José Enrique “Chelique” Sarabia (13 March 1940 – 16 February 2022) was a Venezuelan poet, musician, publicist, and television producer. He wrote more than 1000 songs registered at the Society of Authors and Composers of Venezuela (SACVEN), also has been one of the most successful Venezuelan musicians of the 20th century, recognized universally for being the author of “Ansiedad” (1958), which was recorded by
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
and later covered by
Viktor Lazlo
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
for her compilation album
Sweet, Soft N' Lazy. In addition, he is the author of songs that comprise the Venezuelan cultural heap such as "Cuando no sé de ti" (When I Don't Know About You), "Chinita de Maracaibo", "No te muerdas los labios", "Piragüero", "Ayúdame", "Te Necesito", "Mi Propio Yo", and "En este País".
Career
Sarabia was born in
La Asunción
La Asunción () is a city in Venezuela. The capital of Nueva Esparta state (made up of three islands), it lies on Margarita Island in the Caribbean Sea, off the South American mainland. It is inland from Porlamar and is in a genuine colonial set ...
,
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
History
...
, Venezuela on 13 March 1940. In the 1960s, he became an independent musical producer, involving
RCTV program ''Club Musical'', where he discovered artists like
José Luis Rodríguez, the sisters Rosa Virginia and
María Teresa Chacín, "Los Impala", Las Aves Tronadoras,
Henry Stephen and
Cherry Navarro.
In 1971, he recorded an album of traditional and folkloric songs but giving them a modern touch, using specially developed equipment based on the principles of the Moog. Chelique employed traditional instruments like the cuatro and the bandola llanera, filtered these instruments through oscillators, playing with feedback, tape delay, synthesized frequencies, echoing sounds. The result was Revolución "Electrónica" en Música Venezolana. Originally, the album was sponsored by the Shell Company in Venezuela, given away to customers, employees, and friends of the company as a Christmas gift in 1973. It was titled 4 Fases del Cuatro - Música Venezolana desarrollada Electrónicamente por Chelique Sarabia (4 Phases of Four - Venezuelan Music Electronically Developed by Chelique Sarabia). Once the exclusivity period with the petrol company was over, Chelique did a commercial release, this time under the name of Revolución "Electrónica" en Música Venezolana (Electronic Revolution in Venezuelan Music). Thanks to this, Chelique and his team were considered electronic music pioneers in Latin America.
In 1973, he composed the song "El caminante", which became the anthem for the presidential campaign of
Carlos Andrés Pérez and
Acción Democrática. He died on 16 February 2022, at the age of 81.
See also
*
Music of Venezuela
References
* ''Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela'', (ed. Fundación Bigott () Caracas, Venezuela, 1998)
External Links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarabia, Jose Enrique
1940 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Venezuelan male singers
Latin music composers
Male composers
Venezuelan composers
Venezuelan folk musicians
People from La Asunción