The Vallenato Legend Festival () is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The festival features a vallenato music contests for best performer of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca, as well as piqueria (battle of lyrics) and best song. It is celebrated every year in April in the city of Valledupar, Department of Cesar.Official Site
Origins The festival was established in 1968 in Valledupar by Alfonso López Michelsen, then the first governor of the newly created Cesar Department, composer Rafael Escalona, journalist and cultural promoter Consuelo Araújo Noguera, and Miriam Pupo. Its founders intended the event to preserve and promote the region's musical, oral and cultural traditions.
The festival developed in connection with Valledupar's established patronal celebrations of Our Lady of the Rosary. Vallenato parrandas, including gatherings known as colitas, formed part of those festivities. The festival's name refers to the local religious tradition known as the "Vallenato Legend".
From its establishment through 1986, the festival was organized by the tourism office of the Cesar Department. The Fundación Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata was established on 26 April 1986 as a private non-profit organization and subsequently became the festival's organizing body.
The Vallenato legend Several versions of the story circulate in local oral tradition. In a commonly recounted version, an Indigenous woman known as Francisca was mistreated and had her hair cut, prompting an Indigenous attack on the Spanish settlement. According to the story, the Virgin of the Rosary extinguished a fire at the church with her mantle and later restored to life Spaniards who had died after drinking poisoned water at Sicarare. The religious observances associated with the story predated the modern music festival, which was founded in their context and took its name from the legend.
The Contests
The most important event during the celebration of this festival is the vallenato musical contest. The winners are chosen by a vallenato experienced jury that evaluate the contestants’ prowess in the four main rhythms which are paseo, son, puya and merengue. There are several categories in which the contestants may participate including: "professional accordion player", "amateur accordion player", "young accordion player", "best new vallenato song", and piquerías (in which each competitor's goal is to 'diss' their opponent through clever lyrics).
Besides the annual winners, there is also a special award given to renowned vallenato composers and performers, a statuette known as La Pilonera Mayor, which is given in recognition of the recipient’s dedication to vallenato music. La Pilonera Mayor is the highest honor given to a vallenato musician in Colombia and only six composers have received it until now. This award is given in honoris memoriam of disappeared Consuelo Araújo.
Judges for competitions are selected by the Board of Directors of the Vallenato Legend Festival Foundation (Fundacion Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata) and must be affiliated members.
King of Kings The Rey de Reyes festival editions occur every ten years, since 1987 and only previous winners can participate. The first winner was Colacho Mendoza, followed by Gonzalo "Cocha" Molina, the third King of Kings Hugo Carlos Granados won on May 1, 2007.
Winners La Pilonera Mayor Award: Emiliano Zuleta Baquero, Rafael Escalona, Leandro Díaz, Calixto Ochoa, Adolfo Pacheco and Tobías Enrique Pumarejo.
