Colombian vallenato artist Alejo Portela has turned the streets and subway stations of New York into unexpected stages for Colombian culture with vibrant energy and a relentless spirit. In an interview with Colombia One, the artist spoke about his musical journey, how performing in New York has shaped his career, and his mission to take vallenato beyond borders.
After discovering music at an early age, Portela gradually found his way into the vallenato tradition that would later define his career. Growing up in Bogota, the artist was surrounded by the sounds of the genre at home, an influence that would eventually shape both his musical identity and his decision to pursue the accordion professionally.
“I became interested in music and art when I was still in school,” Portela told Colombia One. “With the help of my father, I got my first instrument, an electric bass, and that’s when I started getting involved in all of this.”
According to the musician, vallenato was a constant presence in his childhood, largely because of his father’s admiration for legendary singer Diomedes Diaz. “My father is a big fan of his, so that music was always playing in the house,” he said. “Many times, the music you listen to while growing up becomes what influences you in the future.”
As he grew older, Portela said he began to better understand the depth of the genre and the legacy of its creators. “I realized that we have incredible minstrels, composers, artists, and musicians who created a genre from nothing,” he said. “They took different elements, mixed them together, and this beautiful music came out that identifies us around the world.”
Alejo Portela takes Colombia’s vallenato from local roots to the New York subway
That realization ultimately led him to the instrument that would define his career. After attending the famous Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata in Valledupar, Portela decided he wanted to dedicate himself to the accordion. “I fell in love with the accordion,” he said. “I kept asking my father to buy me one because it’s an expensive instrument. At first, he thought I would use it two or three times and leave it, but eventually he agreed, and that’s when I truly started my path as an accordion player.”
Portela later created his own musical group in Bogota and began performing at local events while building connections within Colombia’s artistic scene. At the same time, he pursued a degree in advertising as a practical complement to his artistic ambitions. “I studied advertising because I wanted to have an alternative career that could help support my music,” he explained. “In Colombia, it’s difficult to live from art alone, and I knew I needed a backup.”
That search for new opportunities eventually led him abroad. “I decided to emigrate looking for more opportunities and ways to grow my career,” Portela said. He eventually moved to New York City. “In the middle of searching for where I could show my art, I arrived in this city that is magical, a place where art is accepted in a different way — it is seen differently, lived, and truly enjoyed,” he explains.
It was in the city’s subway system where Portela ultimately found a stage for his music. After discovering that artists from different genres regularly performed underground, he began exploring how the system worked and learned that musicians needed a permit to play in the stations.
“I realized that this was the best stage where I could show who I am and share our Colombian music with the world,” he said, referring to the subway network run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
As his performances in New York’s subway system began to gain attention, Portela said the city also gave him opportunities to grow his project. “I’ve been in New York for five years, and in those five years I feel like I’ve advanced what would have taken me 15 years in Colombia,” he noted.
He also noted that the greater purchasing power allowed him to invest in instruments, microphones, and other tools. “People say that dreams come true in this city, and it may sound like a cliché, but in many ways it’s true,” he explained.
From playing for passersby to reaching millions, Portela’s music finds new audiences
Portela explained that performing in the subway helped him gradually connect with new audiences and people in the local music scene. “I arrived here without knowing anyone in the industry — no bars, no restaurants, absolutely no one,” he said. Over time, those performances led to invitations to play in venues across the city.
Many of those early shows focused on bringing traditional vallenato to audiences who had rarely experienced the genre live. “The proposal started with covers and with bringing vallenato to people who maybe hadn’t heard an accordion live in 15 or 16 years,” he explained, noting that live folk music in bars and restaurants is far more common in Colombia.
While covers helped him connect with audiences, Portela said his long-term goal is to perform mostly original music. “All artists start by playing the songs people already know,” he said. “But my dream is that one day my shows will be 100% my own music.”
Beyond the stage, Portela said social media has been essential to expanding his reach and building his career. “Today an artist needs social media — it’s a fundamental tool,” he said, describing online platforms as a kind of résumé where artists showcase their work and connect with audiences beyond live performances.
That online presence has also amplified key moments of his journey. One of his subway performances went viral after a man kicked his microphone and equipment while he was playing — an incident that quickly spread across social media.
Reflecting on both the positive and difficult moments he has experienced performing in public spaces, Portela said those situations ultimately reinforced his belief in the power of music to connect people. “Music is a universal language,” he said, recalling the viral subway incident that unexpectedly brought him support from audiences around the world.
From experience to purpose, a global mission for vallenato music
Despite the negative moment that sparked the video, the musician said the response showed him the power of cultural connection. “I received messages from Africa, from Australia, from India — it was incredible,” he said, adding that the video reached tens of millions of people online and introduced his music to audiences far beyond New York.
Additionally, he shared with Colombia One a recent experience that reinforced his perspective. “I recently saw a group of Asians performing a vallenato song, and I thought, what a crazy thing — how far our culture and our music have reached,” he said.
That moment reinforced what he describes as one of the central goals of his career: Helping vallenato achieve the kind of global reach that other Latin genres have reached. “When you look at salsa, there are orchestras of Asians playing it, and the music has reached places like India,” he explained. “I want vallenato to reach that level too.”
Portela believes cities such as New York offer a unique opportunity to share Colombian culture with the world. “This city is a window to the world because people from every country come here,” he said. “That’s why I love New York so much, and why my goal with the music I’m releasing is for people around the world to know us as Colombians.”