Felipe Peláez

In Colombia, Felipe Peláez—occasionally called Pipe Peláez—earns deep admiration for refreshing vallenato with contemporary touches. Born in Venezuela, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist moves with equal ease through salsa, merengue, urbano, and classic pop. His energetic first solo release, the 2002 album Felipe Peláez y Su Son Guajira, showcased polished production alongside fresh applications of tropical rhythms. Recognition as a vallenato artist arrived with 2005’s Entre Amigos and its follow-up single “Borracha.” He contributed to the making of Irrepetible, Gilberto Santa Rosa’s 2010 Latin Grammy-winning salsa project, while the 2012 joint album Diferente with Manuel Julián achieved strong commercial results. During the later 2010s he turned toward urbano sounds, and the 2018 single “Vivo Pensando en Ti,” which features Maluma, surpassed 150 million streams inside three years. This breadth informed the aptly named 2022 set Diverso, a collection spanning the many genres Peláez had explored across his first two decades as a solo artist.

He entered the world in 1976 and grew up in Maicao, a northern Colombian city. His parents chose a birth in nearby Maracaibo, Venezuela, to access superior medical facilities just across the border. At sixteen he relocated to Bogotá, Colombia’s vast capital, where he pursued studies in communications, engineering, and music. There, accordionist Rafael Ricardo—half of the respected vallenato duo with Otto Serge—caught one of his live performances and invited him to join the act. Consequently their eleventh album, 1994’s Imaginate and their debut for Sony, began with “Soñando Contigo,” an early Peláez composition. Throughout the late ’90s he frequently performed with Victor Reyes’ Los Amigos de Sol and supplied guitar and musical-direction assistance to figures such as Rafael Orozco and Joe Arroyo.

Sony released Peláez’s solo debut, yet its successor, 2005’s Entre Amigos, appeared on Codiscos. This label alternation continued for much of his career. The lively 2006 track “Borracha” not only became a hit but also gained lasting popularity at Barranquilla carnivals. In the years preceding Gilberto Santa Rosa’s 2010 Grammy victory, Peláez stayed active through collaborations, including 2008’s A Mi Manera and 2009’s A Paso Firme with Zabaleta plus 2010’s Mas Que Palabras with Manuel Julián. His 2011 guitar-centered album De Otra Maneca received a Latin Grammy nomination. The 2010s proved especially productive: building on the momentum of 2012’s Diferente, he issued five additional studio albums before the decade closed, along with his first retrospective and live projects. Standouts from this period include 2016’s Vestirte de Amor, whose title track topped the Colombian charts for eight weeks, and the forward-looking 2018 release Ponle Actitud. He joined Arte Music ahead of 2021’s Esencia and 2022’s Diverso.