 For high school Villazon was sent to the city of Bogotá to study in the Colegio REFOUS.After graduation he spent four years in college studying law in the Externado University but dropped out to pursue a vallenato singing career.In 1984 Villazon recorded his first album with accordion player Alfredo Gámez under the Philips Records label and named it the "Arco Iris" (Rainbow) featuring a song of the same name written by Rafael Escalona.