Julio Torres Mayorga
Colombian musician and songwriter
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Biography
Early life and education
Torres was born on 27 March 1929 in the Ricaurte neighbourhood of Bogotá.[1] His parents were Julio Torres Parra (a pianist and relative of Sofía Álvarez) and Rosa María Mayorga.[2]
Torres bought his first guitar from a friend at the age of 17.[2] He studied music at the Centro de Cultura Social in Bogotá under José Vicente Chala and Oriol Rangel, where he began to write songs in traditional Colombian styles like bolero.[2] He subsequently started composing in the coastal styles of porro, cumbia, and merengue.[2]
Music career
In December 1949 Torres wrote the vallenato "Los Camarones" while on the bus, reading in the newspaper about beauty queen Myriam Sojo Sambrano, and listening to a song by Garzón y Collazos. He submitted the song to a competition run by the Nuevo Mundo radio station, where it won a prize of 500 pesos.[2] Gregorio Vergara heard the song and hired Torres to record it as the first single on his new record label, Vergara Records.[2] In June 1950 Torres recorded "Los Camarones" and "El Aguacero" (a song he wrote after being accidentally locked outside in the rain by his grandmother) in the studios of Nuevo Mundo; he was backed by Homo Morales (accordion), Custodio Morales (guitar), Eliseo Márquez (guitar), José Mejía (guacharaca), and Jorge Rojas (bongos).[2] The group named themselves Los Alegres Vallenatos, possibly in reference to Guillermo Buitrago, whose guitar-driven vallenato music was becoming popular in Bogotá.[1][2]
Vergara released the 78 record of "Los Camarones" and "El Aguacero" in September 1950. By December 1950 it had sold 300,000 copies and was the best-selling single of the year.[2][3] The songs were played on national radio, and Los Alegres Vallenatos made plans to tour in Mexico in 1951.[1] Torres signed an exclusive contract with Vergara and recorded twelve more songs with Los Alegres Vallenatos, two of which were accompanied by Tito Avila on vocals.[2]
On 30 December 1950 Semana ran a piece on Torres, and published alongside it the only known photograph of Los Alegres Vallenatos.[2] Colombian coastal music was at the time looked down upon by many in Bogotá, and the article signified changing opinions.[4]
Death and legacy
The same day as the Semana article was published, Torres flew to Cartagena with his girlfriend (and daughter of Gregorio Vergara) Olga Vergara, and his bandmates.[2][1] There, while swimming in the sea for the first time in his life, he drowned on 9 January 1951.[1]
Torres never released an LP with Los Alegres Vallenatos; the first vallenato LP by a Bogotano band was Los Universitarios' 1962 debut.[5] Peter Wade credits Los Alegres Vallenatos with helping to popularise vallenato in Bogotá, alongside Guillermo Buitrago and Julio Bovea.[4] Julio Oñate Martínez has described Torres, Buitrago, and Diomedes Díaz as "the three greatest popular talents [Colombia] has ever produced."[6]: q
Notable compositions
Notes
- In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Torres and the second or maternal family name is Mayorga.