- The group has gone through several musical styles, from tropical music to technomerengue.
The Los Melódicos orchestra is still active, with a schedule of performances in both Venezuela and Colombia, which has earned it the title of “the orchestra that sets the pace in Venezuela” since its founding 66 years ago, on July 15, 1958.
At that time, Renato Capriles, founder of Los Melódicos, told maestro Billo Frómeta that he had always dreamed of being an orchestra conductor despite not having studied music. Renato Capriles Ayala was the brother of the founder and owner of Cadena Capriles, Miguel Ángel Capriles Ayala. He always confessed to being a faithful admirer of Billo’s Caracas Boys, to the point of considering himself a regular “gatecrasher” at the group’s performances.
“It was a dream I always had as a boy to have a dance group. I went to all the dances of a very famous orchestra called Billo’s Caracas Boys, Luis Alfonzo Larrain and Los Peniques. I was what you might call an ‘orchestra mouse’ because I was always standing in front (of the stages), watching them,” Capriles said in an interview with Verónica Castro in 1992.
In 1958, Billo Frómeta was sanctioned by the Musical Association of the Capital District and the state of Miranda for “contempt” because he wanted to use the services of a Dominican saxophonist named Sócrates de León without registering with the union. Due to this “lifelong” sanction, the Dominican musician might not have any group to work with in Venezuela, and it was at that moment that Renato Capriles proposed that he become the arranger of his nascent orchestra.
Billo agreed and that is how the Los Melódicos orchestra appeared on the music market. Their first production was called Grace and rhythmwhich was released on the Sonus label, owned by Johnny Quirós, whose real name was Juan Camacho. On this first album he shared credits with Pacho Galán’s orchestra. At least three of the songs included on this first full-length album were written by Billo Frómeta: “¿Por qué será?”, “Mensaje a Juan Vicente”, and “Mi novia de Naiguatá”.
His first productions
Its first singers were Germán Vergara and Víctor Piñero, better known as the king of merecumbé. Following the release of the first long play (LP), Los Melódicos began to become known among the capital’s public, as their songs began to be played on the radio.
Throughout the sixties, the orchestra had several singers under the baton of Renato Capriles, such as Manolo Monterrey, Niro Keller, Rafa Pérez, Emilia “Emilita” Dago, Rafa Galindo, Lee Palmer, Oscar Santana, Mary Ann, Cherry Navarro, Willy Quintero and Teresita Martí.
Emilio Cartagena, Stelio Bosch Cabrujas and Héctor Poleo were the first arrangers that Renato Capriles hired. Bosch was an experienced player of the piano and the tres, and he also stood out as a composer. Thanks to his direction, Los Melódicos became established with a sound that was well received by the public.
One of the most outstanding vocal formations was the one formed by Verónica Rey, Perucho Navarro and Víctor Piñero, who made famous songs such as “El merecumbé”, “Toma y toma”, “Cangrejito playero”, “La finca”, “María morena”, “La rigola”, and others.
From 1970 onwards, a period began in which Colombian music became the reference framework for many Venezuelan orchestras. Los Melódicos was no exception, and under the direction of pianist Óscar García, Renato Capriles’ orchestra became one of the favourites of the Colombian public.
An event that marked Renato Capriles as a director was the sudden death of his singer Víctor Piñero, in the middle of a performance at the Hotel Tamanaco in Caracas. On January 5, 1975, the vocalist died of a myocardial infarction. He had been taken to a clinic, but arrived without vital signs.
The change of sound of Los Melódicos
In 1986, Los Melódicos changed their sound completely and ventured into what became known as technomerengue. Since then, they have popularized songs with the voices of Roberto Antonio, Hidemaro, Miguel Moly, Luz Freitez and Diveana.
Songs such as “Papachongo”, “Ay, amor”, “Mi cocha pechocha”, “Qué rico”, “Diávolo”, “Fernanda triple seis” and others remain in the orchestra’s repertoire due to their enormous success.
On July 8, 2014, Renato Capriles died of respiratory complications when he was 82 years old. Los Melódicos is currently led by one of Renato Capriles’ daughters, Iliana, who has been at the head of the group for 13 years. Recently, they released a song alluding to the baseball team Tiburones de La Guaira, whose title is “Tiburones, los internacionales” (Sharks, the champions), following that club won the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP) in the 2023-2024 season, and the 2024 Caribbean Series.
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2024-07-16 08:41:10