Juan Vicente Torrealba
Encyclopedia
Juan Vicente Torrealba Pérez (born February 20, 1917) in Caracas
, Venezuela
, is a Venezuela
n harp
ist and composer
of popular music
.
Although born on the outskirts of Caracas, the family moved while he was very young to a ranch in Camaguán, Guárico
. The poverty of the family and the region were such that he worked as a sharecropper, and did not complete his primary education. Restless, he took up the guitar
, and by the age of 18 was giving public recitals, his style showing a strong Cuban influence. Feeling that he would never reach the standard to which he aspired, particularly after hearing Rodrigo Riera
, he moved to Caracas and took employment as a bookkeeper in a newspaper.
It was in Caracas that he took up the arpa llanera, (i.e. the plains, or Venezuelan, harp
), under the tutelage of Ignacio Figueredo
. In 1947 he formed his own group, The Torrealberos, along with his brother Arturo, his nephew Santana Torrealba Leon, and vocalist Ángel Custodio Loyola
. With this band, he was able to earn a living playing at social functions. He began writing music the following year, among his earliest compositions being Las Caricias de Cristina (Cristina's Caresses) and Concierto en la Llanura (Concert in the Plain) (1948). With the help of pianist María Luisa Escobar the band started recording, but sometime later (apparently over a dispute as to whether tips were for the singer or the band leader) Loyola left the group, and since then a number of vocalists have been contracted by the Torrealberos. The reputation of the group, and its traditional repertoire, spread beyond Venezuela, and by the 1960s they were touring in Europe
and the U.S.
, as well as throughout Latin America
.
His first collaboration with a full orchestra came with the 1971 album Rapsodia Llanera, and he continued to adapt his music, with the addition of keyboards and electronic amplification, and collaboration with musicians from Italy and Japan, as well as other Latin American countries, his music diversified. He disbanded Los Torrealberos temporarily in 1978 to form a dance orchestra, Juan Vicente Torrealba and his Super Beat 80, but this project only released one eponymous album. Thereafter, his band work took second place behind his solo career and playing alongside symphony orchestras, until he retired, complaining that his record company was not doing enough to promote his work, in 1986.
In retirement, he has pursued interests in painting and photography.
Torrealba made some 130 recordings, and wrote more than 300 compositions. He has received 45 national and international awards and was nominated among the 100 top Latin American Personalities of the twentieth century, also was designated honorary professor of the Military Academy of Venezuela and Cultural Heritage of Universal Music by the government of Meta Department
in Colombia
. At the Mexican city of Xalapa
there is a plaza
, a street and a park with his name. On May 10, 2007, the Luis Alfonzo Larrain foundation, made at the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex
, a tribute to this Venezuelan, by his trajectory and 90th anniversary, like bastion of the Venezuelan traditions.
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, is a Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
ist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
.
Although born on the outskirts of Caracas, the family moved while he was very young to a ranch in Camaguán, Guárico
Guárico
Guárico State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros. Guárico State covers a total surface area of 64 986 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 745,100.-Municipalities and municipal seats:...
. The poverty of the family and the region were such that he worked as a sharecropper, and did not complete his primary education. Restless, he took up the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and by the age of 18 was giving public recitals, his style showing a strong Cuban influence. Feeling that he would never reach the standard to which he aspired, particularly after hearing Rodrigo Riera
Rodrigo Riera
Rodrigo Riera , was a Venezuelan guitarist and composer. He wrote a vital and important body of works for the guitar, inspired by and dedicated to the rich music legacy of his region in the Lara state in Western Venezuela, displaying a loving nationalism that led him to be associated with the work...
, he moved to Caracas and took employment as a bookkeeper in a newspaper.
It was in Caracas that he took up the arpa llanera, (i.e. the plains, or Venezuelan, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
), under the tutelage of Ignacio Figueredo
Ignacio Figueredo
Ignacio Ventura Figueredo , was a Venezuelan folk musician and harpist.-His early successes:At age 11 he made his first public presentations in San Juan de Payara...
. In 1947 he formed his own group, The Torrealberos, along with his brother Arturo, his nephew Santana Torrealba Leon, and vocalist Ángel Custodio Loyola
Ángel Custodio Loyola
Ángel Custodio Loyola , was a Venezuelan singer and composer, better known for being pioneering at the diffusion of joropo and the popular music of the Venezuelan plains, also for being defender of the country’s folklore, and his work for the masification of Venezuelan music, popularizing and being...
. With this band, he was able to earn a living playing at social functions. He began writing music the following year, among his earliest compositions being Las Caricias de Cristina (Cristina's Caresses) and Concierto en la Llanura (Concert in the Plain) (1948). With the help of pianist María Luisa Escobar the band started recording, but sometime later (apparently over a dispute as to whether tips were for the singer or the band leader) Loyola left the group, and since then a number of vocalists have been contracted by the Torrealberos. The reputation of the group, and its traditional repertoire, spread beyond Venezuela, and by the 1960s they were touring in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as well as throughout Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
His first collaboration with a full orchestra came with the 1971 album Rapsodia Llanera, and he continued to adapt his music, with the addition of keyboards and electronic amplification, and collaboration with musicians from Italy and Japan, as well as other Latin American countries, his music diversified. He disbanded Los Torrealberos temporarily in 1978 to form a dance orchestra, Juan Vicente Torrealba and his Super Beat 80, but this project only released one eponymous album. Thereafter, his band work took second place behind his solo career and playing alongside symphony orchestras, until he retired, complaining that his record company was not doing enough to promote his work, in 1986.
In retirement, he has pursued interests in painting and photography.
Legacy
Meta Department
Meta is a department of Colombia. It is close to the geographic center of the country, to the east of the Andean mountains. A large portion of the department, which is also crossed by the Meta River, is covered by a grassland plain known as the Llanos. Its capital is Villavicencio...
in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. At the Mexican city of Xalapa
Xalapa
Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...
there is a plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
, a street and a park with his name. On May 10, 2007, the Luis Alfonzo Larrain foundation, made at the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex
Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex
The Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex , also known as Teresa Carreño Theater , is the most important theatre of Caracas and Venezuela, where performances include symphonic and popular concerts, opera, ballet and plays...
, a tribute to this Venezuelan, by his trajectory and 90th anniversary, like bastion of the Venezuelan traditions.
See also
- VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
- Venezuelan music
- Pasajes inmortalesPasajes inmortalesPasajes Inmortales, is a Venezuelan album , by the harpist Juan Vicente Torrealba, in this album he presents with his harp, the Venezuelan folklorical sort called the pasaje.-Track listing:Side A#"Nuevo Callao"...
- Clásicos TorrealberosClásicos TorrealberosClásicos Torrealberos, is an album by Venezuelan harpist Juan Vicente Torrealba, where he presents classic songs of his repertoire.- Tracklisting :Side A01- Concierto En La LLanura02- Rapsodia Llanera03- Primaveral...
External links
- Juan Vicente Torrealba Discography (partial)
- Juan Vicente Torrealba Songs lyrics (Torrealba did not compose the lyrics)