To the rhythm of Carranga

With love in every tune, with the inspiration that the countryside and its people give, Carranga became the tool of Juan Fernando Pulido, a Music student at UCundinamarca, to communicate to the world the power of Colombian music.

With his group Pulido Son Juan Fernando dreams of taking carranguera music to different parts of the world and infecting adults and children with the joy of the rhythm, the feeling in each lyric and the talent of the final semester student who vibrates with each melody.

It was years of learning and struggles until he decided to study at the University and says that the experience has made him stronger and grow as a professional, as a person and now he makes music with a training that allows him to channel the love and passion he has always felt for musical notes.

Juan Fernando founded Pulido Son in 2011, and together with his two brothers and a close friend, they sing about the countryside and the people they admire, offer social commentary, and celebrate folklore. However, his musical journey began at the age of 13 under the tutelage of Chirivico – Darío Vargas, a comedian from the show Sábados Felices.

He then joined the Youth Band of the Municipality of Nuevo Colón – Boyacá, his hometown, as a tuba player. Years later, he moved to Tocancipá where he continued his musical studies and tuba studies at a professional level. In 2009, he traveled with them to Alicante, Spain. In 2011, he returned to Carranga music and furthered his studies by playing the requinto guitar. Months later, he formed his own musical group.

“I had the empirical knowledge and the taste for music, but in 2014 I entered the University to acquire more skills to teach children and young people,” said the Carranga performer.

Juan Fernando believes that despite his age he has learned a lot at the academy and that entering UCundinamarca was a very wise decision that will open many doors for him in the future as a professional musician.

Music festivals, youth bands, rehearsals, a lot of support from his family, and the academic training and values of the teachers at UCundinamarca have been the steps that Juan Fernando has used to achieve his dreams.

Music at the U

At 35, Juan Fernando Pulido is just months away from becoming a professional, a Master of Music from the University of Cundinamarca, a field recognized for its transformative and transformative impact on various aspects of the music scene. Thanks to his training, he will be able to continue his creative and research-based work, which will further his development as a musician.

“Now I have the skills to contribute to new generations and be an influence on musical processes at a national and international level, because the idea is that we are heard everywhere and that our music transmits the values and ethics that a graduate of UCundinamarca has,” said the musician.

Juan Fernando belongs to the peasant music group of UCundinamarca, where, along with other colleagues, he already has two of the teachers he admires most, Camilo Cifuentes and José Fernando Villaveces. "This group gives a very exciting meaning to the music because not only carranguera music has a leading role, but other genres such as Andean music," he explained.

Carranga

“I liked Carranga because it’s the music you hear in the countryside. I listened to it since I was a child and I became a worthy interpreter of it,” explained the UCundinamarca student.

In Colombia, Carranga music celebrates rural culture, uniting farmers from Cundinamarca, Santander, and Boyacá. It holds the status of folklore, being traditional and part of ancestral culture, and fostering a sense of belonging and pride in rural roots.

Caring for nature, working the land, and other traditions are characteristic of the lyrics of carranga music. Today, new generations are taught to take pride in the traditions and culture surrounding this music.

“Today there are some worthy exponents of Carranga; it has gone from traditional to modern, and that is what I consider an evolution of this folk genre,” Pulido concluded.

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