Praised for his "meditative simplicity" [The New Yorker], described as "an extraordinarily deep thinker... able to take a listener into mysterious byways using very slender means" [Music Trust], and noted for his "spare and pensive" music [NewSounds], Julián De La Chica is an award—winning Colombian multidisciplinary artist and author (AWA), based in Brooklyn, NY. His influences range from minimalism and post—minimalism to the alternative electronic scene. His work often juxtaposes spiritual reflection with an exploration of humanity’s inner darkness, drawing inspiration from everyday images. His music mixes piano, strings, and classical voices with electronic keyboards and controllers, crossing genres from classical to ambient and electronic music. With a discography that includes six solo albums and over eighteen collaborative projects (between singles and albums), De La Chica’s music has been recorded and performed by artists worldwide and has been featured on Spotify’s Classical New Releases playlist. His work has also premiered at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall.
As a pianist, De La Chica has performed in a variety of settings, from iconic concert halls to electronic music bars. His U.S. debut, at the invitation of then—Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) and former President of Colombia César Gaviria Trujillo, took place in 2003 at the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, premiering a selection of his own piano works. A Baldwin Piano Company artist since 2009, he currently plays the custom—designed Baldwin Heavy Metal Piano.
In 2020, Julián De La Chica gained recognition with Agatha, his debut film as a director and writer. Premiering at the visionary Bogotá Film Festival, during its 37th edition, Agatha received a Special Mention and won Best International Film. Since its premiere, the film has been selected by over thirty international film festivals and has won eighteen awards, including Best Picture, Best LGBTQ Film, Best Cinematography, Best Composer, and Best Actor. The Rome Prisma Film Awards described Agatha as “an elegant, original, poetic film that touches us with delicacy,” and hailed De La Chica as “an author to follow.”
His first novel, God’s Punishment (based on his opera of the same name), won the AWA (Award-Winning Author) award for Best Novel—Historical Fiction (English) and received an Honorable Mention for Best LGBTQ+ Theme Book at the 25th International Latino Book Awards 2023 (ILBA), where it earned the Silver Medal in its category. Set in the remote Colombian town of Agua de Dios, a mass leprosarium run by the Colombian government during the 19th and 20th centuries, the novel highlights the human rights abuses of this dark chapter in Colombia’s history. The novel, the result of two decades of investigative work, underscores the importance of human rights. As psychiatrist Dainius Pūras, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, has noted, “Books like God’s Punishment are vitally needed in these times,” as De La Chica “reminds and warns us of what can happen when human rights are taken away from people.”
A founding member of the independent record label Irreverence Group Music [IGM], De La Chica lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his family and cat.
TheBeginning + TheBeginning
De La Chica began his musical career within the classical tradition. He started studying piano at the age of five and later completed the pre—college music program at the University of Caldas in his hometown of Manizales. During these early years, he developed a strong affinity for Baroque composers and symphonic sound. After finishing high school, De La Chica moved to Bogotá and enrolled in the music program at the National University of Colombia. However, he studied there for only one semester before receiving an invitation to perform a piano recital in Rome in August of that year.
After spending the summer in Italy and driven by a desire to remain in Europe, De La Chica traveled to Spain, where he pursued humanities studies through a scholarship from a Catholic school in Salamanca. He then continued his education at the same institution’s campus in Bad Münstereifel, Germany, focusing on classical languages, classical literature, and self—guided music composition. During this period, he composed works and wrote essays on music, philosophy, and spirituality, drawing inspiration from his readings of Garrigou—Lagrange and Teresa of Ávila.
Upon completing his scholarship in Germany, De La Chica returned to Spain and settled in Madrid. There, between part—time jobs as a waiter, street musician, and teacher at a parish for Latino immigrants in Puente de Vallecas, he also pursued studies in philosophy and metaphysics for a semester.
