Duo Leon - Rios

Folk group officially formed on February 5, 1955 by David León Libuy and Juan Olivares Ríos in the city of Viña del Mar, although temporarily baptized with the name of Los Tempraneros. David León and his great friend Juan Olivares were born in 1938. David sang the second voice and played the harp, while Juan was the first voice and guitar. They were mainly good friends since childhood, beginning to play together from the age of eleven. Its history stretched into the late '90s. Its members are: Juan Olivares Ríos, first voice and guitar and David León Libuy, harp and second voice The collective album Cuecas de la ramada oficial from 1970, where they participated with other musicians from the Valparaíso region, presents them like this: “David León and Juan Ríos, were born into artistic life in February 1955, under the friendly eaves of Rancho Criollo from Viña del Mar, from where they set off on a tour across the country. In 1958, they had the opportunity to perform in Goyescas, now disappeared, for 45 days. Later they made various tours throughout the country and on two occasions, to Peru and Argentina”. As that record, released by the Phllips label in 1971, says, the ensemble of the two friends from Viña Marta was forged fundamentally live. In 1971 they qualified in the folkloric competition of the XII Viña del Mar Song Festival with the tune “Espigas para un recuerdo”, winning in the category of Best Performer. The same year they participated in the Huaso de Olmué Festival and won the Guinda Festival with “Tonada en la noche”. It was then that they finally recorded their own album, the LP edited by Phillips Dúo León-Ríos. The presentation of the album, written by the director of Radio Porteña Jaime Atenas (father of the Congreso saxophonist) thus describes its history and the delay in registering its songs, according to the transcription of the Cuecas Chilean Recording Songbook site. “The León-Ríos duo was not formed or made for a Song Festival. I met them more than 15 years ago, when they were still wearing shorts, but I also met them with their harp and guitar and their tremendous love for Chilean folklore, I know them well and I know of their many pilgrimages to show their art and only 1971 comes to be a year of effective achievements. Maybe you don't know them, despite their many important performances: Tour with Chile Laughs and Canta, Festival de la Inda, in Olmué, Casino Municipal and especially in a nightclub in Viña del Mar, where they spent more than six years waiting for the hour… and the hour arrived”. In 1972 they qualified again at the Viña Festival with "Pa' no soñarte", and although their musical profession was displaced several times by other activities, they remained active until the '90s. They traveled to unusual destinations, such as Dubai or Toronto, performing before the Chilean colonies, and in 1987 they returned to the Viña del Mar Festival accompanying the singer Tito Manríquez. Juan Olivares passed away in 2011 and David León Libuy passed away on February 18, 2016. His remains rest in the Parque Jardín del Mar Cemetery. Viña del Mar, Chile