Vallenato singer Iván Villazón took advantage of the closure of the Vallenato Legend Festival to pay a well-deserved tribute to the teacher and cashier Rodolfo Castilla, in recognition of his musical career.
In an act held in a public establishment in the north of Valledupar, ‘El Cantor de Cantores’ commented that the memory of his father Crispín Villazón inspired him to pay this tribute and recalled that when he was 6 years old he met Rodolfo Castilla at the parrandas from the patio of his house with Colacho Mendoza and Adán Montero.
“Those 4 or 5 day parties ended in La Carolina, the family farm, and from there everyone returned with sacks of oranges, tangerines and vegetables. They came to their houses with markets and silver“, indicated the artist.
Thus began that relationship between Iván Villazón and Rodolfo Castilla. At the age of 11, he met ‘Coyote’ Castilla in Bogotá, another teller of the dynasty, who helped him forge himself as a singer.
Rodolfo Castilla, who was a cashier for the groups led by Jorge Oñate and Diomedes Díaz, later joined that of Iván Villazón, who described this fact as “A prize, a blessing from God and fortune to work with ‘El Pulpo de la Caja’”.
Likewise, he describes Rodolfo Castilla as “the Luis Enrique Martínez of the box. He has his own style with a lot of creativity. There is a before and after Rodolfo”.
Villazón added that: “This tribute is to return to him in a certain way what Rodolfo Castilla represented when I began my career. Once I told him: Rodo, that song has a very high tone and he answered me: don’t be afraid that you whistle; beg, beg”.
The artist’s friends, who represent ‘Villazonismo’ in full, joined the tribute and gave a financial contribution to Rodolfo Castilla, who attended the event with his family and dynasty cashiers.
“These are things that are not forgotten.” Villazon stressed.
BY: CULTURE / EL PILÓN