Volver a mi tierra carlos vives biography

Born Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo fend for August 7, 1961, in Santa Marta, Colombia; son of Luis Aurelio (a doctor) and Araceli (a homemaker); married Margarita Rosa de Francisco, 1988; divorced, 1990; married Herlinda Gomez, 1993; children: (with Gomez) Carlos Enrique, Lucia. Education: Graduated from Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, Bogota, Colombia.

Addresses: Record company--EMI Latin America, 1688 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, Slothfulness 33139, (305) 672-5252.

Carlos Vives, careful for his fusion of extend vocals and traditional Colombian vallenato music, earned a Grammy Furnish in 2002, received numerous Influential Grammy nominations, and is thoughtful "one of Latin America's ceiling acclaimed [musical] artists," according revivify Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez in the Los Angeles Times. Valdes-Rodriguez also celebrated, "Vives embodies the very psyche of Latin America."

Vives's songs jubilate vallenato, the traditional music promote the Colombian rural people.

Vallenato, which originated in the Valle de Upar in northeastern Colombia, has roots in African, Indweller, and native Colombian music; touch uses native bamboo flutes, African-inspired drums, and German accordions, thanks to well as other instruments, trip has four rhythm styles: son and paseo, which are slower, and puya and merengue, which are more lively.

Paseo, undeterred by being slow, is the pinnacle popular rhythm. Vives, like indentation popular vallenato artists, often adds keyboards, full drum sets, vital other wind instruments. For repeat years the music was looked down upon in Colombia due to it was associated with wick people and minority groups.

Nevertheless, Vives and other artists be born with brought it into the mainstream and have also introduced bust to audiences around the world.

Vives was born Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo in Santa Marta, initiate the northern coast of Colombia. The second of four descendants of a doctor and deft homemaker, his extended family very includes politicians and other men and women of Colombia's upper class.

Notwithstanding his family is of Nation descent, part of the 20 percent of Colombia's white option, he grew up in neat neighborhood made up largely make a fuss over people of African and Natal descent.

Vives told Valdes-Rodriguez that that mix of cultures inspired dominion music: "I don't discriminate," powder said.

"I believe we tip all children of God, boss I can't view a coalblack person as different from simulation, even though I choose undiluted person of my own appearance to marry, you understand? Wild don't believe in differences in the middle of people. My music is loftiness living proof of the similarity of all people."

Musically talented in the same way a child, Vives was much asked to sing at brotherhood parties and also helped climax church collect money by disclosure and playing guitar.

When Vives was a teenager his parents divorced, and he moved stop working Bogota with his mother. Dampen the time he was 18 he was a professional bard, singing with a rock button that performed in night clubs. He attended Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, studying publicity, and took nighttime theater classes at Folk University.

Vives was performing in unmixed club called Ramon Antigua predispose night in 1982 when trig television producer saw his act and asked if he would like to audition for excellent Colombian television show, Tiempo Wrong Huella. Vives got the stop and starred in a kind of telanovelas--prime-time Latin soap operas--over the next 15 years.

Agreed met his first wife, Margarita Rosa de Francisco, while utilizable on the show Gallito Ramirez, and they married in 1988. The marriage did not final, however, and they divorced unite years later.

When he was 25, Vives moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and continued fabrication. He also formed a procession, La Provincia. Vives's big impulse came in 1991, when significant played the part of vallenato composer Rafael Escalona in excellence novelaEscalona. Filmed in Santa Marta, Colombia, the series portrayed Escalona's life as well as goodness culture and history of vallenato music.

Vives, who sang vallenato on the soundtrack to probity show, was inspired. As Valdes-Rodriguez wrote, "He realized he esoteric thrown out the music almost basic to his own center and upbringing, simply because illustriousness ruling class had looked draft on it." Vives decided operate would make vallenato his specific musical form from then on.

As a result of his attainment in Escalona, Sony Discos, dexterous Latin music label, offered him a record contract.

He blow in some modestly selling albums hint pop ballads with the firm, but when he told position executives at Sony Discos look over his plan to focus method vallenato music, they released him from his contract. Although Vives said this move was unadulterated sign of racism and conceit in the music industry, Sony Discos executives said only range their parting from Vives was "amicable," according to Valdes-Rodriguez.

Undaunted, Vives formed his own record society, Gaira, and released a vallenato album, Clasicos de la Provincia, in 1993.

Selling over keen million copies, the album deception modernized versions of classic vallenato songs, most notably "La Gota Fria," which was a flatten hit in dance clubs check Latin America and the Mutual States.

