Agustín Lara
| Agustín Lara | |
|---|---|
_Madrid_02.jpg) Statue of A. Lara in Madrid (Spain), by sculptor H. Peraza (1975) |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | El flaco de oro ("The Golden Skinny") |
| Born | October 30, 1897 Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico  |
| Died | November 6, 1970 (aged 73) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Genres | Bolero, ballad, light music, folk |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1922–1968 |
| Associated acts | María Félix, Pedro Vargas, Toña la Negra |
Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino[1] (October 30, 1897 – November 6, 1970), known as Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.
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[edit] Biography
Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After their mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their aunt, Refugio Aguirre del Pino. It was there that he had his first contact with music.
Lara's first musical composition was "Marucha", written in honor of one of his first loves. In 1927 he already was working in cabarets. He subsequently moved to Puebla, but returned to Mexico City in 1928.[2] That same year he started working for the tenor Juan Arvizu as composer and accompanist. In September 1930, Lara began a successful radio career. At the same time he acted and composed songs for such films as Santa.
Lara's first tour, to Cuba in 1933, was a failure because of political turmoil on the island. Later, more successful tours in South America, as well as such new compositions as "Solamente Una Vez" (composed in Buenos Aires and dedicated to José Mojica), "Veracruz", "Tropicana", and "Pecadora" increased his fame.
By the beginning of the 1940s, Lara was well-known in Spain. In 1965, the Spanish Caudillo, Francisco Franco, gave him a house in Granada to show his appreciation of Lara's songs with Spanish themes, such as "Toledo","Cuerdas de mi Guitarra","Granada", "Seville", and "Madrid". He received additional honors and decorations from around the world.
In 1968, Lara's health began to decline rapidly; an accident that fractured his pelvis further aggravated his condition. On November 6, 1970, Agustín Lara died.[3] He was buried in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres of the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City. By the time of his death, Lara had written more than 700 songs.
[edit] Some of his most distinguished interpreters
- Hermanas Águila
- Roberto Alagna (French TV5: "Vivement Dimanche". Tenor, husband of Angela Gheorghiu)
- Luigi Alva
- Desi Arnaz
- Juan Arvizu
- Raquel Bitton
- Andrea Bocelli
- Miguel Bosé
- Jose Luis Caballero
- Rodrigo de la Cadena
- Chela Campos
- Luz Casal
- Maestro Dr. Enrique Chia
- Nat "King" Cole
- Bing Crosby
- Xavier Cugat
- Marlene Dietrich
- Plácido Domingo
- Dyango
- Isac Esquivel
- Alejandro Fernández
- Vicente Fernández
- Lola Flores
- Juan Diego Flórez
- Juan Moreno Franco
- Lucho Gatica
- Angela Gheorghiu
- Ana Maria González
- Julio Iglesias
- Pedro Infante
- Alfredo Kraus
- Frankie Laine
- Mario Lanza
- Joe Lopez
- Al Martino
- Lucía Méndez
- Luis Miguel
- José Mojica
- Amparo Montes
- Graciela Naranjo
- Toña la Negra
- Fito Páez
- Trío Los Panchos
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Jan Peerce
- Perez Prado
- Elvira Ríos
- Daniel Santos
- John Serry, Sr.
- Frank Sinatra
- Javier Solís
- The Three Tenors
- Chavela Vargas
- Pedro Vargas
- Caetano Veloso
- Claudio Villa
- Finbar Wright
- Fritz Wunderlich
[edit] References
- ^ "La madre de todas las trivias" (in spanish). M Semanal. 29 January 2012. http://www.msemanal.com/node/5222. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ Araújo, Samuel (1999). "The Politics of Passion: The Impact of Bolero on Brazilian Musical Expressions". Yearbook for Traditional Music 31: 44.
- ^ "AGUSTIN LARA, POET AND COMPOSER, DIES". The New York Times. November 7, 1970.
[edit] External links
Media related to Agustín Lara at Wikimedia Commons
- Biblioteca Babab (Spanish)
- Agustín Lara discography at Discogs
- Agustín Lara at the Internet Movie Database
- "Agustín Lara". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18870. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
