José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (; 19 January 1926 – 23 November 1973) was a Mexican singer-songwriter, whose songs are regarded as the basis of modern Regional Mexican music and Rancheras.

Early life

Jiménez was born in

Dolores Hidalgo Dolores Hidalgo (; in full, Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional, ) is the name of a city and the surrounding municipality in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It is located at , at an elevation of about a ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

, Mexico. His father died when he was ten years old, and his mother moved the family to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. Jiménez worked from a young age to help support his family. He took a job as a waiter at a Yucatacan restaurant in Santa María de la Ribera named La Sirena. While working there, he started writing songs and singing with a group called Los Rebeldes.

Career

The singer Miguel Aceves Mejía claims to have discovered him from Los Rebeldes. According to Mejía, Jiménez did not play an instrument and did not even know the Spanish word for "

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

" or what

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

his songs were in. Following Mejía's instruction, Jiménez auditioned at the Radio Station XEW's ''Amanecer Ranchero'' together with the Mariachi Vargas and Rubén Fuentes. Jiménez performed a cappella, including his song " Ella". Don Miguel subsequently recorded "Ella, "Yo", "Serenata huasteca" and "Tu Recuerdo y yo". After this, he composed more than 1,000 songs. Among the most famous are "Yo", "Me equivoqué contigo", "Ella", "Paloma querida", "Que se me acabe la Vida ", "Tú y la mentira", "Media vuelta", " El Rey", "Sin sangre en las venas", "El jinete", "Si nos dejan", "Amanecí en tus brazos", "Llegando a ti", "Tu recuerdo y yo", El hijo del pueblo", "Cuando el destino", "El caballo blanco", "Llegó borracho el Borracho" and "Que te vaya bonito", as well as "Camino de Guanajuato", where he sang about his home state of

. One of his last appearances on Mexican television occurred in 1973, just months prior to his death, where he introduced his last song, "Gracias", accompanied by his wife, singer Alicia Juarez. Later, Jiménez died at the age of forty-seven years old in Mexico City on 23 November 1973 due to complications resulting from

cirrhosis of the liver Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

Tribute

Jiménez is buried in his hometown of

. His tomb, the "Mausoleum of José Alfredo Jiménez", is in the shape of a traditional shawl and sombrero, much like the ones Jiménez would wear during his performances. Son of José Alfredo Jiménez, singer José Alfredo Jiménez Medel, wrote a prologue to a 214-page book commemorating him that is titled ''En el último trago nos vamos''. His daughter, Paloma Jiménez Gálvez, also released a book titled ''Es Inútil Dejar De Quererte: 50 Años Sin José Alfredo'' in the 37th edition of the

Guadalajara International Book Fair The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: ) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt's. It is also considered the most i ...

. His songs have been recorded by many artists, such as

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Little Joe Hernández & The Latinaires, and the Mexican rock group

Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band formed in 1981. Originally called Sombrero Verde, the current lineup of members is vocalist-guitarist Fher Olvera, drummer Alex González (musician), Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan ...

Joaquín Sabina Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina (born 12 February 1949) is a Spanish musician, singer, composer, and poet. His songs usually treat love, heartbreaks and society with significant use of literary figures as in the baroque-literature style. He ha ...

paid homage to Jiménez with his song, "Por el Bulevar de los Sueños Rotos" ("On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams"). The country artist Luke Tan recorded a disc of his favorite Jiménez songs in Spanish, including some with English translations.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''La Sota De Copas'' (1970) * ''El Cantinero'' (1971) * ''El Rey'' (1971) * ''Gracias'' (1972)

Compilations

* ''15 Exitos Inolvidables De'' (1983) — RCA Records * ''12 Exitos De Oro'' (1988) — RCA Records * ''Lo Esencial'' (2008) — RCA/Legacy Recordings

Partial filmography

* '' The Guests of the Marquesa'' (1951) *'' Here Comes Martin Corona'' (1952) *''El enamorado'' (1952) *''Ni pobres ni ricos'' (1953) *''Los aventureros'' (1954) *''Tres bribones'' (1955) – Cantante *''Camino de Guanajuato'' (1955) – José Alfredo Martínez *'' Pura Vida'' (1956) – El mismo *''La fiera'' (1956) – Cantante *''La feria de San Marcos'' (1958) *''Guitarras de medianoche'' (1958) – José Alfredo *''Ferias de México'' (1959) *''Mis padres se divorcian'' (1959) – Cantante (uncredited) *''Cada quién su música'' (1959) *''El hombre del alazán'' (1959) *'' Juana Gallo'' (1961) – Nabor, el caporal *''Las hijas del Amapolo'' (1962) *''La Sonrisa de los Pobres'' (1964) *'' Escuela para solteras'' (1965) – El desesperado *''Audaz y bravero'' (1965) – Cantante *''Me cansé de rogarle'' (1966) *''Arrullo de Dios'' (1967) *''El caudillo'' (1968) – Borrego *'' La chamuscada'' (1971) – Revolucionario *''La loca de los milagros'' (1975) – (final film role)

References

Cited

Other

* Jiménez, José Alfredo. 1 April 2002. Publication Somos, Group Televisa S.A de C.V. "Promotor con buen Estrella". pp. 62–63.

External links

Songs of José Alfredo Jiménez

Testimony from Miguel Aceves Mejía
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Jose Alfredo 1926 births 1973 deaths Singers from Guanajuato Writers from Guanajuato People from Dolores Hidalgo Mexican male songwriters Mariachi musicians Deaths from hepatitis Latin music songwriters Deaths from cirrhosis 20th-century Mexican male singers Golden Age of Mexican cinema