Songs and records in Mexico, 1900-1940 (Notes without music) 
The recorded sound came to Mexico from the late nineteenth century. In some families gatherings are porfiriato first heard the phonograph cylinders, although they were more a technological curiosity than a pleasure. Some voices enshrined in European opera had already recorded his voice in the famous creation of Thomas Alva Edison, as Enrico Caruso and Adelina Patti, among many others. For those years that had the legend Patti faced voice in a duel with Mexican singer Angela Peralta. The Italian tried to impress the "Mexican Nightingale" with a demonstration of virtuosity, and at the end of his performance he said defiantly: "It is sung in Italian!" The Peralta, then responded with his extraordinary singing voice, and at the end added : "It is sung in Mexico!" Verdi, who was in the theater that night, he rose from his chair and exclaimed: "It is sung in the glory!"
since 1877, when the American inventor had given learn how to record and play sound, created great expectations for the possibilities of this invention. "In the future," said the writer Amado Nervo, "when cars fly through the air, have made a phonograph, and every day there will be a cylinder with fresh news."
Don Porfirio Diaz was still a country and a reputation to boast. And companies Disk recording became interested in artists from Mexico. First came the French and brand Zonophone, perhaps in 1905, who installed a recording studio in Mexico City. A year later came the Americans with Columbia Records brand. Both seals phonograph began fighting Mexican artists. Zonophone was to stages of the operetta and asked the singer to record a couplet fashion that everyone knew, "The white cat." It was thus that only 15 years old artist named Maria Conesa recorded his first song. He was so young and it was the fascination of all capital. Porfirio Diaz used up go see it with his wife, Mrs. Carmelita Romero Rubio. What was this girl that captivated political, military and students alike? The chronicler Luis G. Urbina went to see her and wrote: "His figure is graceful, her face is not beautiful, the voice is sloppy and nasty, but the entire face of all movements, whole body dripping malice this woman has poise greased with cynicism. Until the Lord's Prayer said and recited so we seem to indecent assault. "
discs of that era were made of hard plastic and heavy, spinning at 78 revolutions per minute and last up to three minutes, but had only recorded one side of the disc. So just one year later, Columbia Records announced its "double disc" because they had discovered how music press on both sides. Shortly afterwards, also arrived in Mexico the Victor brand. (Edison also had his record company, but they turned at 82 revolutions per minute. For the inventor of the phonograph sang Mexican artists as José Mojica, Maria Grever and Margarita Cueto.)
In these discs recorded between 1905 and 1910 are heard, addition, pieces of zarzuela, danzones recorded by military bands and even the waltz "Over the Waves" by Juventino Rosas, among other songs. Even the poet Juan de Dios Peza their poems recorded on a disk. There were two duets fashion on the streets of Mexico, Rosales-Robinson and Abrego-Picazo. Who were they? Nobody knows, but these duets singing popular songs for markets and town squares. Interestingly, Rosales discs and Robinson came to Argentina and a young man named Carlos Gardel in Buenos Aires heard. That this duet was inspired by her singing tanguista the future. For its part, the duet Abrego and Picazo, recorded for Victor in 1905 the first bolero that information is received in our country, Sorrows, the tailor made Cuban Pepe Sanchez and saying "give me your kisses Sorrows, deep pain you doubt me ... "
Porfiriato The composers were in a deep economic vulnerability. Many of them lived in poverty and it was very difficult that publishers pay royalties for public performances, sales of sheet music and, above all, sound recordings. Generally, the playwrights had a more steady income. Among the poorest composers of his time, we remind the Abundio Hidalgo Martínez, author of waltzes and paso dobles chotis very famous in his time. But what has survived of him is his melancholy under a popular song, "La barca de oro" 'I I'm going to the port where the boat is gold ... "
Abundio Martinez was born in 1875 at Huichapan, Hidalgo, son of a poor marriage. He came to the capital to seek a better life than that of his people and soon found work as a musician Sappers Banda. Shortly after his compositions were already popular. His waltz, "Offshore" which he dedicated to the wife of Porfirio Diaz liked it so much that their editors printed the Wagner House in Germany. It is said that once the capital came to a band of German music and the musicians began playing "On the high seas." Abundio Martinez was so happy he went to celebrate a bar ... He was so poor that, without doubt, a pleasure as it filled him with joy.
