Carlos Vives receives Order of Arts and Letters of France

Colombian singer Carlos Vives, known for having internationalized the genre of vallenato, received last Tuesday in Bogotá, the Order of Arts and Letters of France in the rank of Knight in recognition of his talent and his friendship with that European country.

“It’s an embrace of the French people, I understand it that way,” Vives said after receiving the award from the hands of the French ambassador in Colombia, Jean-Marc Lafort.

“We are honored because at the end an individual can represent much of this ‘Colombianness’, it is a recognition of the patriotic sentiments, is an affection that people have towards our music, towards Colombia, towards vallenato,” said the artist.

Carlos Vives, who was born 52 years ago in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta, rose to international fame in the 90s with the vallenato music album “Classics of the Province” (1993), one of whose songs, “La gota fría” became a worldwide hit and catapulted this musical rhythm beyond Colombia’s borders.

Carlos Vives and French ambassador in Colombia, Jean-Marc Lafort.