Miguel López (musician)

Miguel López
Birth nameMiguel Antonio López Gutiérrez
Born(1938-03-12)12 March 1938
La Paz, Colombia
Died12 September 2023(2023-09-12) (aged 85)
Valledupar, Colombia
GenresVallenato

Miguel Antonio López Gutiérrez[1][a] (1938–2023) was a Colombian accordionist. He won the accordionist competition of the 1972 Vallenato Legend Festival, and afterwards formed the vallenato group Los Hermanos López with Jorge Oñate and his brothers Elberto and Pablo.

Biography

López was born on 12 March 1938 in La Paz, in the Colombian department of Cesar (although at that time still in Magdalena).[2] His father Pablo Rafael López Gutiérrez and grandfather Juan Bautista "Juancito" López Molina were both musicians.[1]

In 1972 López beat Andrés Landero and Julio de la Ossa to win the accordionist competition of the fifth Vallenato Legend Festival, accompanied by Jorge Oñate on vocals and guacharaca.[3] This led some to call López the "mute king of vallenato" (Spanish: "rey vallenato mudo"),[3] because in traditional vallenato trios, the accordionist is also the lead vocalist; later, this split became a selling point.[4]: 180 

Following his win, López formed the vallenato group Los Hermanos López with Oñate and his brothers Elberto López and Pablo Rafael López.[3] They recorded nine LPs and were the first vallenato group to perform at the Barranquilla Carnival's Festival of Orchestras.[5][6] Los Hermanos López disbanded when Oñate left in 1974, and López formed a new group with singer Freddy Peralta.[5]

López had twelve children.[2] His son Alvarito López won the accordionist competition of the Vallenato Legend Festival in 1992, and later played with Diomedes Díaz; his son Román López played accordion professionally with Silvestre Dangond.[2][3]

López was diagnosed with diabetes at 50, and was fitted with a pacemaker in 2016. He died on 12 September 2023 in Valledupar, and the Governor of Cesar declared three days of mourning.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Gutiérrez.

References

  1. ^ a b "Luto en Valledupar: murió el acordeonero Miguel López, quinto Rey del Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata" [Mourning in Valledupar: accordionist Miguel López, fifth King of the Vallenato Legend Festival, has died], El Colombiano (in Spanish), 12 September 2023, retrieved 13 June 2025
  2. ^ a b c Humberto Carrillo (12 September 2023), "La música está de luto: murió Miguel López, rey vallenato" [Music is in mourning: Miguel López, king of vallenato, has died], Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), retrieved 13 June 2025
  3. ^ a b c d Luis Ortiz (12 September 2023), "Murió Miguel López, reconocido acordeonero, uno de los primeros en ser nombrado rey vallenato y fórmula de Jorge Oñate" [Miguel López, renowned accordion player, one of the first to be named king of Vallenato and partner of Jorge Oñate, has died], Infobae (in Spanish), retrieved 13 June 2025
  4. ^ Peter Wade (2000). Music, Race, and Nation: Música Tropical in Colombia. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-86845-1.
  5. ^ a b Liliana Martínez Polo (26 April 2015), "La dinastía López y su huella imborrable en la música" [The López dynasty and its indelible mark on music], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 13 June 2025
  6. ^ Nistar Romero Acosta (13 February 1999), "Festival de Orquestas, música para el carnaval" [Festival of Orchestras, music for Carnival], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 13 June 2025
  7. ^ "Falleció Miguel López, el quinto rey de la Leyenda Vallenata" [Miguel López, fifth king of the Vallenato Legend Festival, has died], El Espectador (in Spanish), 12 September 2023, retrieved 13 June 2025
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