Calatambo Albarracín (September 21, 1924 – September 5, 2018), born Freddy Albarracín Iribarren, was a Chilean composer and folklorist identified with the music of northern Chile. He was born in 1924 in Santa Laura in Chile's

Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro D ...

, an area known for nitrate mining. He began composing at age 16 and moved to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

in the early 1950s.He worked to popularize the musical rhythms and instruments of northern Chile, including zampoñas, pusas, sikus,

quena The quena (hispanicized spelling of Quechua ''qina'', sometimes also written ''kena'' in English) is the traditional flute of the Andes. Traditionally made of cane or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole, and is open on both ends or th ...

s, sikuris and lichiguayas. He also performed and recorded with his group, Los Calicheros de Sierra Pampa. His notable compositions include "Trote Tarapaqueño”, "Navidad del desierto", "El huachitorito", “El cachimbo de Tarapacá”, “Caliche”, “Camanchaca”, “Adiós Salitrera Victoria”, “Tamarugal”, “Cueca San Lorenzo” and “La Tirana chica”. In 2012, he was the recipient of the

fundamental figures of Chilean music Fundamental figure of Chilean music, or "Figura fundamental de la música chilena", is an award presented annually by the Sociedad Chilena de Autores e Intérpretes Musicales (SCD), recognizing Chilean artists who have had important influence and le ...

award. In 1998, he also received the annual award of the Chilean Union of Folklorists and Guitarists. He died in 2018 at age 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albarracín, Calatambo 1924 births 2018 deaths Chilean songwriters