is also said that the residents of the neighborhood took turns feeding. One morning in 1914, when the child who used to take his breakfast, he met the composer died in his room. "All their furniture," wrote the teacher John S. Garrido, "was a table, a chair, a cot with a draw for a luxury mattress and baby grand piano that he had given away their music publishers." And that piano legs tied was a chick who Abundio Martinez wanted too much and lovingly fed because he thought he lived in Verdi's soul. La Casa Wagner took over the funeral of one of its best writers: Abundio Martinez, who was called "The Dog" because of his ugliness. Perhaps to cover up a little, the teacher used to appear on the covers of his music together with their most beautiful girls.
When the Revolution came and fired Diaz of Mexico in the vessel Ipiranga, record companies also fled. Maria Conesa, however, remained, and all the revolutionaries came to see her in the capital. Madero danced with her and later, Zapata. In theaters magazine represented the facts of the revolution but also sang songs, because had time for everything. Fernando Velásquez Méndez musician released his song "Guadalajara Eyes" with lyrics by playwright Joseph F. Elizondo. Both were the most celebrated authors of that era. "Eyes Guadalajara" enjoyed since its opening day today, and although released a tenor named José Limón, everyone remembers the interpretation of Jorge Negrete.
But the song was inspired during the revolution that has transcended not only time but the borders of our country is "Estrellita" by Manuel M. Ponce. Unfortunately for him, his song "Estrellita" is better known their concerts for guitar and violin. But as academic Tarsicio Herrera says, hardly anyone knows that the world-renowned guitarist Andres Segovia was based on Ponce hundred works composed for guitar. And Carlos Chávez, perhaps a little envious, even said that "the only thing that touches our works are universally Ponce guitar."
It is certainly too much fame for a single song. And most likely, he felt himself well Ponce. In 1925 he decided to go with his wife to France to escape the popularity of "Estrellita." No one imagined that at the airport in Paris was to be recognized by one of his admirers, who told him: "Welcome to France, Monsieur Estrellita." Shortly after the marriage attended a concert violinist Jasha Heifetz. Ponce also imagined that the end of the concert, Heifetz said, "Now I'm going to play my favorite piece is a miniature Wagnerian drama called 'Little Star'." Ponce turned to watch his wife and all he said resignedly, "But even in Paris, I will rest for 'Little Star'?" No, not in Paris or anywhere else in the world, everywhere Ponce had met with surprise to hear that song that conceived one night when traveling to visit their Parents, as the composer told a reporter:
"One night I was traveling light to Aguascalientes, the land of my family, I noticed that a big star I looked through my window of the train. Its light flickered gently from afar. Then I began to dream. If a bride enlighten me with eyes that bright, but sweet ... and my dreams fertilized. So it would seem that music was in love with my dreams. Then began to take shape in my imagination, a melody that rose with nostalgic obsession as if to climb to the stars. "
There is no doubt that political life was at a different rate of artistic life. While the policy was in conflict followed by another conflict, many people wanted to go to the operetta, theater and opera. The great success of 1919, when Carranza was still in power, was the trip to Mexico's most famous tenor of all time, that is, Enrico Caruso. The former bullfight of the Colonia Condesa (which was where today stands the Palacio de Hierro Durango Street) was filled with fans who had heard his albums Victor house and had read the praise in the press all I dedicated the world. They say that his voice was so powerful that, in those years when there were no microphones, was heard by people who do not had reached a ticket and was out of bullfighting. Caruso traveled to Mexico, he met the composers and many of them composed pieces designed for her voice. Even invited him to put the foundation stone of the first cinema in our country, the Olympia, on the street September 16. As a way to thank Mexico, when Caruso traveled to New York, recorded a English-Mexican song, "Night happy." Many people hoped that Caruso returned to Mexico, but unfortunately the great Italian tenor died just two years later, a victim of pleurisy.
