Maracaibo

A gaita for Zulia

The composer and singer Ricardo Aguirre was born in Santa Lucía, a parish of Maracaibo. A teacher as well as a musician, he sang with groups including Cardenales del Éxito and later Saladillo. His songs could name a neighbourhood or address the problems of the wider state of Zulia.

In 1968, Aguirre recorded “La Grey Zuliana” with Saladillo. The song addresses the Virgin of Chiquinquirá, Zulia’s patron, and asks her to intervene if the government fails to help the people. Devotion and protest share the same gaita.

Aguirre later returned to Cardenales del Éxito. He died in 1969, at the age of 30; Venezuela’s Día del Gaitero is observed on the anniversary of his death.