The Vallenato Festival Ends
Reflections on 5 days of Mayhem in Valledupar
Valledupar is coming down from a successful and internationally graced Vallenato Festival. Unstoppable parties and friendly locals make this 40th edition one to remember
Valledupar is in the throes of wringing the whisky from its hungover soul. Inhabitants and tourists are suffering the nausea of a delayed hangover, the consequence of five days of swigging back Aguila beers and Old Parr whisky from morning to night, set to the backdrop and soundtrack of the interminable party that was the 40th Festival of Vallenato Music.
For five days straight, the city of Valledupar, a sixteen hour bus ride north from Bogota, has been pulsating to the rhythms of the puya, son, paseo and merengue of the Vallenato. Accordionists, Guacharaca players and Caja drummers competed aggressively to earn a title awarded only once a decade – Rey de Reyes – King of Kings. The award this year went to accordionist Hugo Carlos Granado Cordoba after his frenetic playing and timing left the judges in no doubt of his performance being that worthy of a King of Kings.
Vallenato musicians are, according to Colombian radio personality Carlos Quintero Romero: “Uneducated poets saying so much in so little time via an authentic and original music from Valledupar.”
Certainly this statement would appear to ring true as the songs range from the political to love ballads to happy days remembered when then rain falls and floods the city and the children are excused school, all performed by musicians who care not for notes and sheet music.
On the opening day of the Festival, during the Gran Desfile de Piloneras – the Pilonera Parade – where men and women dress in the traditional clothing of the region and dance through the streets to live music from the downtown to the stadium, the skies opened and the festivities took on an inundated form as drenched performers played with humid gusto and children ran alongside splashing through puddles with impish glee.
Quite clearly Vallenato music bears certain similarities to the Ranchera music played by the Mariachis of Mexico. Vallenato is a music that the people dance and drink to while the accordion is played maniacally, the caja drum is thundered upon and the gucharaca player looks set to suffer a heart attack.
Alongside the official events during the Festival, the eliminatory rounds for children and adults, the gastronomy festival, the artisans market, the nightly concerts in the Parque de La Leyenda Vallenata involving international stars such as Carlos Vives and Jorge Celedon there are the unstoppable parrandas – parties – both private and public, where Vallenato lovers congregate and Vallenato musicians such as Poncho Zuleta, Alfredo Gutierrez and Beto Jamaica routinely perform while whisky flows freely and the good times roll on.
It is fitting that this inclusive music should hail from Valledupar as the inhabitants of this city of half a million will bend over backwards to accommodate you and welcome the stranger into their home as one of their own. The human element of the Festival, the smiles, the friendships and the anecdotes gathered will never be forgotten.
Every person here will encourage the visitor to bathe in the waters of the river Guatapuri. It is an oft-repeated myth that those who bathe here will once again visit Valledupar.
With the enjoyable mayhem indicative of a Colombian fiesta and of the Vallenato Festival in particular and the warmth of the Costenos this comes as no surprise.