No Year Professional Accordionist Amateur Accordionist Youth Accordionist Child Accordionist Composer of New Vallenato Song Winning song Piqueria (major / child) 1 1968 Alejo Durán none none none none none none 2 1969 Nicolás Mendoza Emiliano Zuleta Díaz none none Gustavo Gutiérrez Rumores de viejas voces none 3 1970 Calixto Ochoa Emilio Oviedo none Ciro Meza Reales Freddy Molina El indio desventurado none 4 1971 Alberto Pacheco Carmencito Mendoza Antolin Arias Adiel Vega Santander Duran Lamento Arhuaco none 5 1972 Miguel López Ciro Meza Reales (Semiprofesional: Alberto Rada) none Luciano Poveda Camilo Namén Recordando mi niñez none 6 1973 Luis Enrique Martínez Egidio Cuadrado (Semiprofesional: Álvaro Cabas) none Raúl Martínez Armando Zabaleta No vuelvo a Patillal none 7 1974 Alfredo Gutiérrez Alberto Villa (Semiprofessional José María Argote) none Gustavo Maestre Nicolás Maestre El Hachero none 8 1975 Julio de la Ossa Raúl Martínez (Semiprofesional: Luis Villa) none Orangel Maestre none in 1st place none in 1st place none 9 1976 Náfer Durán Álvaro López (Semiprofesional: José María Ramos) none Fernando Dangond Julio Onate La Profecía none 10 1977 José María Ramos Adiel Vega none Navin López Alonso Fernández Yo soy Vallenato none 11 1978 Alfredo Gutiérrez Carlos Arrieta none Jose Alfonso Maestre Octavio Daza Río Badillo none 12 1979 Rafael Salas Álvaro López none Jose Vásquez Pedro García Díaz El Poeta Pintor Andrés Beleno 13 1980 Elberto López Navín López none Hugo Carlos Granados Tomás Darío Gutiérrez Voz de accordeones Luis Manjarrez 14 1981 Raúl Martínez Álvaro Meza none Miguel Avendano Fernando Dangond Nacio mi Poesía Wilman Rodríguez 15 1982 Eliecer Ochoa Gonzalo "El Cocha" Molina none José López Gustavo Gutiérrez Paisaje de Sol Antonio Salas 16 1983 Julio Rojas Buendía Segundo Vanegas none Raúl Vega Julio Díaz Yo soy el acordeón Alcides Manjarrez 17 1984 Orangel Maestre Carlos Bracho none Aider Vega Juvenal Daza La Espinita Alcides Manjarrez 18 1985 Egidio Cuadrado Omar Geles none Gustavo Osorio Emiliano Zuleta Díaz Mi Acordeón José Villero 19 1986 Alfredo Gutiérrez Hugo Carlos Granados none Juan David Herrera Rafael Manjarrez Ausencia Sentimental Ivo Díaz 20 1987 Nicolás Mendoza Omar Geles none No 1st place Santander Duran La Canción del Valor none 21 1988 Alberto Villa Hildelmaro Bolanos none Iván Zuleta Marciano Martínez Con el alma en la mano Juan Oviedo 22 1989 Omar Geles Juan Carlos Ovalle none Harold Rivera José F. Mejía Puya Almojabanera Luis M. Onate 23 1990 Gonzalo "El Cocha" Molina Juan David Herrera none Jaime Bornacelli José F. Mejía No hay tierra como mi tierra Rafael Zuleta 24 1991 Julián Rojas Álvaro Meza none Saúl Soto Gustavo Calderón Mementos del ayer José Bornacelli 25 1992 Álvaro López Juan José Granados none Franklin Vega Hernando Marín Valledupar del alma No 1st place 26 1993 Alberto Rada Manuel Vega none Víctor Beltrán Ivo Díaz Dame tu alma Alcides Manjarrez 27 1994 Julio Rojas Buendía Iván Zuleta none Sergio Luis Rodríguez Iván Ovalle Yo vivo enamorado del valle Guillermo Arzuaga 28 1995 Freddy Sierra Harold Rivera none Sergio Iguarán Hortensia Lanao ¿Qué hago, Señor? Andrés Barros 29 1996 Juan David Herrera Moisés Polo none Marlon González Alfonso Cotes Maya La cabeza de Pavajeau Wilman Felizzola 30 1997 Gonzalo "El Cocha" Molina Hugo Carlos Granados none Sergio Luis Rodríguez Emiliano Zuleta