life is worth nothing
life is worthless;
always starts crying
and so crying ends;
that’s why in this world
life is worthless”.Extract from the song Camino de Guanajuato, composed in 1953
Originally from Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval was a great author of ranchera and mariachi music. He was born in 1926 into a middle-class family; His father owned the only pharmacy in town and his mother dedicated herself to the home. He had three brothers: Concepción, Víctor and Ignacio.
Unfortunately, his father died in 1936 and the family moved to Mexico City, where Ignacio and José Alfredo are forced to leave school to work. Shortly after, his family returned to Guanajuato, but José Alfredo stayed in the capital to alternate his vocation as a composer with working as a waiter at the La Sirena restaurant.
José Alfredo Jiménez becomes famous
As fate would have it, the restaurant where José Alfredo worked was frequented by Andrés Huesca, who heard him sing and decided to record him performing the single. I. Later, in 1948, Jiménez sang on the radio stations XEX-AM and XEW-AM and his name began to be recognized.
He would rise to fame when he gave his girlfriend, Paloma Gálvez, the song Dear pigeon, which would later be played by Jorge Negrete, singer and actor from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
The most famous songs of the great singer-songwriter
José Alfredo Jiménez composed almost 300 songs (some say more than a thousand), including corridos, boleros, huapangos and ranchera music. Among the most notable we mention The king, The half-turn, The horseman, If they let us, I woke up in your arms, The road to Guanajuato, Her, The run of the white horse, What a beautiful love, Huasteca serenade, A strange world, How lucky I am, I hope that you wow nice, I let go of the reins, may my life end and When the moon rises.
Despite not having formally studied music, his compositions and melodies were deeply rooted in Mexican popular taste, thanks to the simplicity and emotionality with which they expressed love, heartbreak, and endless feelings.
Likewise, the composer also stood out scoring theater, television, radio and cinema, where he achieved great popularity with films such as Here comes Martín Corona, Poker of Aces, Midnight Guitars and The San Marcos fair.
Agustín Lara, biography and songs
What caused the death of José Alfredo Jiménez?
Due to liver cirrhosis that he had suffered for many years, the composer died in 1973, at the age of 47. The remains of him, as he anticipated in the song Road to Guanajuato, They were buried in the cemetery of their hometown.
Taxes
His work has been performed by great artists such as Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, Luis Miguel, Julio Iglesias, Armando Manzanero, Lola Beltrán, Ricky Martin, Plácido Domingo, Antonio Aguilar, Vicente and Alejandro Fernández and Juan Gabriel.
It also has countless recognitions; three busts in his honor in Mexico City; a museum and the annual José Alfredo Jiménez International Festival, both in his home state; and the 2018 Juventino Rosas Posthumous Recognition by the Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico.
Finally, he is remembered as The King, The king of ranchera music, The son of the people, The master of composition and The patron of the cantinas.
To learn more: Follow in the footsteps of José Alfredo Jiménez in Dolores Hidalgo