Emiliano Zuleta

Emiliano Zuleta Baquero was a Colombian vallenato composer, accordion player and singer, popularly known as El viejo Mile (The Old Mile). In 1938, he published his masterpiece La gota fría, a song that emerged from a musical controversy with Lorenzo Morales and that years later Carlos Vives and Julio Iglesias would interpret, turning the song into an international hit.

Zuleta was born on January 11, 1912, in La Jagua del Pilar, a small town of la Guajira. He died on October 30, 2005, in Valledupar (Cesar) from respiratory problems at age 93.