The piqueria is one of the traditional contests of the Vallenato Festival and starting this Wednesday, May 1, different improvisers will meet at the Unicentro Shopping Center, a stage where 68 spectators from the older category and 7 from the children’s category will demonstrate their skills when it comes to improvising.
In this edition of the piqueria contest, spectators from the Magdalena, La Guajira, Cesar, Sucre, Bolívar Córdoba, Antioquia, Santander, Cundinamarca and, in addition, from the neighboring country of Venezuela, seeking the crown of the king of piqueria, which Julio Erasmo Gutiérrez Vega holds.
In the senior category, seven vallenatos will seek to proclaim themselves king, while a broad representation will come from the Sabanera region with spectators who came from municipalities in the department of Sucre such as San Benito Abad, San Onofre, San Marcos and Sincé, while repentistas from Ayapel will participate from Córdoba.
Of course, we must highlight the participation of the guajiros and Magdalenians, although since Cundinamarca, Antioquia and Norte de Santander They also want to hit the ground running. Competitors from Cajicá and Bogotá will arrive from Cundinamarca lands, while from Santander, Barrancabermeja will be present with two participants and from the municipality of Nechí, Antioquia will have its exponent in the contest.
On the other hand, in the minor category, Seven little ones will seek to climb to the top of the pedestal: three guajiros, an Antioqueño, a Sucreño, a Vallenato and a Venezuelan will be the ones who will take to the stage this Wednesday to present their best verses when it comes to improvising.
In the previous version of the children’s piqueria, there were six contestants who sought to win the crown, however, the ladies dominated on that occasion, as Dahiana Andrea García Carvajal was proclaimed the best performer in the category, while Heilyn Lucia Gil Prasca took second place.
THE ORIGIN OF THE PIQUERIA IN THE VALLENATO FESTIVAL
For many historians, talking about the vallenato piqueria is to go back to different events, one of them in the times of Francisco ‘The Man’, but a temporary space that becomes relevant was carried out by Emiliano Zuleta Baquero and Lorenzo Morales, who left different musical themes, but without a doubt the most remembered and that transcended borders was Zuleta’s composition: ‘La gota frida’.
Officially, it was until 1979 when the Vallenata Legend Foundation included this contest that had Andrés Beleño as the first winner after being crowned king in this category that, as the years go by, becomes more attractive and gains more followers.
Thus, the sounds of an accordion, the beating of the snare drum and the guacharaca begin this category that excites spectators. Nowadays, the skill of the versadores, in addition to being evident in the parrandas, is measured year after year in the piquería contest.
“More than 20 names have left their mark as kings of piquería, privileged characters with great capacity for improvisation and strong concentration, because, although it may seem simple, the art of writing verses is not for everyone, it requires a great mental speed to create verses that are born and created spontaneously, fluidly and improvised according to the moment,” highlighted historian Tomás Darío Gutiérrez.
BY: ROBERT CADAVID / EL PILÓN