El Carrao de Palmarito
Quick Facts
Biography
Juan de los Santos Contreras; April 7, 1928 – December 10, 2002), was a Venezuelan llanero singer, better known by his stage name El Carrao de Palmarito. He took his stage name from the limpkin (Spanish: Carrao, Latin: Aramus guarauna), a bird with a piercing call.
His most famous songs include Florentino y el Diablo, Aquella mujer que amé, Furia, Chaparralito llanero, Cajón del Arauca apureño, Llanura yo soy tu hijo, Plegaria llanera, Travesía de San Camilo, Faenas del llano, Dulce María, Mis retoños, El morrocoy de doña Carmen, Caminito de Arichuna, Recorriendo a Barinas, Los martirios del Carrao, El sueño de Julio Verne, Villavicencio. Contreras received many awards, including Venezuela's National Prize of Music in 1998. He died on December 10, 2002 in Barinas.