Julio Jaramillo

Julio Alfredo Jaramillo Laurido (Guayaquil, October 1, 1935-Ib., February 9, 1978) was an Ecuadorian singer and composer nicknamed "The Nightingale of America." He achieved Great fame in numerous South American countries for his interpretations of boleros, waltzes, corridors, tangos and rancheras.

Having recorded around 2,200 songs throughout his career, his most famous song was and is "Our Oath" well known throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most beloved singers in Ecuador.

Jaramillo recorded with many other notable Latin American artists, including Puerto Rican singer, Daniel Santos; the also Ecuadorian singer Olimpo Cárdenas; and the Colombian singer, Alci Acosta.

Julio acknowledged having 27 children during an interview in 1976 at the Atahualpa Hotel for the newspaper El Universo.

Biography

Early years

Born in Guayaquil on October 1, 1935 at the Panchana Clinic. Son of Juan Pantaleón Jaramillo Erazo, a native of Machachi and Apolonia Laurido Cáceres from Guayaquil. His father emigrated to the province of Guayas in search of better job opportunities and it was there where he met Apolonia, who for many years worked as an assistant nursing at the Mann Asylum. On April 2, 1941, when Julio was five years old, he lost his father due to a work accident that ruptured his spleen. His mother raised him with his older brother, José (born in 1933) and popularly known as Pepe.They lived on the south-west corner of Brasil and Coronel streets. Both brothers were enrolled in the Sociedad Filantrópica del Guayas school, but Julio Jaramillo abandoned his studies in third grade due to discipline problems. Then he was admitted to a public school where Professor was the director of that school. Lauro Dávila, distinguished educator who wrote the lyrics of the “Guayaquil de mis Amores” hallway. There he finished primary school. His artistic inclination comes from his maternal grandmother who played guitar and his mother sang in choirs at her school. He learned to play guitar with Ignacio Toapanta, a neighbor who gave him guitar lessons and let him play with musical instruments.

When Julio turned 15, he won a radio contest whose prize was a presentation at a nightclub, and this fact was the beginning of his artistic career. He is recognized as an outstanding performer of Pasillo, Bolero, Waltz, Tango and other genres such as Pasacalle, Rancheras, Porros, Vallenatos. Among his most popular works are the first engravings from 1956, 'Fatality', Náufrago de Amor, Alma mia, and 'True Faith'. by Olimpo Cárdenas and "Cinco centavitos" by Héctor Ulloa, "Reminiscences", "Odiame", "Deny it all", "I'll wait for you", among others.

Musical career

In his bohemian beginnings, he used to frequent La Lagartera, an area where musicians offer serenades for a certain value agreed upon with the client. Over time, the musicians accepted his presence and let him accompany them on the guitar and on certain occasions they allowed him to sing. His first presentation was on Radio Cóndor, where he had the opportunity to meet Rosalino Quintero, with whom he would forge a friendship and would later be his arranger, guitarist and requinto.

Later he participated in Radio América and after leaving the station he used to frequent El Cajón, a bar frequented by people from the artistic world.

In "Radio el Triunfo" He met Julio Morante, who introduced him to Odalia Sánchez with whom he fell in love. He went to live in Morante's apartment with Odalia. Julio broke up with Irene, who went to live with Julio's mother. With Odalia he had a son. Francisco was born on March 9, 1955. Julio gave the great surprise of his life. Two months after the birth of his son and before turning 20, he married María Eudocia Rivera, whom he met on a station where she sang. She was four months pregnant. Even though he was married, he continued with Odalia and had two more children with her and a daughter of Peruvian nationality with the Peruvian singer Anamelba. Anamelba del Rocío Jaramillo Pinzas in 1968.

It is believed that in 1952 Julio recorded the Our Leader march for the politician Carlos Guevara Moreno, founder of the CFP, of which 12 acetates were printed.

On May 4, 1956, in Guayaquil Ecuador, according to Diario El Universo, the advertisement was published announcing the topic. This is the only reference that has been obtained, announcing the sale of the album with the songs “Fatalidad” and “Naufrago de Amor”. These are two first commercial songs that she recorded as a solo artist. The newspaper article was published by J.D. Music Stores. Feraud Guzmán. The album came out with series No 5016 and was manufactured by the IFESA record company. Here the young singer is mentioned for the first time with the nickname “El flamante Trovador” recorded with his teacher Carlos Rubira Infante the hallway Wife .

It was the Peruvian waltz, titled Fatalidad (music by Laureano Martínez Smart and lyrics by Juan Sixto Prieto), which Olimpo Cárdenas had already recorded successfully with Victoria albums in Medellín, which catapulted him to the fame in March 1956. Instead of using the guitar, Rosalino Quintero used the requinto, and they gave it a rhythm between a Peruvian waltz and an Ecuadorian hallway. From the first day it went on the market it was a success, and in one week 6,000 copies were sold and they had to reprint it.

