Emilia Herrera
Emilia Herrera | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | La Niña Emilia |
| Born | Juana Emilia Herrera García 1932 Evitar, Mahates, Colombia |
| Died | 15 September 1993, aged 61 Barranquilla, Colombia |
| Genres | Bullerengue |
Juana Emilia Herrera García[a] (1932–1993), known as Emilia Herrera or La Niña Emilia, was a Colombian bullerengue singer and songwriter. She released several albums in the 1980s and, alongside her cousin Irene Martínez, played a role in the popularisation of bullerengue as a commercially successful genre in Colombia.
Biography
Juana Emilia Herrera García[1] was born in 1932 in Evitar, in the corregimiento of Mahates in the Colombian department of Bolívar.[2]
Herrera began her music career singing backing vocals for Los Soneros de Gamero, the group fronted by her cousin Irene Martínez.[3] Herrera and Martínez later fell out, allegedly because Martínez passed off Herrera's song "El Pájaro Picón" as her own.[4]
In the early 1980s, Herrera sang for Eduardo Dávila, producer for Barranquilla record label Felito. Felito put together a group for her called Los Cumbiamberos de Gamero, which despite the name comprised musicians from Barranquilla, not the town of Gamero in Mahates.[3] Herrera and Los Cumbiamberos recorded five albums for Felito in the 1980s.[3] At first they were accompanied by Pedro Ramayá, and their debut album was Gozando con la Niña Emilia in 1984.[4] Herrera also recorded with other Colombian artists including Aníbal Velásquez and Alfredo Gutiérrez.[3]
Herrera wrote several successful songs. Her first was "Coroncoro", written about her son having left Colombia to live in Brazil.[2] Other notable compositions include "Currucuchú", "Periquito con Arró", "Cundé Cundé", "La Gustadera", and "El Pájaro Picón".[3]
Herrera died of liver failure in Barranquilla on 15 September 1993, aged 61.[5]
Legacy
Jaime Andrés Monsalve wrote that Herrera's albums "mark the zenith of a phenomenon of the era: the commercialisation of traditional music, altered with elements foreign to its organology for the sake of mass release."[4]: 164 Other bullerengue singers releasing commercially successful at the same time as Herrera include her cousin La Niña Irene, Nelda Piña, and Petrona Martínez[4] The success of this type of bullerengue was partly driven by its popularity within the picó culture of the Colombian Caribbean.[4] Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto had similar crossover success in the 1970s with their albums on CBS.[4]
In 2017, Telecaribe made a telenovela based on Herrera's life called Déjala morir, which starred Aída Bossa.[1]
Herrera was friends with Graciela Salgado, the leader of Las Alegres Ambulancias. In 2020, Las Alegres Ambulancias (now led by two of Salgado's children) recorded a version of Herrera's song "Coroncoro" with her daughter Nelly Herrera.[6]
Albums
With Los Cumbiamberos de Gamero
Herrera released five albums with Los Cumbiamberos de Gamero on Felito.[3]
- Gozando con La Niña Emilia (1984)
- La Pelea es Peleando (1985)
- Congo' E Riquitiqui Tiqui Tiqui (1986)
- Empuja Empuja (1987)
- Gozando con La Niña Emilia (1988), different from the 1984 record despite sharing the same title.
Other
- De Nuevo Los Macajaneros (1985, Felito), with Alfredo Gutiérrez and Emilio Ahumada.
- Sobame (1985, Felito), with Pacho Galán.
Notes
- ^ In this Hispanic American name, the first or paternal surname is Herrera and the second or maternal family name is García.
References
- ^ a b Nicolás Cortés Mejía (8 March 2017), "¿Quién es La niña Emilia?, protagonista de nueva serie caribeña" [Who is La niña Emilia, the protagonist of the new caribeña series?], El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 3 February 2026
- ^ a b "30 años sin Irene Martínez y sin Emilia Herrera: cantadoras, primas y rivales" [30 years without Irene Martínez and Emilia Herrera: singers, cousins, and rivals], Radio Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish), 22 August 2023, retrieved 3 February 2026
- ^ a b c d e f Jesús Lugo Suárez (16 September 2023), "La niña Emilia: se cumplen 30 años de su fallecimiento" [La niña Emilia: 30 years since her death], El Heraldo (in Spanish), retrieved 3 February 2026
- ^ a b c d e f Jaime Andrés Monsalve Buriticá (November 2024). "Los Cumbiamberos de Gamero, canta Emilia Herrera – Gozando con la Niña Emilia". En Surcos de Colores: La Historia de la Música Colombiana en 150 Discos [In Colourful Grooves: The History of Colombian Music in 150 Records] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Rey Naranjo Editores. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-628-7589-47-6.
- ^ Amilde Frías Rincón (17 September 1993), "Coroncoro Se Murió... La Niña Emilia", El Tiempo (in Spanish), retrieved 3 February 2026
- ^ "El tributo de las Alegres Ambulancias a la Niña Emilia" [The tribute of las Alegres Ambulancias to la Niña Emilia], El Heraldo (in Spanish), 29 February 2020, retrieved 3 February 2026
External links
- Emilia Herrera discography at Discogs