Carlos Vives, a great ambassador for Colombian folklore

The artist from Santa Marta was the first Colombian to receive a Grammy. 

Carlos Vives’ music holds the priceless treasure of the Colombian Caribbean memoirs. Born in Santa Marta on August 7th 1961, this composer, singer and actor has gone down in history as the world’s greatest ambassador for Colombian folklore who took a mix of contemporary and traditional sounds around the world to represent Colombia.

This successful mix brought about 12 albums that got him 18 Grammy Award nominations, winning one in the American edition and four Latin Grammys. He also won the Amigo Award in Spain, which is handed twice by the Principality of Asturias and the Barcelonan Ondas Award.

Vives holds the record to the artist with most Latin Grammy nominations and he has the honor of being the first Colombian to win a Grammy from The Recording Academy in the United States.

La gota fría, La celosa, Las mujeres, El caballito, Alicia Adorada, La tierra del olvido, Pa Mayté, Voy a olvidarme de mí, Fruta fresca, La cartera and Volví a nacer are among his best known songs and helped him seduce millions of listeners around the world.

He is also a successful actor. He was one of television’s most famous leading men in the 90’s. His roles as ‘Javier’ in the soap opera Gallito Ramírez and as ‘Rafael Escalona’ in Escalona, a story about the famous Colombian composer of the same name, are among his most important and well-remembered appearances.

Carlos Vives’ Ciénaga

Carlos Vives picked Ciénaga (Magdalena) as the location to shoot his new video ‘Bailar contigo’, from his album Corazón profundo, a video sponsored by the National Tourism Fund (Fontur) and Country Brand Colombia. The reason for shooting in Ciénaga was to show the town as a Colombian jewel that must be respected and promoted as a tourist destination.

Ciénaga is part of the Heritage Towns Net, promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism and supported by Fontur and the Ministry of Culture.

Ciénaga is a land blessed by God for it lies in a privileged location in the Caribbean”, says the artist, so it is very satisfying for him to show the world this beautiful Colombian place.

The album includes the single Volví a nacer, which topped the Billboard lists and remained in the first place for over 17 weeks in Colombia and in the United states.

This new single and its video make Vives an artist who is part of the answer: he is the new spokesman for Country Brand Colombia. This makes the Santa Marta artist a cultural ambassador for the country around the world.

Learn more about Carlos Vives and Colombian music and discover why when it comes to culture, the answer is Colombia.      

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