Simón Díaz

Biography

Simón Narciso Díaz Márquez (August 8, 1928 – February 19, 2014), also known as tío Simón, was a Venezuelan singer, actor, TV host, comedian, and Grammy Award-winning composer of Venezuelan music. Some of his most popular songs include Caballo viejo, Tonada de luna llena and La vaca Mariposa.

Díaz endeavored to recover the folklore and musical traditions of the Venezuelan llanos (plains). This style of music has since been performed by artists such as Argentina's Mercedes Sosa, Brazil's Caetano Veloso, Spain's Joan Manuel Serrat, Peru's Susana Baca, Puerto Rico's Danny Rivera, and Venezuelans Franco De Vita, Soledad Bravo, Juan Carlos Salazar, Carlos Baute and José Luis Rodríguez, among othe...