Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
n band founded in 1958.
Los Melódicos play (literally "tropical music"), a genre developed on the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
coasts of Venezuela, Colombia, and other
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
n and Caribbean countries in the mid 20th century.
Los Melódicos are similar in style to fellow Venezuelan group Billo's Caracas Boys, and were formed while Billo Frómeta was occupied by legal problems and unable to make music; Frómeta later wrote some arrangements for the band.
History
Los Melódicos were founded in 1958.
Some sources claim that founded Los Melódicos with the help of Billo Frómeta, others that he became director only in 1962.
Los Melódicos made their performance debut on
Radio Caracas Televisión
Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV and sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas) is a Venezuelan over-the-top streaming service and formerly a free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo and ow ...
on 15 July 1958.
Their debut album ''Estos son Los Melódicos'' was recorded the same year.
In 1959 Los Melódicos became the first Venezuelan band to tour abroad when they performed in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.El Tiempo'' reported that Los Melódicos had had 22 female and 43 male singers throughout its history.
By 2008 Los Melódicos had recorded 100 albums, had obtained 9 Golden Congos at the
Barranquilla Carnival
The Barranquilla Carnival (') is one of Colombia's most important folkloric celebrations, and one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century. Four days before Lent, Barranquilla decks it ...
, and were still playing up to 28 shows a month.
Aside from a period spent recovering from a car crash in 1997, Capriles claimed at that time to have been at every Melódicos show in their entire history.
Founder Renato Capriles died in July 2014 of pneumonia.