Rafael Escalona

Rafael Calixto Escalona Martinez (born May 27, 1927 in Patillal, Cesar) is a Colombian composer and troubadour. He is known for being one of the most if not the most prominent vallenato music composer and troubadours of the genre and for being the co-founder of the Vallenato Legend Festival, along with Consuelo Araujo and Alfonso Lopez Michelsen. He is also a long time friend of writer Gabriel García Márquez, who included him in his stories and once told him that his own master piece novel, 100 years of solitude, was just a 350 page Vallenato. Escalona's songs compilate the history and stories of the Magdalena Department of the past 20th century. Escalona is an atypical music composer, he does not sing or play any instruments making his songs in some way difficult to analyze. His songs constitute a legacy of a past generation of Colombians in his memory, a pictorial collage, full of grace, that narrates stories, customs and gossips from his region. He also leaves a legacy of his loves and pains, humor and poetry. In 1991 Caracol TV produced a television series named Escalona, after the vallenato legend.

Early life

He was born in May 27, 1927 to Colonel Clemente Escalona Labarces, veteran of The Thousand Days War and Margarita Martinez Celedon in Patillal. Because Patillal was a village in a rural area surrounded by farms, it was relatively small and there wasn't that much to do after school, other than play with other kids and make up games; build miniature farms or build kites and fly them all day. He had a very happy childhood, and dreamed of becoming a painter or cartoonist, usually drawing funny depictions of classmates and teachers. But his all time friend and classmate, Jaime Molina was better at drawing than him, something that drove him instead, to read poetry and songs. He grew up listening to peasants and troubadours of the region that often passed by the village bringing news from Valledupar and other regions, since there was no Post Offices or other source of news that arrived at this isolated place.

Youth, the High School Dropout

He moved to Valledupar to attend high school at The Loperena National High School were he composed his first song at the age of fifteen in 1943 called "El profe Castañeda". He wrote the song in honor and sadness of his favourite teacher being transferred to a school in Riohacha, his natural reaction was to dedicate a song to "el viejo Pedro" as he called him, since he grew up listening to local troubadours. His classmates, who were also saddened over the teacher's departure, embraced his song. From then on, he saw himself doing something that he was good at, and started writing songs whenever a situation merged; started composing about his love experiences, about the people that interacted with him or were known in the region and these people's stories of happenings, basically compilations of his everyday experiences and thoughts. In 1945, feeling bored and short of motivation for school, Escalona was transferred to a school in Barranquilla for a short period and then to the Celedon Lyceum High School in Santa Marta, where he composed "El Hambre del Liceo" (the lyceum hunger), complaining about the poor food quality that the school offered. Tired of school he dropped outand went back to Valledupar

The Farmer

In Valledupar dedicated his time to work at his parent's farm, learning about agriculture and started planting rice. Apparently he also tried to incursionate in the illegal coffee trade contraband coming from Aruba with a friend named "Tite" Socarras. He became a partygoer "parrandero", heavy drinker of whiskey and rum and also started courting many women at once. In April 14, 1951 he finally got married to Marina Arzuaga Mejía also known as "La Maye", who would give him six of his presently suspected thirty six children. (He would later divorce her after a long period of years).

An approach to Politcians

By the 1950s he had become a renowned composer and usually befriended with local political leaders in "parrandas". He always departed with people from Patillal including Hernando Molina, husband of Consuelo Araujo. By the 1960s, when former President of Colombia Alfonso Lopez Michelsen became governor of the newly created Department of Cesar, Lopez was invited to live in Hernando Molina's house. In this "vallenato parrandas" or parties, Escalona, Consuelo Araujo and Lopez decided to create a Vallenato Festival. López also invited them in many occasions to Bogotá, where he organized vallenato parrandas and introduced them to Colombia's political leaders. In 1968 the first Vallenato Legend Festival took place.

Most of his known songs

* "El Hombre del Liceo"
* "La casa en el aire"
* "Elegía a Jaime Molina"
* "La vieja sara"
* "El Almirante Padilla"
* "La patillalera"
* "La custodia de Badillo"
* "El villanuevero"
* "El general Dangond"
* "La historia"
* "Honda herida"
* "La brasilera"
* "Dina Luz"
* "El perro de Pavajeu"
* "EL jerre jerre"
* "La Privincia"
* "El testamento"
* "El Bachiller"
* "Maria Tere"