Carlos Mejía Godoy (born June 27, 1943) is a

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

n musician, composer and singer-songwriter and one of the main representatives of the testimonial song or new song of his country. He grew up in a family related to popular music, folklore and traditional culture, which gave him a very early relationship with the cultural and artistic world of Nicaragua. He had a close friendship with the guitarist of the Camerata Bach and Los de Palacagüina, Pedro Miranda, and with the Nicaraguan musician Silvio Linarte. Carlos and Luis Enrique were pivotal in the

nueva canción (European , ; 'new song') is a left-wing social movement and musical genre in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, characterized by folk music, folk-inspired styles and socially committed lyrics. is widely recognized to have played a profou ...

(new song) movement in Central America beginning in the 1970s. They were both honored with Nicaragua's highest cultural distinction, the Order of Rubén Darío. He actively participated in the

Sandinista Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

, composing a good part of the songs associated with it and spreading the cause of the fight against the dictatorship of

Anastasio Somoza Debayle Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 53rd President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 to 1979. As head of the National Guard (Nicaragu ...

throughout the world. After the revolutionary triumph, he was one of the main cultural promoters of the Sandinista governments. After the loss of power of the

FSLN The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

in the 1990 elections, he left the FSLN and gradually became politically distant from this party and the leadership exercised by

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

, becoming an active participant in the 2018 protests.

Early life and career

Carlos Mejía Godoy was born in Somoto, Madriz on June 27, 1943. He was the son of Carlos Mejía Fajardo, a popular musician, and María Elsa Godoy, a school teacher and bread maker. His brother Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy, two years his junior, is also a Nicaraguan musician. In 1954, he left his hometown and continued his elementary and high school studies until starting university in the 1960s, where he began to collaborate as a radio host, actor, and script writer. His relationship with the radio would continue into the 1970s, standing out as an actor and creator of satirical radio programs. It was at this time that he came to develop his first musical works. In that period he began to stand out with his work "Alforja Campesina" which was performed by the trio "Los Madrigales". Together with the trio "Los Bisturices Armónicos" he is dedicated to the investigation and study of Nicaraguan folklore, collecting and disseminating old peasant songs. The songs of social content for which he noted his sympathy for the revolutionary movement of

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

and his integration into the student movement at the university are from those years. Songs like "Yo no puedo callar", "Desde Siuna con amor", "Muchacha del F.S.L.N." or "The grave of the guerrilla" are from that time. At the end of the 1960s, incorporated into Radio Corporación de Managua, he created the character "Corporito", which, as he himself admits, allowed him to discover himself as a communicator, as he described it in 1993: After the 1972 earthquake, he founded the "Taller de Sonido Popular" together with Humberto Quintanilla, Milcíades Poveda Herrera, Enrique Duarte, Silvio Linarte and Pablo Martínez Téllez (El Guadalupano) and joined the group "Gradas". As a member of the "National Song Salvation Brigade" he followed the path of rescuing many Nicaraguan folkloric pieces.

Music career

Many of his songs, performed with his band ''los de Palacagüina'', became associated with the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

movement as songs of the workers and revolutionaries. He even composed a

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

for the working class, the '' Misa Campesina Nicaragüense''. Many of his songs during the late 1970s gave instructions on how to use, assemble, and disassemble the rifles people were capturing from dictator Somoza's National Guard during street battles. One of his biggest achievements of his career as a songwriter came in 1977 when the song ''Quincho Barrilete'' (Quincho, the boy of the little barrel), composed by himself and performed by Eduardo Gonzalez won the sixth edition of the OTI Festival. A victory which is still remembered by many Nicaraguans. In 1980, Carlos Mejía Godoy y los de Palancagüina were internally selected by Televicentro Nicaragua to represent their country in the OTI Festival in 1980 with their song ''La chavalita de España'' (The little girl from Spain). This song marked the return of

to the event after two years of absence because of the turbulent

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

. Their competing song, which although was one of the favorites, ended in a respectable but disappointing tenth place with 15 points. Carlos Mejia Godoy by jorgemejia 1

He was the vice-presidential running mate of Edmundo Jarquín of the

Sandinista Renovation Movement UNAMOS, the Democratic Renewal Union (), formerly the Sandinista Renovation Movement (), is a Nicaraguan political party founded in 1995. It defines itself as a democratic and progressive party, made of people of all genders, that promotes the con ...

(MRS) in the November 2006

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. They came in fourth place. In February 2021, Mejía Godoy condemned a proposed law that would declare the songs of the Nicaraguan National Guard, as Heritage of the Nation, considering it confiscatory of his work.

Awards and Accolades

Family and personal life

Mejía Godoy is the father of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

conscientious objector, author, and anti-war activist Camilo Mejía, as well as the musicians Carlos Luis 'La Bujilla' Mejía and Augusto 'El Negro' Mejía from the Grammy-nominated Nicaraguan ensemble La Cuneta Son Machín. As one of president

's fiercest critics, he fears being killed. He lived in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

from 2018-2020. Since 2020 he has lived in Santa Rosa, California. Mejia Godoy is married to Xochitl Jimenez.

Discography

;Albums Some of his albums include: , , , and . ;Contributing artist His music has been featured on several compilations of songs of Nicaragua and the

Nicaraguan revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

: ''Songs of the Nicaraguan Revolution, Vol.1-2'', and ''Nicaraguita: Music from Nicaragua''. He was also featured in '' The Rough Guide to the Music of Central America'' (2002, World Music Network). Mejía Godoy was featured on the title track from La Cuneta Son Machín's ''Cañambuco'' (2017, Round Whirled Records).

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight RIAA certification, gold or Music rec ...

recorded one of his songs for their 2008 album '' Jefferson's Tree of Liberty''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia Godoy, Carlos 1943 births Living people People from Madriz Department Nicaraguan musicians Nicaraguan composers Nicaraguan male composers Sandinista Renovation Movement politicians