Upon his return to Colombia in 1991, he was offered a TV role that would change his life forever.
He was cast in the leading role of a fantasy series based in the life of vallenato composer Rafael Escalona called, not surprisingly, Escalona.
He sang the composer's songs in the series, and that's when he retooled his career towards vallenato, gaining national success with the release of the Telenovela's two soundtrack albums, Escalona: Un Canto a la Vida and Escalona: Vol.
2.

In 1993, backed by the band "La Provincia", Vives released the album Clásicos de la Provincia in which he started fusing Vallenato with rock, pop and other Caribbean Colombian ethnic rhythms.
This fusion scandalized Vallenato purists.
This style of vallenato was a huge success not only in Colombia but all over Latin countries, and the albums' lead single, La Gota Fría, became a hit all over Latin America.
Clásicos de la Provincia, won the Billboard Latin Music Awards Best Album and would become a timeless classic in Colombian and Latin American music, introducing Vallenato to both Colombia and the rest of the world.

The follow-up album, La Tierra del Olvido would mark a further step in Vives' desire to fusion rock, funk and pop music with traditional Colombian genres.
The album gave Vives classic hits such as the title track, and the up-tempo opening track Pa' Mayte.

His subsequent releases, Tengo Fé (1997), El Amor de Mi Tierra (1999), Déjame Entrar (2001) and El Rock de Mi Pueblo (2004), were all commercially successful and were well received by the critics.
In 2002 Carlos Vives' album "Déjame Entrar" won him his first Grammy award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.

In 2009 he released the album Clásicos de la Provincia II, which was sold exclusively in Colombian supermarket chain "Almacenes Éxito."
The album saw Vives' return to covering famous Vallenato songs in his own style.
It sold massively and the single Las Mujeres received wide radio airplay in all Colombia.

His hits include "Matilde Lina", "La Hamaca Grande", "La gota fría", "Alicia Adorada", "Pa' Mayte", "La Tierra del Olvido", "Tu Amor Eterno", "Fruta Fresca", "Déjame Entrar", "Luna Nueva", "Carito", "Papadio", "Como Tú" and "Décimas Del Parecido" (this last one a tribute to Guillermo Martínez, a Cuban-born radio host who resides in Mayagüez, and for whose program Vives was an occasional master control technician).
Upon his return to Colombia in 1991, he was offered a TV role that would change his life forever. He was cast in the leading role of a fantasy series based in the life of vallenato composer Rafael Escalona called, not surprisingly, Escalona. He sang the composer's songs in the series, and that's when he retooled his career towards vallenato, gaining national success with the release of the Telenovela's two soundtrack albums, Escalona: Un Canto a la Vida and Escalona: Vol. 2.
In 1993, backed by the band "La Provincia", Vives released the album Clásicos de la Provincia in which he started fusing Vallenato with rock, pop and other Caribbean Colombian ethnic rhythms. This fusion scandalized Vallenato purists. This style of vallenato was a huge success not only in Colombia but all over Latin countries, and the albums' lead single, La Gota Fría, became a hit all over Latin America. Clásicos de la Provincia, won the Billboard Latin Music Awards Best Album and would become a timeless classic in Colombian and Latin American music, introducing Vallenato to both Colombia and the rest of the world.
The follow-up album, La Tierra del Olvido would mark a further step in Vives' desire to fusion rock, funk and pop music with traditional Colombian genres. The album gave Vives classic hits such as the title track, and the up-tempo opening track Pa' Mayte.
His subsequent releases, Tengo Fé (1997), El Amor de Mi Tierra (1999), Déjame Entrar (2001) and El Rock de Mi Pueblo (2004), were all commercially successful and were well received by the critics. In 2002 Carlos Vives' album "Déjame Entrar" won him his first Grammy award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.
In 2009 he released the album Clásicos de la Provincia II, which was sold exclusively in Colombian supermarket chain "Almacenes Éxito." The album saw Vives' return to covering famous Vallenato songs in his own style. It sold massively and the single Las Mujeres received wide radio airplay in all Colombia.
His hits include "Matilde Lina", "La Hamaca Grande", "La gota fría", "Alicia Adorada", "Pa' Mayte", "La Tierra del Olvido", "Tu Amor Eterno", "Fruta Fresca", "Déjame Entrar", "Luna Nueva", "Carito", "Papadio", "Como Tú" and "Décimas Del Parecido" (this last one a tribute to Guillermo Martínez, a Cuban-born radio host who resides in Mayagüez, and for whose program Vives was an occasional master control technician).
Carlos Vives