiered the series ‘Diomedes Díaz, El Cacique de La Junta’, which narrated the life and work of one of the most important singers of Vallenato music; going through his childhood in Carrizal, love relationships, beginnings and success in Vallenato music; as well as the controversies and death of him.
‘Diomedes’, starring Orlando Liñán and Kimberly Reyes under the production of Herney Luna and Cecilia Vásquez, was shot in San Juan del Cesar, Bogota, Valledupar and the corregimientos of La Peña and La Junta (La Guajira).
RAFAEL OROZCO, THE IDOL
‘Rafael Orozco, the idol’ is a Colombian telenovela, produced and broadcast by Caracol Televisión. It is inspired by the life of the murdered vallenato singer, Rafael Orozco Maestre, co-founder of El Binomio de Oro de América.
The production was recorded in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Valledupar and Villanueva and stars singer Alejandro Palacio (Rafael Orozco) and former universal viceroy Taliana Vargas (Clara Elena Cabello de Orozco), who was the singer’s sentimental partner.
LEANDRO
In 2022, RCN Televisión premiered the telenovela ‘Leandro Díaz’, based on the book by Vallenato writer Alonso Sánchez Baute entitled ‘Leandro‘, in which he narrated moments that marked the life of the Guajiro composer such as his blindness from birth, his relationship with his family members and the way in which he became one of the minstrels of Vallenato music.
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The telenovela was starred by Silvestre Dangond, who personified Leandro and Laura de León Matilde Lina, muse of one of the most outstanding works of folklore and which has been recorded by various interpreters.
THE TRIPS OF WIND
The Cesarean filmmaker Ciro Guerra premiered the film in 2009 ‘Los viajes del viento’, in which he makes an allegory for the end of minstrels in Vallenato musicobtaining international recognition at the Berlin Film Festival, Germany, the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Netherlands and the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival, United States, among others.
The film starred composer Marciano Martínez and Yull Núñez.
OTHERS
In the list of telenovelas, films and documentaries based on Vallenato music also stand out ‘La Cacica’, ‘Hey pretty’, ‘The Cacique’s son’, Land of Singers’, ‘I met him late’, ‘Los Morales’, ‘Living legend’, ‘The journey of the accordion’, ‘Diomedes Díaz, the Immortal’, ‘The angel of the accordion‘ and ‘Alejo, the search for love’, which have crossed borders due to their magic and cultural richness.
By: Lucía Mendoza/EL PILÓN.