Rolando Alarcón

Rolando Alarcón Soto (August 5, 1929 – February 4, 1973) was a Chilean teacher, folklorist, soloist and composer. He became a nationally renowned figure in his home country due to his work as a musician, and at his funeral, even president Salvador Allende, paid his respects.[1]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Alarcón and the second or maternal family name is Soto.
Rolando Alarcón
Birth nameRolando Alarcón Soto
Born(1929-08-05)August 5, 1929
OriginSewell, Chile
DiedFebruary 4, 1973(1973-02-04) (aged 43)
GenresFolk, Nueva Canción, Chilean music
Occupation(s)Teacher
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1951–1973
LabelsRCA Victor
Associated actsCoro Pablo Vidales, Cuncumén, Silvia Urbina, Victor Jara, Ewan MacColl
Websitehttp://rolandoalarcon.cl/

Early life and career

Born on August 5, 1929, he grew up in Sewell, Chile, where he lived together with his parents, Atilio Alarcón de la Fuente and Zunilda Soto Riquelme, and his three brothers. At the age of ten he moved to Chillán in order to study, and it was also here he became a teacher. He moved to Santiago in 1950 where he became interested in folk music, and where he in 1951 started specializing, as a teacher, in music.[2][3]

In Santiago he also became a founding member of first the folk music choir Coro Pablo Vidales, and later an integral part and director of the more successful Cuncumén, which also toured Europe two times in 1957 and 1961, until 1963 when he left the group. He then formed a duo together with Silvia Urbina for a short while, with whom he also recorded a couple of songs in Russian, but in 1965 he started his career as a soloist.[2][3][4]

Alarcón was gay, and he kept it in secret due to the hostility lived in that period against homosexuals. His experiences with living with homosexuality were revealed in the book Raro: A gay history in Chile (2011), by Oscar Contardo.

He died during an operation on February 4, 1973, only 43 years old.[1]

Discography

One of his more famous songs was "No pasaran" from Canciones de la Guerra Civil Española (1968).

Original

Posthumous
  • 1980 – Rolando Alarcón
  • 1983 – Rolando Alarcón y sus amigos
  • 1985 – El alma de mi pueblo
  • 1998 – Todo Rolando Alarcón
  • 1998 – Rolando Alarcón y sus canciones
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References
  1. Rolando Alarcón: La muerte
  2. Rolando Alarcón: Biografía
  3. Rolando Alarcón: El profesor
  4. Rolando Alarcón: El compositor
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