Vallenato is a traditional folk music style from Colombia. It is most commonly found in the country's Caribbean region. The word "vallenato" means "born in the valley." This valley is located between two mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá, in northeastern Colombia. The name also refers to the people of Valledupar, a city where this music originated. Valledupar's name comes from "Valle de Upar," which means "Valley of Upar." In 2006, vallenato and cumbia were added as a category in the Latin Grammy Awards. UNESCO recognizes Colombia's traditional vallenato music as an important cultural tradition that needs protection.

Origins

This music began with farmers who followed a tradition of Spanish minstrels (called juglares in Spanish). They traveled with their cattle to find pastures or sell them at fairs. Because they moved between towns and the region had no fast way to share news, these farmers carried messages for families in other villages. Their only form of entertainment during these trips was singing and playing guitars or indigenous flutes called kuisis in the Kogi language. They shared news by singing their messages.

The earliest version of vallenato used gaita flutes, guacharaca, and caja. Later, it included guitars. These musicians were later influenced by European instruments like the piano and accordion. They may have obtained accordions from Aruba and Curaçao after hearing their sound. Vallenato was originally music for farmers and lower-class people, but it gradually became popular with all social groups by the mid-20th century.

Don Clemente Quintero, a respected member of the region’s elite, enjoyed this music. He often listened to it while drinking alcohol, which was a common form of entertainment in the isolated area. He started a party called a parranda at the strict Valledupar Social Club with friends. This event helped people accept vallenato music, making it a regular part of parties, carnivals, and gatherings, though it was mainly for listening to the stories of the juglares.

Alfonso López Michelsen, a well-known Colombian politician, had family roots in the region because his ancestors and wife were born there. As a senator, he supported the creation of the Department of Cesar and became its first governor in 1966. While in office, he worked with writer Consuelo Araújo Noguera and vallenato composer Rafael Escalona to establish the Vallenato Legend Festival.

Instruments

The three traditional instruments are:

• The caja vallenata: a small drum held between the knees and played with bare hands. It was used by African slaves brought to the region by Europeans. It is similar to a tambora drum.
• The guacharaca: a wooden, ribbed stick shaped like a sugar cane, with a fork attached. When the stick and fork are rubbed together, they make a scraping sound. It is about 18 inches (45 centimeters) long and 1 inch (3 centimeters) in diameter. It was used by the aborigines to copy the song of the guacharaca or guacharaco (a type of chachalaca bird) to help with hunting and dance ceremonies.
• The accordion: a three-line button accordion from Germany. It has three reeds for each note and comes in different keys: ADG, GCF, and BbEbAb ("5 Letras"). In Colombia and Panama, some accordions have special keys made for playing vallenato and cumbia music.

The four rhythms

Vallenato music includes four types of rhythms called "airs," each with unique beats and melodies played by the accordionist. These are son, paseo, merengue, and puya. The son and paseo follow a 4-beat rhythm, while the merengue and puya follow an 8-beat rhythm.

• The son has strong beats on the lower notes of the accordion and is usually played slowly and sorrowfully.
• The paseo is a variation of the son. Its speed can change, and it is now the most commonly recorded air.
• The puya differs from the merengue because it has longer lyrics. In the last 40 years, musicians have started playing it faster, and each of the three instruments used in vallenato takes turns playing a solo. The puya is the oldest of the four airs, with origins in an ancient Indian dance from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
• Merengue is often confused with a similar music style from the Dominican Republic, likely introduced by African groups. It has a storytelling style and was used to play décimas, a 10-line song form with rhymes brought to the region by Spanish people in the 16th century.

Piqueria

The piqueria vallenata is a type of musical competition from Colombian Caribbean folklore and Vallenato music. Like other musical contests such as contrapunteo Joropo or trova paisa, participants show their ability to create music on the spot by writing verses that challenge their opponents. This style of musical competition began when Vallenato musicians traveled across northern Colombia, performing at festivals and displaying their talent with the accordion and their skill in making up songs and rhymes. One of the most famous contests happened between two Vallenato accordionists, Emiliano Zuleta and Lorenzo Morales. This event inspired the popular song "La Gota Fría" ("The Cold Drop"), which was later performed in its most well-known version by Colombian singer Carlos Vives.

Vallenato festivals

Many vallenato festivals are held each year in Colombia, including:

• The Vallenato Legend Festival: This festival takes place every year at the end of April in Valledupar. It is called the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata. During the event, a competition happens where the best vallenato musicians compete for the title of Rey Vallenato (Vallenato accordion King). Other categories include awards for "verseadores" (songwriters), new song composers, "guacharaqueros" (musicians who play a traditional instrument), and "cajeros" (drummers). These awards are given in three groups: professional, amateur, and children. The festival also includes performances by orchestras from the music industry.

• Accordions' Cradle Festival: This festival, known as the Festival Cuna de Accordeones, happens every year since 1979 in Villanueva, a town near Valledupar in La Guajira. The festival follows a similar format to the Vallenato Legend Festival but adds a special category for elderly accordion players who are over sixty years old.

• Other Vallenato Festivals: A Vallenato Festival is also held in Bogotá, Colombia.

Vallenato composers, singers and juglares

The Vallenato Legend Festival helped spread this music style across regions, including parts of Venezuela. When a popular TV show called "Escalona," which tells the story of vallenato composer Rafael Escalona, was shown on TV across Colombia (with Carlos Vives playing Escalona), vallenato became widely known in Colombia and around the world. Well-known traditional vallenato performers include Guillermo Buitrago, Alejo Duran, Enrique Díaz, Emiliano Zuleta, Luis Enrique Martínez, Abel Antonio Villa, and Lorenzo Morales. Other important figures, such as Tobías Enrique Pumarejo and Rafael Escalona, did not play instruments but wrote famous songs across Latin America. Other Colombian musicians who sing vallenato include Rafael Orozco Maestre, Miguel Morales, Diomedes Díaz, Jorge Oñate, Ivan Villazon, Adanies Díaz, Nicolas "Colacho" Mendoza (accordion player and composer), Juan Humberto "Juancho" Rois (accordion player and composer), Omar Geles (accordion player and composer), Israel Romero, Peter Manjarrés, Silvestre Dangond, Los Gigantes Del Vallenato, Galy Galiano, and Lisandro Meza, among others.

Today, Carlos Vives is the ambassador of the genre. He has helped make vallenato popular worldwide by mixing traditional vallenato music with pop and rock music, a style now called "vallenato-pop."

Vallenato musical orchestras and groups

The traditional vallenato music evolved into a musical group that included more instruments. Over time, some groups began adding new instruments and a group chorus to support the main singer, who is often called "ay omberos." These changes included the use of instruments such as the bass guitar, congas, timbals, drum kit, maracas, guache, electric piano, Spanish guitar, tambourine, cowbell, electric guitar, saxophone, piano accordion, and violins. These groups also combined local music styles with vallenato, such as cumbia, porro sabanero, gaitas, merecumbe, and joropo. Some groups tried mixing vallenato with international music styles like salsa, merengue, rock, classical music, reggae, reggaeton, ranchera, techno, and house music. However, some of these mixes were not very popular because they had unusual sounds.

La Nueva Ola refers to a new generation of vallenato groups and orchestras that created a unique sound while keeping some traditions from earlier groups. Kaleth Morales was a leading artist in this movement until his death in a car accident on August 24, 2005. Silvestre Dangond is now the leader of this movement and won five awards at Premios Nuestra Tierra in 2009. Other important artists include Silvestre Dangond, Peter Manjarrés, and Martín Elías.