Rafael Escalona - Youth, The High School Dropout

Youth, The High School Dropout

He moved to Valledupar to attend high school at The Loperena National High School were he composed his first song at the age of fifteen in 1943 called "El profe Castañeda". He wrote the song in honor and sadness of his favourite teacher being transferred to a school in Riohacha, his natural reaction was to dedicate a song to "el viejo Pedro" as he called him, since he grew up listening to local troubadours. His classmates, who were also saddened over the teacher's departure, embraced his song. From then on, he saw himself doing something that he was good at, and started writing songs whenever a situation merged; started composing about his love experiences, about the people that interacted with him or were known in the region and these people's stories of happenings, basically compilations of his everyday experiences and thoughts. In 1945, feeling bored and short of motivation for school, Escalona was transferred to a school in Barranquilla for a short period and then to the Celedon Lyceum High School in Santa Marta, where he composed "El Hambre del Liceo" (the lyceum Hunger), complaining about the poor food quality that the school offered. Tired of school he dropped out and went back to Valledupar.