Born: 24 March 1954 · Died: 11 June 1992 · Age at death: 38
How old was Rafael Orozco Maestre when he died?
Rafael Orozco Maestre died aged 38. He was born on 24 March 1954 and died on 11 June 1992.
leading Binomio de Oro de América, the vallenato group that dominated Colombian folk music across Latin America with chart-topping albums and numerous awards
Quick facts
Date of birth24 March 1954
Date of death11 June 1992
Age at death38
NationalityColombian
BirthplaceBecerril, Colombia
Editor's Take:
Orozco represented vallenato's commercial breakthrough beyond regional Colombia into Mexico and Venezuela. His partnership with Israel Romero proved remarkably productive, yielding twenty albums across fifteen years. The group's consistent success—three carnival prizes, eighteen precious-metal certifications—marked vallenato's arrival as a pan-Latin phenomenon. His murder during his daughter's quinceañera, allegedly ordered by cartel figures, became Colombian music's most notorious tragedy. Caracol TV's 2014 telenovela testified to his enduring cultural resonance. His trajectory from water-seller to continental star embodied vallenato's own journey from folk tradition to mass entertainment.
Key Milestones
1976: Co-founded Binomio de Oro de América with Israel Romero
1977: Released first album with the newly formed group
1991: Wrote Solo Para Ti as tribute to his wife
1992: Assassinated outside his Barranquilla home aged 38
Rafael José Orozco Maestre (March 24, 1954 – June 11, 1992) was a Colombian singer of vallenato music.
