Pianist Valentín Trujillo, winner of the 2024 Chilean National Prize for Musical Arts

Chilean pianist Valentín Trujillo (91 years old, Santiago) was recognized this Thursday with the 2024 Chilean National Prize for Musical Arts, the highest award given by the Chilean Government to an artist in the South American country. The musician, who has an extensive career spanning more than 70 years, is recognized for his participation as director of the orchestra of the television program Giant Saturdayhosted by Chilean presenter Mario Kreutzberger, Don Francisco, which took place in Chile and Miami, in the United States, between 1962 and 2015. The election was celebrated by President Gabriel Boric, who in a message on his X account (formerly Twitter) said that it is a “well-deserved” recognition.

The award was announced today by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, the department in charge of organizing it. Trujillo’s choice was preceded by an intense campaign by Chilean musicians. Support for the nomination also came from the public, who knew him as one of the members of the children’s television program Ping Pongbroadcast in the early 1970s, where he worked alongside actor Jorge Guerra (1942-2009). He is also remembered for his participation in another children’s program, The world of Professor Rossawhere he received the nickname Uncle Valentine.

His musical career began in 1943, when he was barely 10 years old. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Santiago, although he learned to play the piano on his own. In his early days he participated in talent contests on various Chilean radio stations, where he stood out for his talent. Later he dedicated himself fully to working in orchestras, where he earned his reputation for his versatility, venturing into genres such as jazz, waltz, folklore, classical music, rock and pop. His talent caught the attention of the nascent television industry, which called him to participate in multiple programs. Since 1962 he worked with Don Francisco in Giant Saturday and continued when the venue moved to the United States in 1986. From Miami, the pianist went international and played alongside stars such as the Mexican Manuel Mijares and the Venezuelan Ricardo Montaner. He was also an active participant in the Viña del Mar Festival, the most important musical event in South America, which in 2010 honored him with the presentation of a silver torch, a gold torch and a silver seagull, the awards that the public of the Quinta Vergara traditionally gives to their favorite artists.

As a man of the left — he has been a member of the Chilean Communist Party since 2017 — Valentín Trujillo suffered the rigors of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). He suffered with the cancellation of the program Ping Pong In 1974, with the exile of his partner, Jorge Guerra, he watched in panic as some of his colleagues, such as the singer-songwriter Víctor Jara (1932-1973), were murdered at the hands of the regime. “When I received the news of Víctor Jara’s death, I realized that the hand was very strong and I went to some friends who hid me for several days,” Trujillo said in an interview with the newspaper. The ThirdThe pianist’s political commitment was manifested in different ways. In 1971, during the administration of socialist president Salvador Allende, he served as musical director of the Tren Popular de la Cultura, an initiative of the Popular Unity Government (UP) that sought to bring art throughout the national territory. In recent years, he has participated in other political events, including the closing of the Constitutional Convention, the left-wing majority assembly that drafted the proposal for a new Constitution that was rejected in the plebiscite of September 4, 2022.

The National Prize for Musical Arts has been awarded in Chile since 1992, when the former National Prize for Art was reorganized. Some of the winners have been the folklorist Margot Loyola (1994); the orchestra conductor Juan Pablo Izquierdo (2012) and the pianist Vicente Bianchi (2016). The winner receives a diploma and a life pension provided by the State.