Calixto Antonio Ochoa Campo (1934–2015) 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 accordionist and songwriter. He won the accordionist competition of the

Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata 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 ...

in 1970, was a member of

Los Corraleros de Majagual Los Corraleros de Majagual is a Colombian music group from the Caribbean coast. The group, which has recorded songs in the cumbia, porro, vallenato, and other Latin genres, has received over 30 gold records. The group began in 1961 when Calixto O ...

, and composed over 120 songs that were recorded by artists including

Diomedes Díaz Diomedes Díaz Maestre (26 May 1957 – 22 December 2013) was a Colombian vallenato singer, songwriter, and composer. He has been named the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Vallenato" and is nicknamed ''El Cacique de La Junta'' ( ...

and

Wilfrido Vargas Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (; born April 24, 1949, in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican trumpeter, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer. He was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide phenom ...

Biography

Calixto Ochoa was born on 14 August 1934 in Valencia de Jesús, in the Colombian department of

Cesar Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

(but at that time still in Magdalena). As a child Ochoa watched his brothers Juan and Rafael play accordion at vallenato . After buying his own accordion, he learned to play the songs of Luis Enrique Martínez. Ochoa moved to

Sincelejo Sincelejo () is the capital and largest city of the Colombian department of Sucre in the Caribbean region. It is also the capital of the department's subregion, ''Sabanas'', and is the 25th largest city by population of the country.http://www ...

, and at the age of 21 recorded his first song, "El Lirio Rojo", which attracted the attention of Antonio Fuentes, owner of

Discos Fuentes Discos Fuentes is a record label based in Medellín, Colombia, South America. Founded in 1934 in Cartagena, Colombia, by Antonio Fuentes Estrada, Discos Fuentes was the country's first notable record label. The label was instrumental in introducing ...

. In 1962, when Ochoa was at "the height of his fame", he joined

at the invitation of Fuentes, with whom he toured several countries in

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

. Ochoa won the accordionist competition at the third

in 1970. In 2005 the Festival gave him the title "King for life" (Spanish: ), alongside

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 ...

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 ...

, Leandro Díaz, and

Adolfo Pacheco Adolfo Rafael Pacheco Anillo (1940–2023) was a Colombian musician and songwriter. He composed several well-known songs in the Colombian folk music genre of vallenato, notably "La Hamaca Grande" which has been recorded by artists including Joh ...

. Ochoa died on 18 November 2015 in Sincelejo. His body was displayed at the Iglesia La Concepción 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 then moved to his birthplace Valencia de Jesús on 20 November, where he was buried.

Musical style and compositions

Ochoa was a prolific songwriter in the Colombian genre of

vallenato Vallenato () is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the ''Sierra Nevada de Santa Mar ...

. His notable compositions include "Los Sabanales", "Diana", "El Calabacito", "El Mosquito", "El Africano", and "Playas Marinas". In total he wrote over 120 songs. Ochoa was the favourite songwriter of

, who recorded more than 30 of his compositions, including "La Plata" and "Los Sabanales". His song "El Africano" was made popular by

and recorded by

La Sonora Dinamita La Sonora Dinamita is a Colombian and Mexican musical group that plays cumbia, a Tropical music genre that’s popular throughout Latin America. As one of the first cumbia groups to reach international success, it is credited with helping to pop ...

Fruko y sus Tesos Fruko y sus Tesos is a salsa group from Colombia that is popular in both Latin America and the United States. It was formed in 1969 by multi-instrumentalist Julio Ernesto Estrada (aka Fruko). Beginning with ''Tesura'' in 1969, the band has recorde ...

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

and

Georgie Dann Georges Mayer Dahan (14 January 1940 – 3 November 2021), performing as Georgie Dann, was a Spain-based French singer-songwriter, known for his popular summer hits. Career Early life Georges Mayer Dahan was born on 14 January 1940 in Paris, t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ochoa, Calixto 1934 births 2015 deaths Colombian accordionists Vallenato musicians Colombian songwriters People from Cesar Department