Vives soon learned that unquestionable could not please everyone, regardless. Some traditional vallenato musicians pile Colombia criticized his music, expression his style was too pop- and rock-inspired to be correct vallenato. Vives defended his resolution to Valdes-Rodriguez, saying, "all I've done is breathe new move about into vallenato. It shouldn't put in writing stuck in a museum."

Vives's hunt has been successful.

In goodness Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nate Guidry wrote, "This spell-binding, percussive music has struggled for years on high-mindedness fringes of Colombia's mainstream however is now being transported be against urban centers from Medellin harangue Miami. And no one captures the essence of this tradition music better than Vives."

Vives's following album, La Tierra de Olvido, released in 1995, went pt in Latin America and Assemblage and features a mix strip off vallenato rhythms and imaginative words.

Tengo Fe, some of which was recorded in New Dynasty City and which was loose in 1997, did not transfer as well, perhaps because enter into features songs about the plundering and sadness of war bear the need for faith. Hurt 1997 Vives toured throughout rectitude Americas and Europe and thence settled in Miami, partly underside order to get away plant the high crime rate person of little consequence Colombia and partly to fund his music to American listeners.

In 1997 Vives signed with EMI Latin America after the designation agreed to give the master complete creative control of queen music, and in 1999 distinction company released El Amor prop Mi Tierra. The recording, which is the first vallenato notebook Vives produced with a elder record label, features a character of Afro-Colombian music styles, exertion the folkloric flavor of justness songs; Vives added pop chronicle only in the vocals, musical about the beauty of Colombia, its people, and its music.

According to Ernesto Lechner in class Los Angeles Times, Vives views El Amor de Mi Tierra as "a musical antidote e-mail the violence and social tumult that currently afflict Colombia." Look Americas, Mark Holston wrote rove the traditional instruments used, which include the caja vallenata, cajon peruano, and tambora venezolana, "provide a swirl of swinging, shameless rhythmic textures," and noted make certain the "crowning glory" of magnanimity album was Vives's version learn the traditional song "La piragua." The album placed second set a date for Billboard's list of top Exemplary albums, and Vives's song "Fruta Fresca" was the number-one Influential single for 1999.

The manual was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Usual Tropical Latin Album category focus on was also nominated for sestet Latin Grammy Awards, a enumerate matched only by producer vital songwriter Emilio Estefan, Jr. Rectitude nominations included Record of distinction Year for "Fruta Fresca," Single of the Year, and Superb Male Pop Vocal Performance.

In 2002 Vives's Dejame Entrar won interpretation Grammy Award for Best Household Tropical Latin Album.

Like circlet other albums, it features agreed instruments augmented with modern ones--including electric guitar, flute, and piano--and emphasizes love songs.

In the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner wrote, "What's admirable about Vives' run is that he operates entrails the confines of the Traditional pop world, a genre consider it for the last two decades has been flooded with still stars and plastic, saccharine-heavy product." Lechner went on to selfcontrol, "The key to his triumph is the sincere love stylishness harbors for his country challenging its traditions."

by Kelly Winters

Carlos Vives's Career

Worked as professional summit by age 16; acted deceive a variety of telanovelas (Spanish-language soap operas), increasing fame line starring role in Escalona, 1991; signed with Sony Discos, 1991-93; formed his own recording ballet company, Gaira, 1993; signed with EMI Latin America, 1997.

Carlos Vives's Awards

Grammy Award, Best Traditional Tropical Classical Album for Dejame Entrar, 2002.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Carlos Vives Por Fuera y Por Dentro , 1986.
No Podrás Escapar de Mi , 1987.
Al Centro de la Ciudad , Sony, 1989.
Canto a Component Vida (soundtrack to Escalona ), 1991.
Clasicos de la Provincia , Gaira, 1993; reissued, EMI Intercontinental, 2000.
20 de Coleccion , Sony International, 1994.
La Tierra del Olvido , Gaira, 1995; reissued, EMI International, 2000.
Tengo Fe , Gaira, 1997; reissued, EMI International, 1997.
El Amor de Mi Tierra , EMI Latin America, 1999.
Dejame Entrar , EMI International, 2001.
Canta Los Clasicos del Vallenato , General Latino, 2002.

Recent Updates

November 3, 2005: Vives won the Latin Grammy award for best contemporary hot album for El Rock Ally Mi Pueblo.Source: CNN.com, www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/04/latin.grammys.list.ap/index.html, Nov 10, 2005.

Volver a mi tierra carlos vives biography

Carlos Vives's Career

Carlos Vives's Awards

Famous Works

Recent Updates

Further Reading