Consuelo Araujo Noguera
Encyclopedia
Consuelo Araújo Noguera, also known as "La Cacica", was a Colombia
n politician, writer and self-taught journalist
, born August 1, 1940 in the city of Valledupar
. Her nickname was given by a fellow journalist colleague for her tenacity and determination to achieve goals and leadership.
Her most notorious achievement was the creation of one of the most important cultural and musical events of Colombia; The Vallenato Legend Festival
which promoted her beloved Vallenato
music.
She was kidnapped by the FARC September 24, 2001 in the outskirts of Valledupar
and was later killed in a crossfire when the Colombian Army
attempted a rescue on September 29, 2001, she was found dead the next day.
around Valledupar, who's firm character largely influenced his daughter.
Her first letters were learned in a government public nursery school and for Middle School she attended the Escuela Tercera para Niñas, she was then transferred to the Colegio Nariño Middle School and later to the Nuestra Señora del Carmen. She attended High School at the Colegio de la Sagrada Familia.
At age fifteen, she dropped out of high school and started to work as a bankteller to help support three of her older brothers pay for school. During this time she also spent her spare time reading and self-educating.
, also writing a column called La Carta Vallenata (The Vallenata letter), published for 22 years in the same newspaper. She also collaborated with RCN Radio
and RCN TV
networks, and El Heraldo, a Barranquilla
newspaper between 1988 and 1989. Between 1984 and 1985 she worked as a reporter in Valledupar for the Noticiero del Medio Día, a national news show. She also and predominantly worked as a radiohost for her own show La Cacica Contesta in Radio Guatapuri, a radio station in Valledupar owned by her family.
Always defending the unprotected and poor, she was a harsh critic of local governments' and politician's abuses of power and advocated for women empowerment, but most of all she was devoted to the local customs and culture of Valledupar
. This devotion for people pushed her to ran for the governorship of the Department of Cesar
but lost; she later became Minister of Culture for the Colombian government during Conservative
president Andrés Pastrana's term.
president of Colombia
and then acting first governor of the Cesar Department
; Alfonso López Michelsen
and Vallenato
composer Rafael Escalona
, she founded the Vallenato Legend Festival
; a festival whose primary purpose was to celebrate a religious legend about a miracle by Virgin Mary during the colonial times over a fight between Spanish settlers and Indians, but the people focused more on the music and ended up taking over the other events. Based on this the main purpose of the festival changed to show and exalt the local customs and culture; including dances, music, arts and crafts, and the whole diversity of people from the region.
and was later killed. Her body was found with two shots in the head and with gunpowder
burns, which indicated that the shots were probably fired at a very short distance by her kidnappers. Her family, the Colombian government, and the OAS
condemned the FARC as the party responsible for the murder. The FARC blamed the Army for provoking the situation that led to her death.
, María Mercedes, Rodolfo Augusto, Ricardo Mario and Andrés Alfredo. She later divorced and married Edgardo Maya
, Colombia's Inspector General of Colombia
as for 2007, with whom she had the last of her children, named Edgardo José, born in 1980. She is aunt to politicians Álvaro Araújo
, former Senator of Colombia, and María Consuelo Araújo
, former Minister of Culture (2002–2006) and former Foreign Relations Minister (2006–2007).http://www.festivalvallenato.com/html/el_festival/el_festival_origen_consuelo.htm
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n politician, writer and self-taught journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, born August 1, 1940 in the city of Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
. Her nickname was given by a fellow journalist colleague for her tenacity and determination to achieve goals and leadership.
Her most notorious achievement was the creation of one of the most important cultural and musical events of Colombia; The Vallenato Legend Festival
Vallenato Legend Festival
The Vallenato Legend Festival is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The Festival features a vallenato music contests for best interpreter of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca, as well as piqueria and best song...
which promoted her beloved Vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
music.
She was kidnapped by the FARC September 24, 2001 in the outskirts of Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
and was later killed in a crossfire when the Colombian Army
Colombian Army
The National Army of Colombia is the land military force of the government of Colombia and the largest service of the Colombian Armed Forces...
attempted a rescue on September 29, 2001, she was found dead the next day.
Early years
She was the youngest of nine siblings. Her father Santander Araújo, was a very respected politician, militant and regional leader of the Liberal PartyColombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...
around Valledupar, who's firm character largely influenced his daughter.
Her first letters were learned in a government public nursery school and for Middle School she attended the Escuela Tercera para Niñas, she was then transferred to the Colegio Nariño Middle School and later to the Nuestra Señora del Carmen. She attended High School at the Colegio de la Sagrada Familia.
At age fifteen, she dropped out of high school and started to work as a bankteller to help support three of her older brothers pay for school. During this time she also spent her spare time reading and self-educating.
Journalist, writer and politician
Largely self-educated, she was committed to become a freelance journalist and writer. She started as a writer for a national newspaper El EspectadorEl Espectador
El Espectador is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá...
, also writing a column called La Carta Vallenata (The Vallenata letter), published for 22 years in the same newspaper. She also collaborated with RCN Radio
RCN Radio
RCN Radio is one of the main radio networks in Colombia. Founded in 1949 with the integration of Radio Pacífico , La Voz de Medellín' and Emisora Nueva Granada ....
and RCN TV
RCN TV
RCN Televisión , is a Colombian private television network. It started as a production company in 1967...
networks, and El Heraldo, a Barranquilla
Barranquilla
Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...
newspaper between 1988 and 1989. Between 1984 and 1985 she worked as a reporter in Valledupar for the Noticiero del Medio Día, a national news show. She also and predominantly worked as a radiohost for her own show La Cacica Contesta in Radio Guatapuri, a radio station in Valledupar owned by her family.
