Emiliano Zuleta

"The King of Vallenato," Emiliano Zuleta brought Colombia's button-accordion folk tradition to international audiences through enduring compositions that later received fresh interpretations from crossover artists such as Carlos Vives, Julio Iglesias, and Gloria Estefan. He entered the world as Emiliano Zuleta Baquero in La Jugua del Pilar on January 11, 1912, growing up in a household that lacked both electricity and indoor plumbing. His earliest accordion arrived after he took the instrument from an uncle without permission; years afterward he composed a song expressing remorse for the act, prompting his relative to pardon him and supply a finer model once the depth of his musical ability became clear. Zuleta also distinguished himself as a skilled balladeer within vallenato, the coastal style shaped by African, European, and indigenous South American rhythms that fuses button accordion with the caja, a drum akin to a bongo, and the guacharaca, an instrument resembling a washboard. At just seventeen he gained nationwide attention in 1929 by releasing "La Gota Fría," a direct reply to rival Lorenzo Morales' boasts of greater skill; the track not only succeeded commercially but reconciled the two musicians, who later performed together on tour. After World War II, Zuleta and Morales helped usher in what many in Colombia regard as vallenato's golden era, a period that also elevated Leandro Diaz and Alejandro Duran. Despite his rising fame, Zuleta struggled to support his sixteen children and therefore pursued studies in agronomy and economics to better his circumstances. In 1969 he joined his brother Tomás Alfonso Zuleta to form los Hermanos Zuleta and cut sides for CBS, yet he remained largely unknown beyond Colombia until 1994, when Grammy-winning artist Vives delivered an updated recording of "La Gota Fría" that became a substantial hit on Latin radio and generated royalties exceeding $200,000 for its composer. "I couldn't earn that in seven lives as a farmer," Zuleta remarked at the time. Following the passing of his wife Carmen, his health declined sharply, and he died on October 30, 2005, at the age of 93.