can say that was the first artist to become popular thanks to the records, because it has won several million dollars from the 260 songs he recorded. It was also noted that the first song that was made to be recorded was "Mattinata" and was written by the famous Italian composer Ruggiero Leoncavallo. Caruso recorded it in 1904. Earlier, in 1902, had recorded "Vesti la giubba" from the opera Pagliacci by the same author, with such good fortune was the first album in history to sell one million copies. Represented Caruso Canio, the play's protagonist, director of a theater company dying of jealousy "Columbine." The famous aria "Ridi, Pagliacci" is the time when Canio sings despite his personal drama, "because the show must go on."
Mexican composers also thought the role should continue. The country had great political conflict, but the theater was mocking review of it. When it came to power Adolfo de la Huerta, the theater opened the magazine Adolfo garden. In this work was first sang the song that was emblematic of the joy of the 20's, "My dear Captain" of the "Dead" Jose Alfonso Palacios. Why did you read as the composer of this famous fox trot? José Antonio music critic Alcaraz met him and asked him this question. "Because actually, I died once ... and revived in the middle of my wake, only to see my wife in the arms of another man," replied the Dead Palacios.
What happiness should have provided the revue theater, with its beautiful dancers, festive songs and exceptional comic. From 1920 began the popularity of the fox trot, Charleston, rumba and tango. The sopranos, ie the dancers in the theater, choirs were popular songs in a voice so acute that even today has been the name of "squeaky" to those intemperate voices. Lupe Rivas Cacho Celia Celia Montalvan and Padilla, among others, were the darling of the public that would see under any circumstances. When the authorities closed the theater for the moral failures or because of political commentary, the public cooperate to pay the fine, as long as continue to see how their favorite actresses danced Charleston. But how did this rate to Mexico? One story goes that the night of November 5, 1925, were Lupe Velez, Celia Montalbán and Lupe Rivas Cacho in the dance academy "Metropolitan Hall" which was located on the street May 5, 1921. That night, Alfred Molina, a dancer who called All Moll, taught them the steps the new dance he had learned in the United States. Such was the emotion that Lupe Velez gave the next day, the actress released the Charleston in Mexico during his performance at the Lyric Theatre.
The 20's were a period musical greatly. Since the concerts of the Chapultepec Mexican orchestras organized by José Vasconcelos, to the development of industries of radio and the phonograph in our country, composers and performers in the hundreds. Since 1921, radio was born in a professional manner, first with the pioneering broadcasts in Monterrey Târnava Constantine (which helped Don Clemente Serna Martinez in his youth) and later with stations such as La Casa de la Radio in which they participated Celia Montalbán, Manuel M. Ponce. A technology fair in 1923, announced the creation of the first season in the form of Mexico, it was the XEB owned cigarette factory El Buen Tono, which began broadcasting this year. At the fair, began to make public demonstrations of this new medium. President Alvaro Obregon spoke through the microphone, becoming the first president of our country to do so. Attendees gave them soft drinks brand "Radio" and the people who take a few packs of cigarettes El Buen Tono were presented with a crystal set. Since that time, Mexicans were given the task of listening to radio in these devices did not need electricity, because the gallery is a stone that captures the virtues electromagnetic frequency radio waves. So with a piece of galena, placed inside a small metal tube, you could tune in stations from all possible sites. There were then radio-telephone clubs in which members met to tune in American music stations. But from the XEB began to listen to local artists. Unfortunately, it was customary to pay the artists, so that all who passed through the B, as Pedro Vargas, Trio Garnica Ascencio, Agustín Lara and Maruca Perez, out of the cabins with a compact or cigarette case that regaled the station.
