Luis Alfredo Laguna (May 1, 1926 – August 1, 1984) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

ian and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

.Peñin, José; Guido, Walter. (1998). ''Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela''. Fundación Bigott, Caracas. . Born in the tiny city of Guacara, Carabobo, Laguna moved at an early age with his family to

Maracay ) , image_skyline = , image_caption =Top:Maracay Municipal Garden and Las Delicias area, Second: Sindoni Tower, Los Tamarindo residential area and overview to Maracay, Third:Maestranza Cesar Giron Bullring Stadium, Girardot Square and Maraca ...

Aragua Aragua State ( es, Estado Aragua, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains and jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first n ...

, where he grew up and started his education. Largely self-taught, he excelled as a gifted guitarist and prolific songwriter, while creating a distinctive style of his own by using contemporary harmonies and rhythms as well as gorgeous melodies in his works. Author of significant

Venezuelan waltz The Venezuelan waltz is a hall dance and accompanying musical genre that was popularized in 19th-century Venezuela. The two main types of waltz were the hall waltz and the popular waltz. The former was typically performed on piano. Key musicia ...

es and

joropo The joropo is a musical style resembling the fandango, and an accompanying dance. It originated in Venezuela and is also present in the eastern Colombian plains. It has African, Native South American, and European influences. There are diffe ...

s, he also had a strong predilection for the '' merengue caraqueño''. Some of his most popular songs are ''Al poeta'', ''Criollísima'', ''Golosinas criollas'', ''El saltarín'', ''El tramao'', ''Mi merengue'', ''Nathalia'', ''Serenata'', ''S.O.S.'' and ''Un heladero con clase'', among others. Laguna died in 1984 at his home of Maracay at the age of 58, following complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

Sources

External links

Official websiteSheet Music List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laguna, Luis 1926 births 1984 deaths Deaths from diabetes People from Carabobo Venezuelan male composers People from Maracay Venezuelan composers Venezuelan folk guitarists Male guitarists Venezuelan folk musicians Venezuelan songwriters Male songwriters 20th-century guitarists 20th-century male musicians 20th-century Venezuelan folk musicians