Aníbal Velásquez

Aníbal Velásquez was born in Barranquilla on 3 June 1936, the son of José Antonio Velásquez and Belén Hurtado and brother of the musician José "Cheíto" Velásquez. His first hit, "La Gallina", came in 1952 with Los Vallenatos del Magdalena, the band of Roberto and Carlos Román, which he stayed with until Roberto's death broke it up.

With his brothers Juan and José he then formed his own group and, at the start of the 1960s, created a distinctive style of guaracha built around the accordion and drawing on Caribbean and South American genres — the sound that earned him the nicknames "El Mago" and "El Rey de la Guaracha". In the 1970s, as cartel violence rose at home, he moved to Caracas and lived there for eighteen years before returning to Barranquilla.

Over a career of six decades he is estimated to have recorded more than 300 albums and perhaps 500 singles. In 2018 the Caribbean regional network Telecaribe broadcast the bio-series Aníbal 'Sensación' Velásquez as a living tribute. His son Nelson Velásquez became the voice of Los Inquietos del Vallenato.

How the name is written

Barranquilla spelling, Velásquez; his brothers Juan and José "Cheíto" and his son Nelson carry the same form.

Sources

Facts in this profile are drawn from the Wikipedia article(s) linked below, consulted on 21 September 2026; the text is original. Wikipedia (English) · Wikipedia (Spanish)

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Profiles are compiled from public sources for general information. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by the people described. Corrections are welcome at carol@velasquez.info.