Alberto Pacheco Balmaceda (1935–1983) was a

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n musician and songwriter. He won the accordionist competition of the

Vallenato Legend Festival The Vallenato Legend Festival () is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The festival features a vallenato, vallenato music contests for best performer of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca, as well as piqueria (battle ...

in 1971.

Biography

Alberto Pacheco was born on 23 June 1935 in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

. As a young man Pacheco would visit the Chop Suey restaurant in Barranquilla to see musicians such as Rafael Mejía Romani and his Trío Serenata perform. In the early 1950s he started to gain prominence as an accordionist with his group Los Campesinos del Magdalena, whose other members were Juan Madrid and Esteban Montano on guitar, Carlos "Comecuero" Perdomo on the drum, and Carlos Vélez on

guacharaca Guacharaca is a percussion instrument found in Colombia. It is a rasp named after a bird ( ''ortalis guttata'') whose call it is said to imitate. It is usually made out of the cane-like trunk of a small palm tree. The guacharaca itself consists ...

. In 1960 Pacheco travelled to Mexico with

Julio Bovea Julio César Bovea Fandiño (1934–2009) was a Colombian musician and songwriter. As leader of the trio Bovea y sus Vallenatos, Bovea helped to develop and popularise the Colombian folk music genre of vallenato, particularly the compositions o ...

. On returning he joined the Bogotano group Los Universitarios led by

Pedro García Díaz Pedro García Díaz (1938–2007) was a Colombian singer, songwriter, accordionist, and lawyer. He led the vallenato group Los Universitarios, with whom he recorded the "first Bogotano album completely dedicated to vallenato singing". Biograp ...

; they performed in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He later toured with the

folkloric Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material ...

groups of Sonia Osorio and Delia Zapata Olivella. Pacheco also led the group Los Cumbancheros de Pacheco, who made a successful recording of his

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

composition "Cumbia de Santo domingo".

The Vallenato Legend Festival

Pacheco did not take part in the accordionist competition of the first

in 1968 because of previous commitments in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

, Venezuela. He did not join the second competition in 1969 because of his friendship with

Colacho Mendoza Nicolas Elias Mendoza Daza, also known as Colacho Mendoza (April 15, 1936 – September 27, 2003), was a Colombian Vallenato accordion player and was crowned king of accordion players on many occasions in the Vallenato Legend Festival. He was born ...

, who had already announced his participation (and went on to win). At the fourth Vallenato Legend Festival in 1971, Pacheco won the accordionist competition, beating Luis Enrique Martínez and

Emiliano Zuleta Emiliano Antonio Zuleta Baquero (1912–2005) was a Colombian vallenato songwriter, accordion player and singer, popularly known as ''El Viejo Mile'' (The Old Mile). Around 1938 he wrote "La Gota Fría", a song that emerged from a piqueria vall ...

, who came second and third place respectively. His competition performances were "La Cacería" (a written by Sergio Moya Molina), "El Pobre Juan" (a written by

Rafael Escalona Rafael Calixto Escalona Martinez (May 26, 1926 – May 13, 2009) was a Colombian composer and troubadour. He was known for being one of the most prominent vallenato music composers and troubadours of the genre and for being the co-founder of the ...

), and "Francisco El Hombre" (a merengue that he wrote himself). Because Pacheco was from Barranquilla, he was seen as an intruder by some at the festival. Luis Francisco Mendoza wrote the song "Festival Vallenato" criticising Pacheco's win; ironically, a performance of the song by was successful in Barranquilla, winning Henríquez a

Golden Congo The Golden Congo (Spanish: ) is a Colombian music award that since its founding in 1969 has been presented annually at the Orchestra Festival (Spanish: ) of the Barranquilla Carnival. The current Golden Congo award comprises six genre prizes: Val ...

at the

Barranquilla Carnival The Barranquilla Carnival (') is one of Colombia's most important folkloric celebrations, and one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century. Four days before Lent, Barranquilla decks it ...

Personal life and death

Pacheco was married to Amira Callejas, with whom he had 5 children. He lived in

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. The ...

, and died there of a heart attack on 29 September 1983.

Musical style and compositions

Pacheco's style on the accordion was influenced by his skill on the guitar. In 1966 he composed the "Departamento del Cesar", the "flagship song" for the campaign for the creation of the

Department of Cesar Cesar Department (), or simply Cesar, () is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Depar ...

, which succeeded in 1967. Pacheco also wrote "Viejo Valledupar", which according to '' El Tiempo'' is considered a "folkloric hymn" in Valledupar.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Alberto 1935 births 1983 deaths Colombian musicians Vallenato musicians Colombian songwriters Musicians from Barranquilla