Jorge Oñate

Lovingly dubbed as “El Jilguero de América” (America’s Goldfinch), Colombian singer-songwriter Jorge Oñate (March 31, 1949) is one of the lead exponents of the local genre known as vallenato. Throughout his decades-spanning career, he has achieved multiple gold and platinum certifications for his prolific catalog. Born in the city of La Paz, in the department of Cesar, Oñate and his mother relocated to Bogotá when he was still a teenager. After finishing high school, he took his first steps as the lead singer for the group Los Guatapurí, making his recording debut with the album Festival Vallenato (1968). He then joined Los Hermanos López, with whom he released a string of highly-acclaimed albums in the 70s, most notably El Jardincito (1971), Fuera de Concurso (1974), and Canto a mi Tierra (1975). During the 80s, his creative association with accordionist Juancho Rois spawned the full-lengths El Cantante (1981), Canto y Tradición (1984), and El Cariño de mi Pueblo (1985). Oñate kicked off the 90s with El Más Fuerte (1990), which included the hit “No Comprendí Tu Amor” and featured the talent of accordionist Alvarito López, a partnership that continued well into the mid-90s and ended with 1996’s Nací Para Cantar. In subsequent years, the singer teamed up with accordionists Cocha Molina, Julián Rojas, and Cristian Camilo Peña for a string of classic vallenato records before reuniting with López for Patrimonio Cultural (2016), the last album before his conversion to Christianity in 2018.