The latest composition of the Maestro Leandro Díaz: I am not afraid of the years

We are closing this blog from the Vallenato Festival 2011 with a beautiful encounter we had with Leandro Díaz the day after the closure of the festival. The blind, now almost deaf, composer and poet has not given up creating vallenato songs - or on life. He sang for us his latest composition, not even two months old: No le temo a los años (I am not afraid of the years)

We dare not attempt to translate these wonderful lines, be it enough said that he makes fun of the 50 year olds that fear becoming 60; he himself has passed 80 and is fortunate to still be able to sing the woman's praise. In the next verse he adds that in the garden of life the last flower that withers away is the woman...

Thank you for always sharing your wisdom and courage, Maestro. And thank you for the music. Keep it coming!

(Please note that the Maestro at this stage of his life is severely hearing disabled, and does not sing in public any longer)

Golden Colombia in audience with the King

In the little park outside his house, Golden Colombia found the new Vallenato King, Almes Granados, celebrating at a typical parranda with vallenato music and Old Parr whiskey. Surrounded by journalists and with his cell phone ringing all the time, we managed to exchange a few words with him:

The blind ones are us, live at parranda

Golden Colombia was invited to an exclusive parranda (vallenato jam session with stories and anecdotes) by the composer Adrián Villamizar whose song Ciegos Nosotros (The blind ones are us) won this year's Best Song Contest. The son is a hymn to Leandro Díaz' poetry, the blind vallenato composer to whom the festival is dedicated this year. Leandro himself sings in one of his songs that God instead of giving him eyes to see the physical world, gave him los ojos bellos del alma (the wonderful eyes of the soul), and Villamizar is alluding to this in the chorus that goes: We are the blind ones/who do not see/the image of God in man.

The song was performed at the parranda by the composer himself (guitar) and Carmen Gonzales, the blind 15 year old girl who also performed the song on stage in the competition with her fellow sightless Juan David Atencia (12).

Almes Granados fishing in Norway

The Golden Colombia Foundation organized a Scandinavian Tour in August 2009 with this year's accordion King Almes Granados, singer Ivo Díaz and the composer who is being celebrated at this festival, Leandro Díaz.

To say that the crowds went wild is almost an understatement. Scandinavia had not seen aconjunto vallenato at this level since Los Hermanos Zuleta and other vallenato friends of Gabriel García Márquez accompanied the author to Stockholm for the Nobel prize seremony in 1982.

Here are some photos from the six concerts that were held in Norway and Sweden, and some from a day off fishing in a Norwegian fjord!

Almes Granados the new Vallenato King!

Almes Granados Durán from Mariangola, Cesar, won the most prestigious crown in the 44th Festival Vallenato - that of professional accordionists - and is now the ruling Vallenato King.

Almes Granados belongs to the Granados dynasty of accordionists, and this is the 8th crown that their family has won, among them the legendary Ovidio Granados and the latest King of Kings, his cousin Hugo Carlos Granados. (Every ten years the kings from the last decade compete for the King of Kings title).

See two of songs Almes' performed at the stage Francisco El Hombre in the qualification rounds on Thursday here:

Mi Arte Musical (puya)

La Niña Guillo (son)

This picture was taken in Oslo in 2009 on the Scandinavian tour that the Golden Colombia Foundation organized with Almes Granados and Ivo and Leandro Díaz.

Life at the plaza on a festival night. ¡¡¡Ayombeeee!!!

This video speaks for itself.

The blind ones are us: One of the favourites in the Best Song Contest

Ciegos Nosotros (The blind ones are us) is one of the favourites in the Best Song Contest in this year's Vallenato Festival. Both music and lyrics are by Adrián Villamizar, and the song was sang by two blind children.

The medical doctor Villamizar is a defender of the classic vallenato and the guitar-based vallenato in particular.

In Ciegos Nosotros he attempts to show the audacity of the blind vallenato poet Leandro Díaz (who is receiving a well deserved tribute at this year's festival) as he told the world about his suffering in his now classic songs. And he attempts to show that the ones of us who have our vusual sences intact are really the blind ones, not seing all that the world really has to offer a seeing person.