Miguel Antonio López Gutiérrez (1938–2023) was a Colombian accordionist. He won the accordionist competition of the 1972

Vallenato Legend Festival The Vallenato Legend Festival () is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The festival features a vallenato, vallenato music contests for best performer of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca, as well as piqueria (battle ...

, and afterwards formed the

vallenato Vallenato () is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the ''Sierra Nevada de Santa Mar ...

group Los Hermanos López with

Jorge Oñate Jorge Antonio Oñate González (31 March 1949 – 28 February 2021) was a Colombian singer and composer, one of the most renowned of the vallenato musical genre. As of 2004 and since the beginning of his career in 1968 he had achieved 25 gold d ...

and his brothers Elberto and Pablo.

Biography

López was born on 12 March 1938 in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

, in the Colombian department of

Cesar Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

(although at that time still in Magdalena). His father Pablo Rafael López Gutiérrez and grandfather Juan Bautista "Juancito" López Molina were both musicians. In 1972 López beat Andrés Landero and Julio de la Ossa to win the accordionist competition of the fifth

, accompanied by

on vocals and

guacharaca Guacharaca is a percussion instrument found in Colombia. It is a rasp named after a bird ( ''ortalis guttata'') whose call it is said to imitate. It is usually made out of the cane-like trunk of a small palm tree. The guacharaca itself consists ...

. This led some to call López the "mute king of vallenato" (Spanish: "rey vallenato mudo"), because in traditional

trios, the accordionist is also the lead vocalist; later, this split became a selling point. Following his win, López formed the vallenato group Los Hermanos López with Oñate and his brothers Elberto López and Pablo Rafael López. They recorded nine LPs and were the first vallenato group to perform 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 ...

's Festival of Orchestras. Los Hermanos López disbanded when Oñate left in 1974, and López formed a new group with singer Freddy Peralta. López had twelve children. His son Alvarito López won the accordionist competition of the Vallenato Legend Festival in 1992, and later played with

Diomedes Díaz Diomedes Díaz Maestre (26 May 1957 – 22 December 2013) was a Colombian vallenato singer, songwriter, and composer. He has been named the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Vallenato" and is nicknamed ''El Cacique de La Junta'' ( ...

; his son Román López played accordion professionally with

Silvestre Dangond Silvestre Francisco Dangond Corrales (born May 12, 1980, in Urumita) is a Colombian singer. He attributes his talents to his father, the singer William José "El Palomo" Dangond Baquero, who during the mid-1970s recorded 10 singles with André ...

. López was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

at 50, and was fitted with a

pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...

in 2016. He died on 12 September 2023 in

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. The ...

, and the Governor of Cesar declared three days of mourning.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Miguel 1938 births 2023 deaths Vallenato musicians Colombian accordionists People from Cesar Department