Early years
Esther Forero began to sing at age 4 at family gatherings and theaters of her hometown, Barranquilla. At the age of 14, she made her debut in a radio station named "La Voz de Barranquilla" (The Voice of Barranquilla.) Four years later she toured throughout the Colombian territory. In Bogotá (Colombian capital) she performed at (a venue in that city) and in other theaters, and radio stations.International success
In 1942, Forero made her first tour abroad. In Panama, she performed with success on "Radio Estrella de Panamá" (Panamanian radio station), with the accompaniment of pianist and composer, Avelino Muñoz. In 1945, she went to Venezuela where she first popularized the music of the Caribbean coast. She traveled toReturn to Colombia
Esther had two children, a son, Ivan Gonzalez, and a daughter named Esther Nouel. Her older son, Ivan, died at a young age, apparently having been stabbed to death; this was a loss that would always be in her mind as Ivan's son would also pass away in similar circumstances years later. In her personal life, Forero had a relationship with Bonairean sound engineer Gustavo Nouel (1907-?) with whom she had one daughter (Esther Nouel) when she was 25 or 26 years old. Her daughter, Esther, was matriculated into a school for girls and stayed there as a fulltime student and resident as her Mother immersed herself into musical endeavors possibly favoring that over her family life. Esther Forero and her daughter had a personal fallout lasting several decades but, were reconciled in Esther's latter years before her passing. Esther Forero returned to Colombia in 1959, after 10 years of spreading the country's Caribbean music abroad. She began recording her music with orchestras such as those of Pacho Galán, Nuncira Machado, Aníbal Velásquez (es), and Clímaco Sarmiento, with singers including Gabriel Romero (es), Joe Arroyo, and Alfredo Gutiérrez At Esthercita's initiative, in 1974, a lost tradition of Barranquilla's Carnival was rescued – that of performing nightly parades with Cumbiambas (a folkloric rhythm and dance from Colombia) and tamboras(a percussion instrument that originated in the Dominican Republic made of recycled barrels and is played using 2 headed drums.) This night festival became known as La Guacherna. In 1975, she recorded ''Érase una vez en La Arenosa'' ("Once upon a time in the sandy city") – "Arenosa" (sandy) being an endearing term for Barranquilla – under the baton of maestro Pedro "Pete" Vicentini and accompanied by singerRecognitions
Throughout her life, Esther Forero received honors from many Latin American countries. She received innumerable tributes, medals, parchments, plaques, and trophies, in recognition of work done as an ambassador of Colombian music to the world. As a result, the Society of Authors and Composers of Colombia awarded her with the Order of "Santa Cecilia." The ColombianSongs
Estercita Forero sang to her land in an endearing and nostalgic way. Her songs are or were part of the Barranquillan collective imagination and have deeply penetrated the identity of its inhabitants, who recognize and revere them as popular anthems. She was the author of well-known and accepted songs such as "Mi vieja Barranquilla" (My Old Barranquilla) (1974), "Luna Barranquillera" (Barranquillian Moon) (1963), "La Guacherna" (A festival)(1976), "Volvió Juanita" (Juanita Returned) (1978), "Palito 'e matarratón" (Matarraton is a type of tree which was local to the Barranquilla area) (1964), "Tambores de Carnaval" (Carnival Drums) (1978), "Nadie ha de saber" (No one should know) (2002), and "El hombre del palo" (The Wooden Man). On a side note, one of Estercita Forero's grandchildren from her daughter, Esther, named George Stewart is an American musician who also has also done several musical releases of his own with Floridian Death Metal music bands Abysmal, Phalanx Inferno and Nuclear Christ.Death
Esther Forero died on Friday, 3 June 2011 at age 91 at La Asunción Clinic, in her hometown of Barranquilla, after complications in several organs in her body. She arrived at this clinic on Wednesday, 11 May 2011, with a shoulder dislocation, which later led to convulsions andReferences
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Nuclear_Christ/3540505694External links