The success was so overwhelming that, by the end of 1956, Julio had already recorded a dozen songs for the Ónix label. I hate you and I love you, Dead Leaves, Elsa and Carnival of life were the most popular. The versatility in Jaramillo's voice led him to successfully interpret songs in rhythms as varied as bolero, tropical, tango, waltz, hallway, joropo and even rock and roll. His international consecration came with the song Our Oath i> (1956), by the Puerto Rican Benito de Jesús, and converted into a bolero by Rosalino Quintero. With that song, Jaramillo embarked on several tours throughout Latin America.

The first countries in which the performer established his fame were Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and others.

On February 1, 1958, he arrived in Peru, where he began his tour to the south of the continent, in this country he was accompanied by the musicians; Sergio Bedoya, Juan “chino” Ruiz and Rosalino Quintero. In Lima his albums were already widely listened to. There he met Manuel Dávila “El Diablo”, who acted as his representative, obtaining contracts to perform in the interior of the Peruvian republic. In that same year he also visited Chile and Argentina. An advertisement dated 1958, which is exhibited in the Museum of Popular Music of Guayaquil, indicates the presence of Julio Jaramillo in Chile.

After his tour of South America, in 1963 Julio debuted on Ecuadorian television, in a Telecuador (RTS) program, which also featured the presence of the singer Blanquita Amaro. And in 1965 he made a cameo in the film Youth Fever. On April 16, 1959, the newspaper El Universal announced the arrival of the singer for the first time on the 29th. April, according to data confirmed by the Peerless record label, a company that signed contracts to make exclusive recordings. That year the album “De Cigarro en Cigarro” had an unusual success. On April 18, another note from the same newspaper reported that Julio Jaramillo had returned to Guayaquil, from a tour of Peru, Chile, Argentina and will remain until the 20th. During his stay he will record for a local record label. The note mentions that in Mexico he has contracts with radio stations, theaters and presentations arranged for television and that his multiple artistic commitments have delayed his trip to the Mexican capital. On April 21, the newspaper El Universal published the note “Ecuadorian singer Julio Jaramillo is not coming to Mexico” for reasons that he has been required by the Ecuadorian Armed Forces to perform military service as he is in remission status. This fact was widely reported by the Ecuadorian press. With this, his trip to Mexico was interrupted, where a contract of ten thousand dollars a month awaited him, in performances and recordings.

Julio joined the Pichincha Infantry Battalion No. 3, with Major Lorenzo Hinojosa Calero being the commander of the unit and Captain Rodolfo Leiva Vaca as Vice Commander. In October 59 Julio Jaramillo received the Huancavilca trophy in the city of Guayaquil. It was given to him by Pablo Ulloa Figueroa, businessman and director of Cine Radial Magazine. The event was broadcast by Radio Atalaya.

After completing his military service, he continued with his career. The singer returned to civilian life in January 1960. According to the testimony of Walter Galarza published in the work & # 34; Julio Jaramillo la vida Completa de el & # 34; published in 1978 by the journalists of Diario el Universo de Guayaquil, Francisco Romero Albán and Livingston Pérez Sernaqué.

On March 8, 1960, the newspaper La Nación in Costa Rica announced the singer's expected presentation, the Ruiseñor's stay was extended until March 12, performing in different venues such as Radio City, Coconut and Center City. On March 15, 1960, JJ traveled to Uruguay for the first time, according to the Uruguayan press. Before his arrival, on March 2 or 3, United States President Eisenhower had received all state honors upon his arrival in Montevideo. The reception that Montevideo gave to Julio Jaramillo has been compared to that of the American president. In those days he performed performances and presentations on radio and TV. Documented with photos are the presentations on Radio CX 50 La Independencia; Radio KA 550 Colonia de Sacramento; Radio CX 14 El Espectador; Channel 10 Saeta TV in the Luminarias general Electric program. On March 18, 19, and 20, 1960, he appeared at the Peñarol Palace, the social setting of the soccer club of the same name. His presentation was part of the celebration in advance of the achievement of the crown of Uruguayan national soccer champion, obtained by the Peñarol Club. On that date, the player Alberto Spencer was crowned champion with Peñarol in 1960. The singer's passage is described in more than one hundred photographs, many of them have the signature of photographer Florencio Nápoli.

In the second half of 1960, on July 18 in El Salvador, an episode was marked that corroborates the singer's audacity. Julio Jaramillo meets the Salvadoran artist Coralia Valle to whom he proposes marriage. Given the singer's fame, the television channel YSEB TV achieved the exclusivity to broadcast the event throughout the country, at midday. In this image you can see the name of the Lito Barrientos Orchestra. Pepe Jaramillo acted as a witness to this illegal marriage; they spent their honeymoon at the Astoria Hotel, according to him. A few days after that; Julio and Pepe left for Costa Rica. On the 24th, the first reference to the presence of Ecuadorians was made in that country's newspaper La Nación. The advertisement announces his long-awaited presentation at the Costa Rica Country Club accompanied by his brother Pepe Jaramillo along with Rodrigo Gamboa and his Conjunto. The stay and presentations were extended for the following days. Both brothers performed, just as they did at the beginning of their careers in cinemas such as: Lisbeth, Paris, Cartago, Center City, Reforma, Isabel, Fallas, etc., the presentations extended until August 1960 where they even appeared in the Teatro Center City with Daniel Santos and Héctor Luján. On August 11, the newspaper La Nación published that Julio and Pepe took a LACSA company plane to Panama. It is presumed that each one took different paths. The newspaper El Universal of Mexico, dated September 19, 1960, says: “To take advantage of the singer's stay, the record company that released his albums in Mexico intensifies its advertising promotion.”