Always defending the unprotected and poor, she was a harsh critic of local governments' and politician's abuses of power and advocated for women empowerment, but most of all she was devoted to the local customs and culture of Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
. This devotion for people pushed her to ran for the governorship of the Department of Cesar
Cesar Department
Cesar Department or simply Cesar is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Department of Bolivar, to the south with Department of Santander, to...
but lost; she later became Minister of Culture for the Colombian government during Conservative
Colombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
president Andrés Pastrana's term.
The Vallenato Legend Festival
In 1968, with the help of former LiberalColombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...
president of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and then acting first governor of the Cesar Department
Cesar Department
Cesar Department or simply Cesar is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Department of Bolivar, to the south with Department of Santander, to...
; Alfonso López Michelsen
Alfonso López Michelsen
Alfonso López Michelsen was a Colombian politician, lawyer and journalist. Lopez Michelsen was President of Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was the son of Alfonso López Pumarejo, who was also president of Colombia from 1934 to 1938, and once again from 1942 to 1945...
and Vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
composer Rafael Escalona
Rafael Escalona
Rafael Calixto Escalona Martinez was a Colombian composer and troubadour. He was known for being one of the most prominent vallenato music composers and troubadours of the genre and for being the co-founder of the Vallenato Legend Festival, along with Consuelo Araújo and Alfonso López Michelsen.He...
, she founded the Vallenato Legend Festival
Vallenato Legend Festival
The Vallenato Legend Festival is one of the most important musical festivals in Colombia. The Festival features a vallenato music contests for best interpreter of accordion, caja vallenata and guacharaca, as well as piqueria and best song...
; a festival whose primary purpose was to celebrate a religious legend about a miracle by Virgin Mary during the colonial times over a fight between Spanish settlers and Indians, but the people focused more on the music and ended up taking over the other events. Based on this the main purpose of the festival changed to show and exalt the local customs and culture; including dances, music, arts and crafts, and the whole diversity of people from the region.
Death
She was kidnapped by the FARC in the outskirts of ValleduparValledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
and was later killed. Her body was found with two shots in the head and with gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
burns, which indicated that the shots were probably fired at a very short distance by her kidnappers. Her family, the Colombian government, and the OAS
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
condemned the FARC as the party responsible for the murder. The FARC blamed the Army for provoking the situation that led to her death.
Family
Consuelo Araújo was first married to Hernando Molina Céspedes and had five children, Hernando CésarHernando Molina Araújo
Hernando César Molina Araújo is a Colombian politician. Son of Hernando Molina Céspedes and Consuelo Araújo, he studied at the Colegio Nacional Loperena in Valledupar and later studied Law in the Antonio Nariño University, but dropped out. He declares himself a self-taught man...
, María Mercedes, Rodolfo Augusto, Ricardo Mario and Andrés Alfredo. She later divorced and married Edgardo Maya
Edgardo Maya Villazón
Edgardo José Maya Villazón is a Colombian lawyer, and former Inspector General of Colombia.-Early years:Edgardo Maya studied in the Gimnasio Moderno high school in Bogotá...
, Colombia's Inspector General of Colombia
Inspector General of Colombia
The Office of the Inspector General of Colombia is a Colombian independent, public institution overseeing the public conduct of those in authority or in charge of exercising a public office, and of overseeing the correct functioning of other government institutions and agencies...
as for 2007, with whom she had the last of her children, named Edgardo José, born in 1980. She is aunt to politicians Álvaro Araújo
Álvaro Araújo Castro
Álvaro Araújo Castro is a Colombian economist and former actor and Senator of Colombia. A Liberal politician, and leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia political movement, he was arrested and jailed in 2007 for participating in parapolitics...
, former Senator of Colombia, and María Consuelo Araújo
Maria Consuelo Araujo
María Consuelo Araújo Castro is a Colombian politician. In 2006 she was appointed Minister of Foreign Relations of the government of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez...
, former Minister of Culture (2002–2006) and former Foreign Relations Minister (2006–2007).http://www.festivalvallenato.com/html/el_festival/el_festival_origen_consuelo.htm
Books
- "Vallenatologia, origenes y fundamentos de la musica Vallenata", Bogota, Ediciones Tercer Mundo (1973)
- "Escalona, El hombre y el mito", Bogota, Planeta Editorial (1998)
- "Lixicon del Valle de Upar, voces, modismos, giros, interjecciones, locuciones, dichos, refranes y coplas del habla popular vallenata", Bogota, Instituto Caro y CuervoInstituto Caro y CuervoThe Instituto Caro y Cuervo is an educative center specialized in Spanish literature, philology and linguistics, oriented to research and promotion of the reading habits in Colombia. This institute produces editions of Colombian authors and politics of preservation of the bibliographic national...
(1994) - "Trilogia Vallenata, Homenaje a Consuelo Araujonoguera", Bogota, Editorial Bailonia (2002) (Compilation of Consuelo Araujonoguera's three books) ISBN 958-33-3360-3
Short Stories
- "Yo sabía" (1976), short story - Winner, "Cote Lemus" Story Contest, in CúcutaCúcutaCúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...
.