"José Antonio", sometimes also known as "Caballo de paso", is a song written and performed by

Chabuca Granda María Isabel Granda Larco (3 September 1920 – 8 March 1983), better known as Chabuca Granda, was a Peruvian singer and composer. She created and interpreted a vast number of Criollo waltzes with Afro-Peruvian rhythms. Granda's "La flor de la ...

. The song is in the

tondero Tondero is a dance and guitar rhythm from Peru that developed in the country's northern coastal region (Piura– Lambayeque). Geographical origin of tondero and cumananas The Tondero is a Peruvian dance and rhythm born in the north coast adj ...

style. It was a tribute to friend of Granda's father and horse breeder who helped save the

Peruvian Paso The Peruvian Horse is a breed of light saddle horse known for its smooth ride. It is distinguished by a natural, four-beat, lateral gait called the ''paso llano.'' This breed is protected by the Peruvian government through Decree number 25919 o ...

horse.

Composition

Granda wrote "José Antonio" in 1957 as a tribute to José Antonio de Lavalle y García (1888-1957), a friend of her father, agronomist, and horse breeder who was responsible for the recovery of the

breed of horse. The actual José Antonio died in May 1957. The song's lyrics describe José Antonio as he rides his horse wearing a jipijapa (

Panama hat A Panama hat, also known as an Ecuadorian hat, a jipijapa hat, or a toquilla straw hat, is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the ''Carludovica palmata'' plant, known ...

), Creole Berber, scarf and poncho, and holding silk reins. Later, the song transitions to a farewell to José Antonio: "José Antonio, José Antonio, ¿por qué me dejaste aquí? Cuando te vuelva a encontrar que sea junio y garúe" ("Jose Antonio, Jose Antonio, Why did you leave me here? When I find you again let it be June and garue.").

Recording history

In 1961, Mario Cavagnaro, the head of the "Sono Radio" record label, proposed an album compiling Granda's best compositions. The album was titled "Lo mejor de Chabuca Granda" ("The Best of Chabuca Granda"). Granda was allowed to select her favorite interpreters to perform on the album. For "José Antonio", she chose

Jesús Vásquez María de Jesús Vásquez Vásquez (December 20, 1920 – April 3, 2010), known by the pseudonym La Reina y Señora de la Canción Criolla, was a virtuoso Peruvian singer. She was daughter of Pedro Vásquez Chávez and María Jesús Vásquez V ...

, known as La Reina y Señora de la Canción Criolla. In 1967, Granda's international reputation grew following tours of the United States and South America. During this tour, she performed at times with singer-songwriter-guitarist Óscar Avilés, and the pair released an album, "Dialogando" (Iempsa, 1968), which included "José Antonio". In the 1960s, Granda also released the album, "Voz y vena de Chabuca Granda" ("Voice and vein of Chabuca Granda"), on which she sang her own compositions, including "José Antonio". In 1973, Granda recorded the song again for her album, "Grande De América", produced for the

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

label. For the album's recording of "José Antonio", she was accompanied by Óscar Avilés on guitar and by Chucho Ferrer on organ. This version was one of four Granda songs included on RCA's 2003 compilation celebrating 100 years of Latin American folklore music, "Lo Mejor del Folklore Latinoamericano: Coleccion RCA 100 Anos de Musica". The song also appeared on Granda's albums, "Tarimba negra" (Movieplay, 1978) and "Cada canción con su razón" ("Each song with its reason") (EMI-Odeon, 1981). The song is among Granda's most famous and has been covered by many leading Latin artists, including

Chavela Vargas Isabel Vargas Lizano (17 April 1919 – 5 August 2012), better known as Chavela Vargas (), was a Mexican singer. She was especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras, but she is also recognized for her contribution to other genres of ...

Tania Libertad Tania Libertad de Souza Zúñiga (born October 24, 1952) known professionally as Tania Libertad, is a Peruvian-Mexican singer in the World Music genre. Libertad was named an Ambassador for Peace by UNESCO, Comendadora by the Peruvian government, a ...

Ginamaría Hidalgo Ginamaría Hidalgo (August 23, 1927 – February 10, 2004) was a light-lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano vo ...

, and

Yamila Cafrune Yamila Cafrune (born in Buenos Aires, November 16, 1965) is an Argentine folk music singer. She is the daughter of Jorge Cafrune, who was also a ''folklore'' singer. She currently lives in Cañuelas, a small town in Buenos Aires Province. Born N ...

Recognition

In 1992, the government of Barranco dedicated the Parque Chabuca Granda, which includes statues both of Granda and of José Antonio riding a Peruvian Paso horse, as depicted in the song. In 2017, Granda's body of musical work was declared a part of the "Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación" (" Cultural Heritage of the Nation"). "José Antonio" was one of the emblematic works named in the declaration. In 2019, ''

La República LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', one of the two major national newspapers in Peru, published its list of the six best songs of Granda that have represented Peru around the world. The list included "José Antonio". The magazine ''

Caretas ''Caretas'' (Masks) is a weekly newsmagazine published in Lima, Peru, renowned for its investigative journalism. History ''Caretas'' was founded in October 1950 by Doris Gibson and Francisco Igartua. In the mid-1950s, Gibson's son, Enrique Z ...

'' also included the song in its 2020 listing of Granda's five most emblematic songs.

Composition

Recording history

Recognition

References

Further reading