On August 29, 1960, Julio Jaramillo's name was published for the first time in Billboard Magazine, page 41. Here the appearance on the American market of two 45 rpm records was announced. The first, with the songs “Tú y el tiempo” and “Sombras”, the second with “Prisionero en tus pupilas” and “Adoración”. Both albums licensed by Ónix for the Sol label.

During his presentation tour in Mexico, on September 20, 1960, the Los Angeles newspaper La opinion announced that Julio Jaramillo would arrive in Mexico in those days. His representative César Guerra, indicated that Julio must perform for four weeks in a row at the Blanquita Theater, in two shows a day, continuing recordings with the Discos Peerless label, radio and TV presentations, which will represent the artist more than half a million pesos since Your contract is for three months of continuous activity. On October 1, the newspaper El Universal announced the presentation of Julio on the billboard of the Blanquita Theater as the most discussed and commented singer at the moment, highlighting the photo of Julio Jaramillo. The poster includes the names of the comedian Resortes, Javier Solís, Los Panchos, Pompín and Nacho, Mantequilla among others. Despite being announced, the singer did not appear on the appointed day. On October 2, the Blanquita Theater billboard, published in the newspaper El Universal, is announced as “VERY SOON.” And on October 6, El Universal publishes the Blanquita Theater poster announcing the presentation “Finally” Julio Jaramillo for the next day. And on October 7, another billboard from the Blanquita Theater period announces “the sensation of the moment” “ The fabulous Julio Jaramillo” as the main figure. From October 8 to 20, the presentations at the Blanquita are advertised daily in El Universal. On the billboard without photos, Javier Solís, Los Panchos, Ricardo Luna's ballet with 50 women among others are repeated in those presentations. This billboard became very well known in Ecuador and it surprised everyone that the name and image of the singer stood out over the other artists. At that time it was common in Mexico to put the debut artist as the “flag” or in style. On October 24, popular Ecuadorian singer Julio Jaramillo was put in prison after an incident in front of a theater.

In 1965 he settled in Venezuela, from where he made triumphant tours through Mexico, Puerto Rico and other countries. During his career, Jaramillo made several studio duets with artists such as Daniel Santos, Alci Acosta, Óscar Agudelo and Olimpo Cárdenas.

Personal life

Julio Jaramillo's first and only legal marriage (civil and ecclesiastical) occurred in Guayaquil, his first wife being María Rivera, whom he would not divorce until June 1976, later marrying the woman who accompanied him during his last years. 16 years of her life, Nancy Arroyo, born in Ecuador, to an Ecuadorian father and a Colombian mother, both circus artists, who settled in Venezuela.

Death

Julio Jaramillo entered the Domínguez clinic in Guayaquil due to cramps in the gallbladder, and however after complications from the operation he had to undergo surgery a second time. Thus, on February 9, 1978, he died, according to the medical part, a cardiac arrest, As soon as the news of his death spread, nearly 200,000 people gathered next to the clinic, and although on several occasions he requested that posthumous tributes not be paid to him, his remains They were watched for three days in different places such as the Radio Cristal facilities, the Municipal Palace and the Voltaire Paladines Polo Coliseum.

Discography

At the beginning of his career from 1956 to 1960, his recording contracts only included the production of 45 revolution records, of which he recorded more than 200 albums. His musical production is also around 800 33 rpm Long Plays records, although unfortunately in Ecuador it has not been possible to have a complete record of his work, so the most complete current information has been extracted from the records in collectors possession. Jaramillo during his 23 years of artistic life recorded more than 2,200 songs. His first recording, of a political nature, was the Guevarista March—in honor of Carlos Guevara Moreno—in 1955, of which only 12 albums were released for distribution to radio stations.

On the other hand, the Chilean caricaturist Alberto Vivanco in his series of costumbrista vignettes called "Pinceladas Criollas" He stated that Jaramillo's financial constraints led him several times, at least in Ecuador, to record with record companies that were outside the law but that paid him certain sums to meet his needs. The attached list, due to the reasons stated, is incomplete and the years of production are only estimated, unlike the production with the Venezuelan company El Disco de Moda (Discomoda) in which the The acronyms of the LPs are compared to those of the orchestra "Los Melodicos" which he recorded for several years with said company.

Original discography

Footnotes

In fiction

Julio Jaramillo is one of the main characters of the detective novel Teoría del manglar, by Ecuadorian writer Luis Carlos Mussó and winner of the 2017 Miguel Riofrío National Literature Contest. The novel recounts the investigation behind a murder during the military dictatorship in which Jaramillo, identified as "El Cantante", uses his influence to obtain clues and help solve the case.