Rafael Godoy Lozano (24 October 1907 – 14 March 1973) was a well-known

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

born in Natagaima, Tolima.

Biography

From a young age, he was linked to the trade-union movement in Barrancabermeja,

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

, from where he had to emigrate when his personal security was threatened. He fled to

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 ...

, where he developed his musical career and composed what are often taken to be his best musical pieces. His most widely known, and possibly best song, is the bambuco " Soy colombiano" (''I'm Colombian''); he composed many other less-known bambucos and andean music songs, such as "Arrunchaditos", "Pasito", "Mi cafetal", "Canto a Colombia", "Tierra caliente" and many others. Many versions of "Soy colombiano" have appeared since it was composed, even a vallenato version by Lisandro Meza, although the most popular version is the one from the Tolimense folk music

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

Garzón y Collazos. Rafael Godoy died in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, Venezuela, on March 14, 1973 at the age of 65.

References

External links

a brief history of Godoy's life and works
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Godoy, Rafael Colombian musicians Bambuco musicians 1907 births 1973 deaths Andean music Death in Caracas