Chacalon

Lorenzo Palacios Quispe (April 26, 1950 in Lima, Peru – June 24, 1994) was a Peruvian singer and musician. He arose under the artist name Chacalón (Big Jackal). He was called by his fans El Faraón de la Chicha ("The Pharaoh of La Chicha-("Peruvian Cumbia"). Chacalón was born in one of the young towns (Barriadas) of Lima, on the mountains the San Cosme in the district of La Victoria under very poor conditions. His father Lorenzo Huaypacusi Palacios, which whom Palacios never became acquainted, was a dancer. His mother Olimpia Quispe was a singer. He was raised by her mother and his stepfather Silverio Escalante since he was two years-old. He had fourteen half-brothers and sisters. Chacalón living under extreme poverty and surrounded by the alcoholism of his mother became a thief with the noble aim to support his family. Also at that time he and his brother sang on the streets of Lima. It is not clear as why he earned the name "Chacalon". It is said that his younger brother was known as Chacalito (little Jackal); and therefore, him being older, became Chacalon (Big Jackal) His first appearances were in 1965. And with the aim to improve his family's economic situation, he also worked as the assistant of a shoemaker. In 1968, his wife Dora gave birth to their first child, a baby-girl who received the name Esther. Chacalón and his wife would be married four years after this birth. Chacalón reached and enjoyed the largest successes of his artistic career with his band La Nueva Crema (The New Cream). Some of his most well-known titles were: * Soy provinciano (I am from the Provinces) * Viento (Wind) * Mi dolor (My pain) * Ven mi amor (Come my Love) * Cruz marcada (Marked cross) * Por ella la botella (For her the bottle) * Triste y abandonado (Sad and abandoned)