Choosing to remain in Madrid, De La Chica decided against continuing formal education at a conservatory, finding the traditionalist perspective of music schools at odds with his evolving interests and vision. He preferred to explore new avenues in music and contemporary works, engaging in experiential self—guided work that would eventually lead him to New York, marking a significant shift in his artistic path.
Music + Image
De La Chica’s longtime mantra is, “I make music with what I see”. His obsession with the relationship between imagery and music led to a growing interest in film, along with experimental visual projects and installations. Following his 2008 move to New York City, he began frequently collaborating with directors, photographers, and videographers. In 2017, De La Chica won the Best Original Score award at the London Independent Film Awards for the short film Margaret, directed by Lebanese filmmaker Badr Farha. The 2018 film Honor Up, directed by Damon Dash, includes seven works composed by De La Chica.
In 2020, De La Chica debuted as a director with the experimental film Agatha, an exploration of solitude based in part on his short story, Voyeuristic Images, and his piano cycle of the same title. Agatha premiered at the prestigious Bogota Film Festival, winning Special Mention – Best International Film. To date, the film has been officially selected by more than thirty international film festivals and has won eighteen awards, including Best Picture, Best LGBTQ Film, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, and Best Actor. A reviewer for the Rome Prisma Film Awards described Agatha as “an elegant, original, poetic film that touches us with delicacy,” calling De La Chica “an author to follow.”
In 2021, responding to the tragic stories he read in the New York Times about the Latino community in Queens (epicenter of the pandemic in New York), De La Chica paid tribute to them in his follow-up movie, Dora. The film tells the story of a young aspiring hairdresser from Colombia who, now living in Queens, suddenly faces the grim uncertainties and isolation of a global pandemic. The film reflects De La Chica’s ongoing interest in experimentation while brilliantly incorporating selections from his album Silencios Fatuos Op. 16. He lets the deeply nuanced music speak for itself in this thirty-minute snapshot of love and sexuality, loss and despair. Dora, which will premiere for audiences in 2024, has been selected in twenty six international film festivals and has won thirteen awards, including Best LGBTQ Film, Best Experimental film, Best composer, and Best Actress. The film also was Semi-Finalist at the prestigious Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival. The Falcon International Film Festival in London, described Dora “a winner” and “an artistic triumph and an emotional story at its heart,” saying De La Chica “has made a potent film, one that works on several levels simultaneously” and calling the film “visually poignant, thematically relevant and artistically creative.”
Book + Opera
In June of 2022, De La Chica released his first book, God’s Punishment (based on his opera of the same name). The novel is set in the remote Colombian town of Agua de Dios, a mass leprosarium run by the Colombian government during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The product of two decades of investigative work by De La Chica, God’s Punishment highlights the human rights abuses of this dark chapter in Colombia’s history. As psychiatrist Dainius Pūras, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, has written, “books like God’s Punishment are vitally needed in these times,” as De La Chica “reminds and warns us of what can happen when human rights are taken away from people.”
God's Punishment won the AWA (Award—Winning Author) award for Best Novel - Historical Fiction - English, and it has also received an Honorable Mention for Best LGBTQ+ Theme Book at the 25th edition of the International Latino Book Awards 2023 (ILBA). During the award ceremony at Los Angeles City College in LA, the book received the Silver Medal under its category.
The awards featured a competitive pool of over 3,000 submissions from around the world, which were meticulously assessed by a panel of 220 jurors.
Luis A. Calvo + Intermezzos
To safeguard the historical memory, not only of Agua de Dios but also of the composer Luis Antonio Calvo (who died in Agua de Dios), De La Chica curated a project that would unite Calvo's four intermezzos for the very first time. The culmination of this endeavor came to fruition when NY—based Cuban pianist Ahmed Alom included these captivating pieces on his highly anticipated debut studio album, Exilio. This collaborative effort not only safeguards the rich historical tapestry of Agua de Dios but also celebrates the profound artistic contributions of Luis Antonio Calvo, ensuring that his musical legacy endures for future generations.
