Carlos Vives Biography

Carlos Vives (born 1961) is a Colombian singer and composer.
Carlos Vives was born in Santa Marta, Magdalena Department, Colombia, in 1961, where he spent his first 12 years of life. At that age, he and his family moved to Bogotá in search of a better life. There he acquired a taste for rock, and started playing in bars and cafés in the city, but quite never forgetting his Caribbean roots. At the same time, he simultaneously pursued an acting career, being remember in Colombia for the telenovela (Latin American soap opera) Gallito Ramírez (which told the story of a Colombian Caribbean coast boxer who falls in love with an uptight girl, who was portrayed by his first wife, Margarita Rosa de Francisco).
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In 1989, he was offered an acting job in Puerto Rico, and upon moving, he took a break in his music career. There, he is remember for his leading roles in the soaps La Otra and Aventurera. There he married Hermelinda Gómez, his second wife (now separated).

Upon his return to Colombia in 1991, he was offered a TV role that would change his life forever. He was cast in the leading role of a fantasy series based in the life of Vallenato composer Rafael Escalona called, not surprisingly, Escalona. He sang the composer's songs in the series, and that's when he retools his career towards vallenato and its fusion with rock, pop and other Caribbean Colombian ethnic rythms, which scandalized Vallenato purists.

In 1993, he released his "Clásicos de la Provincia", which became a timeless classic in Colombian and Latin American music, projecting Vallenato to the continental and worldwide scenario.

He followed his success with the not-as-successful but equally high quality releases "La Tierra del Olvido" (1995), "Tengo Fe" (1997), "El Amor de mi Tierra" (1999), "Déjame Entrar" (2001) and "El Rock de mi Pueblo" (2004), which has the largest fusion component of all his albums.

He's now in a relationship with former beauty pageant queen Claudia Elena Vásquez, and has 2 children from his marriage with Hermelinda Gómez.

He spends his time between Miami and Colombia, mainly Santa Marta and Bogotá.

CARLOS VIVES PICTURES

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CARLOS VIVES BIOGRAPHY