Díaz Mi pobre valle No 1st place 31 1998 Saúl Lallemand Ramón Villa none Ángel Torres Luis Cujía; Ramiro Garrido; Sergio Moya; Luis Ramírez Yo soy el cantor; Yo soy el son; recuerdos de viejos tiempos; puya del folklor José Ariza 32 1999 Hugo Carlos Granados Deivis Rivera none Manuel José Martínez Félix Carrillo; Winston Muegues; Antonia Daza; Deimer Marin Mi pobre acordeón; Los barrios del valle; El orgullo de nacer; Maestro de maestros Julio Cárdenas 33 2000 José María Ramos Jr. Nemer Yesid Tetay none Luis José Villa Guete Santander Duran Escalona Cantares de vaqueria José Bornacelli 34 2001 Álvaro Meza Reales Christian Camilo Peña none Yosimar Rodríguez Winston Muegues La Estratificación Julio Salas 35 2002 Navín López Araujo Marlon González none Camilo Carvajal Cuadro Melquisedec Namen Rapalino Vestida de gloria José Félix Ariza 36 2003 Ciro Meza Reales John Jaider Suárez Luis Villa Guete Jairo De la Ossa Otero Martha Guerra Un soncito tolimense Teobaldo Penalosa 37 2004 Harold Rivera Omar Hernández Fernando Rangel Molina Carlos Mario Ramírez Guillermo Doria Borrero Raíces de Oro José Félix Ariza 38 2005 Juan José Granados Ángel Torres Arroyo Mauricio de Santis Camilo Andres Molina Julio César Daza Sueno Vallenato Julio Cárdenas 39 2006 Alberto Jamaica Rodolfo de la Valle Escorcia Javier Rogrigo Álvarez Jesús Ocampo Ospino Ever Jiménez El Valle es tu casa Rubén Ariza 40 2007 Hugo Carlos Granados Ómar Hernández Brochero Rodolfo Miguel Molina Meza Yeimy Arrieta Santander Duran Escalona Entre cantores José Dolores Bornacelly 41 2008 Christian Camilo Peña Mauricio de Santis Villadiego Romario Munive Royero Dyonnel Velásquez Castro Rafael ‘Uchi’ Escobar El que te canta José Félix Ariza 42 2009 Sergio Luis Rodríguez Guillermo Ortiz Cuesta Jorge Lucas Dangond Daza Daniel Guillermo Maestre Alvarado Willian Klinger Yo también soy vallenato Martín Lozano 43 2010 Luis Eduardo Daza Maestre Carlos Alberto Torres Arroyo Daniel de Jesús Holguín Ricardo José Gustavo Gómez Molina Lázaro Alfonso Cotes Ovalle La última historia Rubén Darío Ariza Díaz 44 2011 Almes Granados Jairo Andrés de la Ossa Camilo Carvajal Cuadros José Camilo Mugno Pinzón Adrián Pablo Villamizar Ciegos nosotros William Castrellón 45 2012 Fernando Isaac Rangel Molina Jaime Luis Campillo Castañeda Fabio Felipe Villabona Mélida Andrea Galvis Lafont Germán Villa Acosta El Rey del Folclor José Félix Ariza 46 2013 Wilber Nicolás Mendoza Zuleta Delay Alay Magdaniel Gómez Rodrigo José Romero Chamorro Miguel Ángel Velilla Navarro Álvaro Olimpo Pérez Vergara El cuentico chino Edwin Oved Vásquez Lambraño 47 2014 Gustavo Osorio Picón Camilo Andrés Molina Luna José Camilo Mugno Sebastián Sepúlveda Enrique Ariza Celis Con el alma entre las manos Andrés Felipe Barros 48 2015 Mauricio de Santis Villadiego Jesús Ocampo Daniel Maestre Alvarado Rubén Lanao Margarita Doria Carrascal Vallenatos del alma Julio Cárdenas 49 2016 Jaime Dangond Daza Pedro José Rueda Pinilla Alberto Ovalle Sergio Moreno Everardo Armenta Alonso Vallenato joven Fredy de Ávila 50 2017 Álvaro Lopez Carillo Daniel de Jesús Holguín Ricardo José Juan Camilo Guerra Mendoza José Alejandro Aldana Vergara Ivo Luis Díaz Ramos El rey de los cajeros José Félix Ariza Vega 51 2018 Julián Ricardo Mojica Galvis Ronal Torres Yerson Robles Jerónimo Villazon Leonardo Salcedo Campuzano Mi lenguaje musical Julio Andres Gil Barros (Child)