Colacho Mendoza

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Colacho Mendoza
Born
Nicolás Elías Mendoza Daza

(1936-04-15)April 15, 1936
Sabanas de Manuela, San Juan del Cesar, Colombia
DiedSeptember 27, 2003(2003-09-27) (aged 67)
Valledupar, Colombia
GenresVallenato

Nicolás Elías Mendoza Daza[a] (April 15, 1936 – September 27, 2003), also known as Colacho Mendoza, was a Colombian vallenato accordionist. He was the second vallenato king of the Vallenato Legend Festival, and was the first winner of the king of kings competition in 1987. He accompanied prominent vallenato singers including Jorge Oñate and Diomedes Díaz.

Biography

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Early years

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Mendoza was born on April 15, 1936, in the small village of Sabanas de Manuela, located in the municipality of San Juan del Cesar in the northern Colombian department of La Guajira.[1] His parents were Andrés Mendoza and Juana Daza.[2] Mendoza learned to play accordion in his hometown.[2]

In 1950, Mendoza moved to Valledupar.[2] There he met vallenato songwriter Rafael Escalona, whose songs he became known for performing.[1]

The Vallenato Legend Festival

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Mendoza won the professional accordionist competition of the second Vallenato Legend Festival in 1969, and was crowned vallenato king.[1] In the final he performed the paseo "La Guacamaya Verde" (written by Luís Castrillón), the merengue "La Pule" (by Emiliano Zuleta), the puya "Elvirita Armenta" (by Simón Salas), and the son "Cuando el Tigre Está en la Cueva" (by Juan Muñoz).[3] Andrés Landero came second, and Julio de la Ossa came third;[4] the story goes that Luis Enrique Martínez was the favourite to win, but could not perform because he was drunk.[1]

In 1987 the Vallenato Legend Festival held for the first time a "king of kings" competition, instead of its usual professional accordionist competition. The competition was open only to previous vallenato kings, and Mendoza won, notably beating Alejo Durán.[2]

Collaborations

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Mendoza played accordion with vallenato singers and musicians including Poncho Zuleta [es], Jorge Oñate, Diomedes Díaz, Silvio Brito [es], Pedro García, Ivo Díaz, and Rafael Santos Díaz [es].[2] He was not particularly known as a songwriter, but he did write "De La Junta pa’ La Peña", "Morenita", "Corina", and several other songs.[1][5]

Personal life and death

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Mendoza was married to Fanny Zuleta in 1950, and had seven sons.[2] He died on September 27, 2003 in Valledupar.[1]

Notes

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "20 años sin Colacho Mendoza y su influencia en la música vallenata" [20 years without Colacho Mendoza and his influence on vallenato music], Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), September 25, 2023, retrieved October 23, 2025
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bibian Redondo R. (September 28, 2003), "Se silencio el acordeón de Colacho Mendoza" [The accordion of Colacho Mendoza is silent], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved October 22, 2025
  3. ^ Juan Rincón Vanegas (September 27, 2021), "El retrato inolvidable de Colacho Mendoza", panoramacultural.com.co (in Spanish), retrieved October 23, 2025
  4. ^ Julio Oñate Martínez (April 2003). "Julio de la Ossa". El abc del Vallenato (in Spanish). Bogotá: Taurus. pp. 443–448. ISBN 958-704-071-6.
  5. ^ Mariano Candela (2000). "Mendoza, Colacho [Nicolás Elías Mendoza Daza]". In Emilio Casares Rodicio (ed.). Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana (in Spanish). Vol. 7: Maaning – Ñuwiñ-ül. Sociedad General de Autores y Editores. p. 441. ISBN 84-8048-310-5.
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