Vallenato composer Rafael Escalona dies at 81

Vallenato legend Rafael Escalona died

"Rafael Escalona, the prolific composer and performer of vallenato classics that define the Colombian-born genre, has died of cancer. He was 81.

His son and namesake confirmed Escalona's death on Wednesday at a hospital in the Colombian capital.

Born in the Caribbean state of Cesar, the cradle of vallenato music, Escalona composed his first song at 15 and went on to pen staples such as 'La Casa en el Aire' and 'El Manantial.' His name and work were immortalized in the novel 'One Hundred years of Solitude,' by Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez..."

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