What happened to Darío Gómez? Tributes pour in as legendary Colombian singer dies aged 71

Singer Darío Gómez recently passed away on July 26 at the age of 71. The news was revealed by the Clinica Las Americas. Colombia’s Ministry of Culture paid tribute to him and wrote,

“We mourn the passing of Darío Gómez, the ‘Rey Del Despecho’. Renowned Colombian singer and composer of popular music. We will forever remember his interpretations and lyrics that have accompanied Colombians generation after generation.”

Colombian President Iván Duque lamented the death of the singer-songwriter whom he said was "one of the greatest exponents of Colombian popular music" while expressing "solidarity to his family and friends, and we send them our fraternal embrace."

Detailed information on his funeral is not yet available.

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Darío Gómez’s cause of death explored

Darío Gómez fell unconscious at his home and was brought to the Clinica Las Americas. However, he did not show any vital signs.

The doctors used cardiopulmonary resuscitation to save him but he eventually gave up at one point. A statement issued by the clinic states,

“The patient was admitted without vital signs and was taken to the resuscitation room where advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers were performed without success.”

Further details are still awaited and it remains unknown if Gómez was suffering from any other health issues in the past.

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Everything known about Darío Gómez

Darío de Jesús Gómez Zapata was born on February 6, 1951, in the town of San Jerónimo. He sold more than six million albums in his country and abroad, and gained recognition for performing Nadie es eterno (Nobody is eternal) and earning the title of El Rey del Despecho (The king of spite). He composed several songs like La Oveja Negra (The black sheep), El Hijo del Amor (The son of love), Corazon Resentido (Resentful heart) and more.

Gómez started writing verses when he was 14 and worked as a mechanic and farmer. He later joined the record label Codiscos and announced his musical production. He became the artistic director of the company in 1977.

Gómez was a famous singer and composer (Image via florezjuan_/Twitter)

The themes of December, the picaresque tone, vallenatos, and dance were the main highlights of his notes. He joined his brother Heriberto Gómez in the group, Los LegenDaríos. His first hit was Angel perdido (Lost angel), inspired by the demise of his sister, Rosangela.

Gómez made his debut as a soloist in 1985 and gained recognition for performing Decidelo (Decide it). He then released a full-length named Asi se le canta al despecho (So it is sung to spite). His next release was a video of me voy a casar (I'm going to marry) in May 2015 followed by a remix of No Hay Razon Para Odiarte (There's no reason to hate you) in collaboration with Yelsid and Andy Rivera.

He received several accolades throughout his career, including the Ascap prize for composing Nobody is eternal and the Golden Pentagram. He entered the world of television in 2007 and was featured in a campaign for Telefonica Telecom Colombia in 2009.

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Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Darío Gómez became a familiar name in the Colombian music industry and beyond as a composer of various songs. Twitter was flooded with tributes when news of the singer’s death was announced.

Colombian popular music singer Jhonny Rivera, with whom Gomez collaborated for the video of me voy a casar, tweeted that that he sadly received the news of the death of "our King of Spite #DarioGomez, a benchmark for popular music, a great friend and a source of inspiration in my career, peace In his grave, his legacy will remain forever."

Gómez is survived by granddaughter Daniela and other family members.