"Un Año Más" () is a ballad composed by . It was recorded as a

Chilean cumbia Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

song in 1977 by the

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port List of cities in Chile, city, Communes of Chile, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, Chile, La S ...

group , then later in the same genre by Sonora Palacios (in 1978) and (in 1992). Internationally, the piece was recorded in the

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

style by the Venezuelan group Billo's Caracas Boys, in 1981. The danceable version of this song has become extremely popular in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, especially around New Year celebrations. It is considered Chile's "New Year's hymn."

History

In December 1977, ahead of New Year's 1978, the professor and composer Hernán Gallardo Pavéz of Coquimbo, Chile, composed the song "Un Año Más." It was originally structured as a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, evoking the sense of nostalgia that starting a new year brings, and inspired in part by the recent deaths of his parents. Gallardo first offered the song to the popular artist Luis Tirado, to record with the group Los Cumaná, but the group wasn't interested, and the arrangement fell through. Another, danceable version, arranged as a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

, was done by the group Macalunga, but it was not until Los Vikings 5 recorded it in 1977 as a

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 ...

song that it more or less settled in its definitive form. While Gallardo was working as a pianist at the piano bar of the restaurant Alcázar, Marty Palacios, the trumpet player for the tropical orchestra Sonora Palacios, heard him play "Un Año Más." Six months later, in 1978, Sonora Palacios recorded the song, resulting in the well-known version that brought "Un Año Más" to a wide audience and gave it its continuous popularity. The 1992 cover by La Sonora de Tommy Rey is another popular version. The song is one of the country's most popular cumbias and is frequently played during New Year's festivities in Chile, particularly as the clock strikes midnight.

External links

* * * {{youtube, fqSyE2QWvGo, "Un Año Más" performed by Billo's Caracas Boys in 1981; singer: Ely Méndez

References

1977 songs Chilean cumbia New Year songs Chilean songs