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Artist
Oswin Chin Behilia
12+ albums
curacaofolkAllacousticcaribbean
about
Oswin Chin Behilia belongs to that select group of singer/songwriters whose music combines memorable tunes with lyrics that reflect both social and personal concerns. Mention his name to a fellow native of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles and his face lights up with fond recognition. Both young and old consider his song Plegaria, for instance, as the folk alternative to the national anthem, while Sunú is universally regarded as one of the classic love songs in Papiamento, the creole language spoken on the islands of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela. Born on 15 December 1938, this man of many talents has led an eventful life both in and out of the world of music and was he knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands for contributions in several fields to his native island as musician, broadcaster, politician, impresario and mentor to young talent. He gave his knighthood back to the Queen at the end of 2009 in protest to the current political developments highlighted in his latest CD Liber. Oswin Chin Behilia's first band Los Tiarucos was founded in 1963. Los Tiarucos performed in the sixties and seventies at hotel and festival engagements at home and in St. Martin, Miami, New York, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Brazil, the musical influences of which can be discerned in his compositions. Oswin Chin Behilia's songs have been covered by a host of his native island's finest musicians, some of whom include the rising young star Izaline Calis
