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- Author, Writing
- Author’s title, BBC News World
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The Colombian popular music singer Yeison Jiménez died, along with his manager and his personal photographer, after the small plane in which they were traveling crashed on Saturday near the municipality of Paipa, in the Colombian department of Boyacá.
In addition to the musician and his companions, the pilot and co-pilot of the ship also lost their lives during the incident.
The Boyacá governorate confirmed the news in a statement, in which it referred to Jiménez as “one of the most representative figures of Colombian popular music.”
The identities of others who died in the accident were also confirmed: Hernando Torres, Juan Manuel Rodríguez, Óscar Marín, Jefferson Osorio and Weisman Mora.
Members of the Civil Defense and firefighters from the area arrived at the site of the accident and the reasons for the accident remain under investigation by the Civil Aeronautics in Colombia.
In a statement issued on Saturday by that organization, it is stated that at approximately 4:11 p.m., local time, the accident of the aircraft had been confirmed.
“Unfortunately, after the arrival of the relief agencies and the National Police at the site of impact, the death of the six (6) occupants of the aircraft is confirmed. Among the victims is the renowned popular music artist Yeison Jiménez.”
The singer, just 34 years old, had become a popular music star in Colombia in the last 10 years, receiving nominations for his characteristic style that mixes typical elements of traditional Mexican ranchero music with Colombian popular music.
“His legacy remains”
Jiménez’s work team published a statement in which they thanked them for the support they have received and expressed their solidarity with the families of the people who died in the accident.
“Today we not only say goodbye to an artist; we say goodbye to a son, a brother, a friend, a human being full of dreams and courage, who turned his story into hope for thousands of people. Yeison was perseverance, discipline and love for his people. His voice and his example were born from effort, and that is why they forever marked the lives of those who followed him and loved him.”
“Yeison is leaving physically, but his legacy remains: in his songs, in his words, in his struggles, in his way of not giving up and in the indelible mark he leaves on Colombian regional music and in the hearts of his people. His light will continue to live every time someone sings one of his songs and remembers that you can get ahead.”
Several artists have expressed their pain after learning of Jiménez’s death.
“It is not easy to go out and sing today at the Manizales fair with this sadness in my heart. I am very sorry, very strong for his family,” wrote Carlos Vives on the social network X.
“Today Colombia says goodbye to an artist who left his mark, who accompanied lives, loves and farewells with his songs. Rest in peace, Yeison. Thank you for your music, for your voice and for every story sung from the heart (…) Your legacy will live in every letter,” wrote, also in X, the singer Fanny Lu.
“I always admired your way of building your path. What a pain to receive this news, we all lose with your departure. Music never dies,” Fonseca said on that platform.
“Champion, you got ahead of us! The last time we laughed together, here you have us all crying,” wrote Silvestre Dangond.
“God gave me the opportunity to write songs”
TeleMedellín says that, from the age of 7, Jiménez participated in the Manzanares Children’s Song Festival.
In that contest, he won “first place for five consecutive years, which marked his first steps in music.”
Of humble origins, Jiménez helped his family by working from a very young age as a merchant and loader at the Central Mayorista de Abastos, in Bogotá.
In March 2025, the artist gave an interview to the Colombian magazine Semana, in which he spoke about the difficulties he had to overcome in his life and career.
He said that he made his way in the music industry alone.
“I would have loved to have been a person with a normal life, you know? A child who goes to school and has everything fixed, goes to university and has everything fixed and then his father finds him a job with one of his friends and that’s it, because there is not so much stress involved, but perhaps my life unfolded that way because it was the way in which God was going to allow me to achieve the little or the much that I have done,” he told Semana.
Furthermore, he said that he never imagined he would be a composer. “God gave me the chance to write songs,” he said.
The artist released his first album, “Con el Corazón”, in 2013, which included one of his first hits: “Te Deseo Lo Mejor.”
He composed more than 70 songs and conquered his audience, not only in Colombia but in other countries in the region, with songs such as “Aventurero”, “Tuas Razón”, “Por qué la envy”, “Vete” and “Neither have nor need”.
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