Valentin Elizalde was born in the municipality of Etchojoa Jitonhueca, Sonora.  He was exposed to music from a very young age, having had a father who was a musician. His father was Lalo Elizalde (his nickname was El Gallo, meaning The Rooster), and died in a tragic car accident,

Valentin Elizalde

From an early age he realized his love of singing, recognizing the legacy left by his father who always sang with him, and after his father's death he was more concerned with his musical style,  authentic and original.

The Beginning

Valentin Elizalde was born in the municipality of Etchojoa Jitonhueca, Sonora.  He was exposed to music from a very young age, having had a father who was a musician. His father was Lalo Elizalde (his nickname was El Gallo, meaning The Rooster), and died in a tragic car accident, and was awarded Grammy Awards posthumously.  

Elizalde was a Mexican banda musician.  Banda is a brass-based genre of music, very popular in Mexico and Latin America.  The genre encompasses traditional ballads and rancheras, as well as more modern pop and rock music.  Elizalde released his first album, Mas Alla Del Mar,  in 1998.  He was known for his known for singing a variety of songs, including narcocorridos, or drug songs.  Lyrics of these songs would tell true stories of illegal drug cartels and their activities.  

A Budding Career

Nine more albums between 1998 and 2005 helped build for him a solid fan base of loyal listeners.  His albums were very popular among Mexican, Latin American, and Southwest United States fans.  He toured these areas frequently, bringing in huge crowds.  His music was available through his website and at various music sites, where listeners could listen to his music and watch his videos via streaming.  Fans used these sites to download mp3 versions of his songs.

In 2006, Valentin Elizalde was gunned down in an ambush in the city of Reynosa.  Public opinion has been that his narcocorridos may have been the reason for the attack, and that a mercenary group, hired by the drug cartel Los Zetos, about whom Elizalde had written ballads, was behind the murder.  

Living on in His Fans

Five albums were released posthumously, the first of which was Vencedor, which was released in 2006, soon after his death.  The album became his first #1 recording on the Billboard Latin charts.  It was released as a standard CD and as a CD/DVD combination.  His digital sales spiked as well, as fans reacted to his loss by requesting downloads of his tracks.  

Today, three years after his death, fans continue to visit and post to his website regarding their love for him and his music.  Contemporaries of Elizalde's have recorded and posted tracks and videos in his memory.  A two-volume movie has been produced in his memory, that was released on DVD in limited numbers.

Did you know . . .

1. Valentin Elizalde was featured on the soundtrack of the Mexican film, Al Otro Lado.  The track featured was titled Sobre la Tumba de Mi Padre.

2. According to Mexican police who investigated his murder, over seventy spent bullets were found at the site were Elizalde was murdered.

3. Elizalde's first professional appearance was in June of 1997, at the San Juan Festival, in the village of New Bancame.

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