Francisco Cristancho Camargo

Francisco Cristancho Camargo (born September 27, 1905 in Iza , † February 9, 1977 in Bogotá ) was a Colombian composer, arranger, trombonist, guitarist and orchestra leader.

The son of Coronel Belisario Cristancho attended school in Tunja and then the Collegio Boyacá . During this time he and his classmate founded a tiple, guitar and bandola and was the drummer in the Banda de Música del Departamento . During his military service he played Bombardin in the band of his battalion.

From 1922 he studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Bogotá, majoring in trombone, and he also joined the Estudiantina Pedro Morales Pinos . In 1924 he became first trombonist of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Conservatorio , shortly afterwards first trombone soloist and first solo baritone of the Banda Sinfónica de la Policía . At the same time, at the suggestion of Morales Pino, his first compositions were written.

In 1929 he was sent to the world exhibition in Barcelona together with Emilio Murillo and Alejandro Wills as representative of Colombia . He decided to stay in Europe and in the following years performed with the orchestras Harry Flemings , Andrés Moltós , Marek Webers and others in the most important cabarets on the continent such as Casablanca , Maipú , Gong , Lido and Alcázar .

Eventually he settled in San Sebastian. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, he joined the ranks of the Republicans and was particularly involved in saving women, children and the elderly to France. In 1937 he returned to Colombia. There he founded the Orquesta Universal and shortly afterwards the Orquesta Sudamérica , from whose merger the Orquesta Ritmo emerged. With this he performed successfully in the dance halls of the Hotels Granada and Ambassador in Bogotá. In 1939 he founded the Orquesta Francisco Cristancho and joined the Banda Nacional as solo baritone and euphonium player .

In 1940 Cristiancho married the actress Sofía Hernández , and the following year his son Francisco was born, who, like his brother Mauricio, who was born in 1946, later embarked on a musical career. Cristiancho himself became conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Colombia in 1946 and artistic director of the radio station La Voz de Colombia .

Between 1950 and 1961, Cristiancho and his family went on an extensive tour of Venezuela, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. On this tour he led numerous municipal bands and the Banda de la Marina of Rio de Janeira and performed as a guitar duo with the Brazilian Mussapere .

After returning to Colombia, he helped found the copyright organization Sayco and the Sindicato Nacional de Músicos . The departmental government of Boyacá appointed him in 1961 to head the La Banda Departamental based in Tunja. After a first stroke in 1968 he had to retire as a performing musician, but remained active as a composer.

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personal data
SURNAME	Cristancho Camargo, Francisco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Colombian composer, arranger, trumpeter, guitarist and orchestra leader
DATE OF BIRTH	September 27, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH	Iza (Colombia)
DATE OF DEATH	February 9, 1977
Place of death	Bogotá