Soon, U.S. phonograph companies realized that Mexico was a country with an enormous wealth of art. Then, they sent talent scouts to find composers and singers to bring to the United States. They discovered Alfonso Ortiz Tirado, Juan Arvizu, Margarita Cueto, Agustín Lara, the Trio Garnica Ascencio, Tito Guizar, Mario Talavera and Augie Cardenas, among many others. To find out how important was the Latin music market, consider that it was more larger than that of English music in the United States itself. Mexican artists were hired in Mexico and traveled to Veracruz by train from there out to sea on a ship made a stopover in Cuba, after arriving in New Orleans, and finally, a car took them to New York, where matrices were marks Columbia, Victor and Brunswick. In New York is composed songs like "Amapola" by English composer José María Lacalle, "Goodbye, cute brunette" other English, Henry Burrow, and "Those green eyes" of the Cuban Nilo Menendez and Adolfo Utrera, among many other songs. Also remember that Augie's brief career was spent in New York Cárdenas between 1928 and 1931. The composer and singer Mario Talavera wrote that in the late 20, one song took between one and two years become popular in the country, because as there was no radio, a song had to be selected by the record labels, to be included in repertoire. After recording, the array is sent to the U.S. and arrived about six months later. Began the arduous distribution throughout the country, which could last up to one year. So it was when the composer of the song began to hear the fruits of his inspiration. Not to think of the royalties, it was way back, it took years!
The representative of the Victor in Mexico was the impresario Emilio Azcarraga Vidaurreta Tamaulipas, who sold radios at your local Mexico City. He realized that he was selling equipment for music, but ... there was nothing to listen to them, since there was a significant lack of supply on the dial. To this end, he launched his project of founding the XEW, the first season of continental scope. After testing the speakers and musicians, the W was born on September 18, 1930 in the upper film Olympia, whose first stone was placed Enrico Caruso. How important was this station letters arriving from Micronesia as well as the Antarctic, to say that since there were listening? Rightly stated that it was a parallel Ministry of Education, which taught the feelings of the Mexican bolero and soap operas. It was a very close relationship that lead listeners with programming that even the villains of the series worried that recognize your voice. "He had a history of that in Chile, the audience had killed a bad soap opera, when recognized in the street," said the actress Rita King in an interview. For these reasons, Emilio Azcarraga went on to say: "I invented the housewife Mexican. "
How did the recording industry was born in Mexico? In 1927 the company came to City Brunswick English with recording equipment and a punch disks. In an Anglican church that exists today in the streets of Article 123, was recorded the first album also maquiladoras in Mexico. On one side is heard "lily wand" Pardavé Joaquin, played by Juan Arvizu, and the other, "Canción Mixteca" in the voice of Mario Talavera. The orchestra that accompanies both interpretations is that of Alfonso Esparza Oteo, author of "My Old Love" and "Rondalla", among many others. Who I would tell the teacher Esparza Oteo than just a year later, was to perform with his orchestra in a meal at the restaurant La Bombilla, the fateful July 17, 1928, at a luncheon for Members of Guanajuato offered to General Alvaro Obregon President-elect for the period 1928-1932. When the orchestra played the song "Limoncito, a shy law student named Jose Leon Toral Obregón shot and killed him with an accurate shot.
That same year, Edward C. Baptista, a Colombian-born engineer, he released four record labels: Artex, National, and Olympia Huici. These discs, almost inconseguibles today are the first examples of the Mexican recording industry. Hardly had a circulation of 300 copies, and their rarity and fragility is that almost no copies survive today. These markings recorded Tito Guizar, the trio Garnica Ascencio, Augie Cardenas and Posadas Jazz Band, among others. In 1930, Baptista decided to merge these brands into one: Peerless. The company, which lasted until 2003, was the driving force behind artists such as Agustin Lara, sisters Eagle Manolita Arriola, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Pedro Infante, among many others. Thanks to the Peerless, other companies saw again the desirability of returning to Mexico: Victor returned home to our country in 1935, and it decided to launch discs Pedro Vargas, the sisters Black Eagle and Galindo, a popular actress. For its part, the Columbia, a little more reluctant to settle in Mexico, it did until 1947, since that year released the album containing "Taste of deception" with Eva Garza. Subsequently, the Columbia supported the songwriter and singer Mary Alma and Tin Tan, among others.This music boom in Mexico could not have existed without the great communication that has existed with other countries. Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado traveled to South America in 1936 and liked it so much thanks to this tour, they opened the doors to all artists of our country. After this singer will visit Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela and Paraguay, among others, Pedro Vargas was able to travel to Brazil and Agustin Lara. But in the same way, the rates of other countries came here to Mexico and became a new personality. This happened with the danzon, the joint, the bolero, the cueca, the fox trot, tango, cha cha cha and blues. In Cuba, for example, speaks of a bolero before and after Agustín Lara. The composer Osvaldo Farres, author of "Come closer," made his songs the way of Mexican boleros, rather than following the traditional way that had Maria Teresa Vera and Ernesto Lecuona.
