President Santos paid tribute to the two Maestros at the opening ceremony

At the opening ceremony of the festival Tuesday night, Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos condecorated the two Maestros of vallenato music being celebrated at this year's festival, Leandro Díaz and Lorenzo Morales. He also paid tribute to them in his inaugural speech, referring to their outstanding achievements during their long lives as vallenato musicians, composers and poets.

In his speech Santos referred to the intense rivalry between Lorenzo Morales and his main contender, Emilian Zuleta for the throne of vallenato in the 1930s. Read more on that piqueria and the world famous song that resulted from that battle, La Gota Fría here.

He also cited one of the most famous phrases in vallenato, "En adelante van estos lugares..." from Leandro Díaz' La Diosa Coronada, the phrase that opens one of the greates love novels of all times, García Márquez' Love in the Times of Cholera.

See president Santos' speech here: