Rufo Garrido
Rufo Garrido | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
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| Born | Rufo Manuel Garrido Gamarra 14 November 1896 Cartagena, Colombia |
| Died | 3 November 1980 (aged 83) Cartagena, Colombia |
| Genres | Tropical music |
Rufo Manuel Garrido Gamarra[a] (1896–1980) was a Colombian saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader. He led his own orchestra and also played saxophone in groups including Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros, the Sonora Cordobesa, and the orchestra Ondas del Sinú. Peter Wade described him as a central figure of mid-century Colombian costeño music, alongside Pedro Laza and Clímaco Sarmiento.[2]
Biography
Rufo Manuel Garrido Gamarra[3] was born on 14 November 1896 in Cartagena, in the Colombian department of Bolívar.[1] His father was Víctor Manuel Garrido, a baker.[4] As a child Garrido attended a Salesian school, and learned to play ocarina.[3]
Garrido's first job as a musician was in Sincelejo in the orchestra of Charles Butler, a saxophonist from San Andrés.[4] In the 1930s Garrido played in saxophone in several groups in the Colombian Caribbean, including the Sonora Cordobesa and Ondas del Sinú.[3] In 1952 he founded his own orchestra, which he led on saxophone and which included as members:[3]
- Ladislao "Lalo" Orozco (piano)
- Manuel Villanueva (trumpet)
- Sabas Pacheco (trumpet)
- Rosendo Martínez (euphonium)
- Nicolás de Ávila (saxophone)
- Hernando Mendoza (saxophone)
- Cristóbal "Calilla" García (bass)
- Clodomiro Montes (percussion)
- Crescencio Camacho (vocals)
- Mariana Burgos (vocals)
- Isidro "El Pibe" Velasco (vocals)
- Tony Zúñiga (vocals)
- Eliseo Herrera (vocals)
Garrido also played saxophone with Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros, the Cartagena orchestra led by Pedro Laza.[1] He wrote around 100 songs in the styles of cumbia and porro, including notably "El Cebú", "El Cariseco", "La Palenquerita", "El Buscapié", "El Mochilero", and "Sin Breque".[3][1]
Garrido's son Abraham is a saxophonist and bandleader and is known professionally as Rufo Garrido Jr.[3] Garrido died on 3 November 1980 in Cartagena.[3]
Notes
- ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Garrido and the second or maternal family name is Gamarra.
References
- ^ a b c d Deivis Lopez (3 November 2025), "45 años sin Rufo Garrido, el saxofón inolvidable del Caribe" [45 years without Rufo Garrido, the unforgettable saxophone of the Caribbean], El Heraldo (in Spanish), retrieved 5 January 2026
- ^ Peter Wade (2000). Music, Race, and Nation: Música Tropical in Colombia. University of Chicago Press. pp. 158–160. ISBN 0-226-86845-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g "40 años sin Rufo Garrido" [40 years without Rufo Garrido], Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), 2 November 2020, retrieved 5 January 2026
- ^ a b Jorge García Usta (31 October 2017), "Rufo Garrido, el saxofón que inventó el recuerdo", Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), retrieved 5 January 2026
External links
- Rufo Garrido discography at Discogs