The great composers of America came to Mexico to present his songs. As in 1933, when Lecuona visited our country to be with his interpreter Rita Montaner. The long awaited visit to the Mexican public is asked to Rita confronted with Tona la Negra. Although not exactly a clash over two weeks, the public was devoted to discussion: Who is better, Tona or Rita? Lecuona "or Lara? Today, we no longer see that rivalry and think they're both extraordinary composers, but above all very different. Once he returned to Cuba, Lecuona discovered a new artist named Esther Borja. Was so enthusiastic voice he dedicated one of his best songs, which he wrote lyrics Gonzalo Sánchez Galarraga, it is the waltz "Damsel charming." How did this friendship that gave birth to the beautiful song Lecuona? Hear the testimony of Esther Borja: "In the high of my house had a radio station where I started as an amateur. In the midst of student strikes against [the dictator Gerardo] Machado, and about to graduate, decided to work on the station. There I met Elisa, the sister of Lecuona. At another station, the CMCA, I met a son of Ernestina Lecuona. All were sympathetic to what I did and always told me: 'If you hear Ernestina' but nobody will know. I decided then to go by myself. Lecuona was at that time in Spain. Upon his return, he also listened. I suggested to study singing and even recommended the teacher, which I accepted immediately. Thus began a friendship that lasted until his death. One day I brought a gift of songs with lyrics by Marti had been thinking about me. The were released on February 26, 1935 in Society The Lyceum. That was the first time I sang with him, as I say, really. I set out to do theater. After not hesitate, but to consult with my mom, I said yes. It was then that he composed for me 'Damsel charming ', a piece that premiered on September 13, 1935, when I consider my debut in the theater. Was that also the beginning of an extensive tour, for 'those worlds of God ": across South America, except Bolivia, and the United States and Europe."
should not forget the role played by Mexican cinema in those years. To take just one example, think of the movie Ay Jalisco, no give in! (1941) by Joseilito Rodríguez. Arguably, the role of Jorge Negrete in the mariachi band was a real institution. Enrique Serna says the writer who just ten years earlier, the history books of Mexican music did not even mention the mariachi. But just enough voices Lucha Reyes and Jorge Negrete to ranchera music a phenomenon. When the movie was released, he spent six months in theaters in Argentina. Miguel Bermejo, Calaveras Trio, which toured South America, said that people were milling around to see the history of the Gun. I must say that the script was based on a true story, to tell the story of Remington, a bandit who had caused panic around Atotonilco. The music of Ay Jalisco, no give in! was entrusted to Manuel Esperon, who managed the mariachi sound like a symphony orchestra, and the letters were the work of Ernesto Cortazar. The issue of film was sung by Lucha Reyes, while Negrete sang "I bring love," but oddly enough, George became famous the song "Ay Jalisco, no get angry", while Fight immortalized "I bring a love", the song which leads Negrete Gloria Marin's beautiful serenade. Although George and Gloria did not get along at first, this work did they both fall in love. So Jorge once told the director, Joselito Rodriguez: "What I appreciate most about this movie is giving me the opportunity to meet Gloria Marin."
