José Enrique Sarabia
José Enrique “Chelique” Sarabia (born March 13, 1940 in Pampatar, Isla Margarita, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan poet, musician, publicist, and television producer. He has written more than 1000 songs registered at the Society of Authors and Composers of Venezuela (SACVEN), also has been one of the most successful Venezuelan musicians of the 20th century, recognized universally for being the author of “Ansiedad” (1958), which was later covered by Viktor Lazlo for her compilation album Sweet, Soft N' Lazy. In addition, he is the author of songs that comprise the Venezuelan cultural heap such as "Cuando no sé de ti" (When I Don't Know About You), "Chinita de Maracaibo", "No te muerdas los labios", "Piragüero", "Ayudame", "Te Necesito", "Mi Propio Yo", and "En este País".
In the 1960s, he became an independent musical producer, involving at RCTV program Club Musical, where he discovered artists like José Luis Rodríguez, the sisters Rosa Virginia and María Teresa Chacín, "Los Impala", Henry Stephen and Cherry Navarro.
In 1971, he recorded an album of traditional and folkloric songs but giving them a modern touch, using specially developed equipment based on the principles of the Moog. Chelique employed traditional instruments like the cuatro and the bandola llanera, filtered these instruments through oscillators, playing with feedback, tape delay, synthesized frequencies, echoing sounds. The result was Revolución "Electrónica" en Música Venezolana. Originally, the album was sponsored by the Shell Company in Venezuela, given away to customers, employees, and friends of the company as a Christmas gift in 1973. It was titled 4 Fases del Cuatro - Música Venezolana desarrollada Electrónicamente por Chelique Sarabia (4 Phases of Four - Venezuelan Music Electronically Developed by Chelique Sarabia). Once the exclusivity period with the petrol company was over, Chelique did a commercial release, this time under the name of Revolución "Electrónica" en Música Venezolana (Electronic Revolution in Venezuelan Music). Thanks to this, Chelique and his team were considered electronic music pioneers in Latin America.
In 1973, he composed the song "El caminante", which became the anthem for the presidential campaign of Carlos Andrés Pérez and Acción Democrática.
See also
References
- Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela, (ed. Fundación Bigott (ISBN 980-6428-02-1) Caracas, Venezuela, 1998)