Berenice Chávez Cifuentes (12 June 1926 – September 2008) was a Colombian singer. She sang in various traditional Colombian styles and was known as the "Queen of Colombian Song".

Biography

Early life and education

Chávez was born on 12 June 1926 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Colombia to Isidoro Chávez Castillo, a musician and

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

, and Antonia Cifuentes Hernández. She attended school at the ''Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción'' in Bogotá, where she sang in the school choir. She also knew how to play

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a particular type of guitar, typically with 10 or 12 strings but sometimes fewer, and is built in several distinct regional styles. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first written mention of ...

, but preferred to sing to accompaniment.

Music career

Chávez was in a duo with her sister Cecilia called Las Hermanas Chávez, and together they regularly sang on radio stations including

Radio Nacional de Colombia Radio Nacional de Colombia ("Colombian National Radio") is a Colombian state-owned public radio network, part of Señal Colombia RTVC. It was launched – as Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia – on 1 February 1940, three years after closure of ...

and La Voz de Colombia; at the same time, Chávez worked at the Colombian for a decade starting from 1944. Las Hermanas Chávez later performed on

Rádio Nacional Rádio Nacional (''National Radio'') is a Brazilian radio network belonging to the government-owned corporation EBC (''Empresa Brasil de Comunicação'', Brazil Communication Company), formerly known as ''Radiobrás''. History The Brazilian s ...

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

. Las Hermanas Chávez split when Cecilia moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and Berenice embarked on a solo career. She was known for singing songs in traditional Colombian styles by composers including , , , , and Jorge Villamil. She was friends with musician

Jaime Llano González Jaime Llano González (1932–2017), was a Colombian organist and composer. He regularly appeared on Colombian television and radio throughout his career, and his skill on the organ earned him the nickname "The Organist with the Silken Hands" (S ...

, whom she introduced to his collaborator

Oriol Rangel José Oriol Rangel Rozo (1916–1977), known as Oriol Rangel, was a Colombian musician and composer. Rangel could play piano, violin, organ, cello, and flute. His soft style on the piano earned him the nickname "The Pianist with the Silken Hands ...

. Chávez also worked in Colombian cinema from the beginnings of the industry, and in total sang in 1,937 films. Chávez was known as the "Queen of Colombian Song" (Spanish: ). In 2006 she received the ''Aplauso a las Bellas Artes'' prize, which is awarded annually at the Teatro de Cristóbal Colón.

Personal life and death

Chávez was married to Paraguayan harpist

Digno García Digno García (Luque, 1919 - Geraardsbergen, 4 February 1984) was a Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and ...

, with whom she had a son. She died in Bogotá in September 2008.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Berenice 1926 births 2008 deaths Colombian singers Singers from Bogotá