Manuel Esperón González (August 3, 1911 – February 13, 2011) was a Mexican songwriter and composer."Biografía de Manuel Esperón González (Biography of Manuel Esperón González)"
. Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México (SACM) (Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico). Along with the famous Mexican author Ernesto Cortazar, Esperón cowrote many songs for Mexican films, including " ¡Ay, Jalisco, no te rajes!" for the 1941 film of the same name, "Cocula" for ''El Peñón de las Ánimas'' ('' The Rock of Souls'') (1943), and "Amor con amor se paga" for ''Hay un niño en su futuro'' (1952). Other Esperón compositions have become Latin standards such as "Yo soy mexicano", "Noche plateada" and "No volveré", which was used in the first episode of the 2001 soap opera ''El juego de la vida''. Among other performers,

Pedro Infante Pedro Infante Cruz (; 18 November 1917 – 15 April 1957) was a Mexican ranchera singer and actor whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema. Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and raised in nearby Guamúchil. He died on 15 Apri ...

, Los Panchos, and

Jorge Negrete Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno (; 30 November 1911 – 5 December 1953) was a Mexican singer and actor. He specialized in the musical genre of ranchera. His posthumous album "Fiesta Mexicana Volumen II" has been ranked by critics at No. 163 on t ...

have made his songs well-known. His fame in the US derives from when his song ''The Three Caballeros'' (¡Ay, Jalisco no te Rajes!) was used in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action and animated musical propaganda anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the ...

'' (1945). Esperón was born in

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 ...

. He retired in 1987, although his songs continued to be used in

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and

television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Awards

In 1989, Esperón was awarded the National Prize for Arts for Art and Traditional Culture (''de Artes y Tradiciones Populares'')."Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes"
, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, Secretaría de Educación Pública, in Spanish, accessed 24 January 2010. In 2001, he was given a tribute at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 197 ...

in the historical center of

. Until his death in 2011, he was the honorary President for life of the Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico.

Selected filmography

* '' Come on Ponciano'' (1937) * ''

While Mexico Sleeps ''While Mexico Sleeps'' (Spanish:''Mientras México duerme'') is a 1938 Mexican crime film directed by Alejandro Galindo (director), Alejandro Galindo and starring Arturo de Córdova, Gloria Morel and Miguel Arenas.Spicer p.467 The film's sets wer ...

'' (1938) * '' Father's Entanglements'' (1939) * '' The League of Songs'' (1941) * '' When the Stars Travel'' (1942) * '' I Danced with Don Porfirio'' (1942) * '' The Rock of Souls'' (1942) * '' Alejandra'' (1942) * '' María Eugenia'' (1943) * '' The Rebel'' (1943) * '' Land of Passions'' (1943) * '' The Escape'' (1944) * ''

'' (1945) * '' The Mulatta of Cordoba'' (1945) * '' Adam, Eve and the Devil'' (1945) * '' Love Makes Them Crazy'' (1946) * '' Ramona'' (1946) * '' Caribbean Rose'' (1946) * ''

Tragic Wedding ''Tragic Wedding'' (Spanish:''Bodas trágicas'') is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Roberto Silva, Miroslava and Ernesto Alonso.Berumen p.339 The film's sets were designed by the art director Jorg ...

'' (1946) * '' It's Not Enough to Be a Charro'' (1946) * '' The Associate'' (1946) * '' If I'm to Be Killed Tomorrow'' (1947) * '' I Am a Charro of Rancho Grande'' (1947) * '' The Three Garcias'' (1947) *'' Don't Marry My Wife'' (1947) * '' The Golden Boat'' (1947) * '' The Private Life of Mark Antony and Cleopatra'' (1947) * '' Voices of Spring'' (1947) * '' Flor de caña'' (1948) * '' The Last Night'' (1948) * '' The Perez Family'' (1949) * '' Angels of the Arrabal'' (1949) * '' Only Veracruz Is Beautiful'' (1949) * '' A Galician in Mexico'' (1949) * '' Two Pesos Left'' (1949) * ''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

'' (1949) * '' The Woman of the Port'' (1949) * '' If I Were Just Anyone'' (1950) * '' Red Rain'' (1950) * '' Between Your Love and Heaven'' (1950) * '' You Shall Not Covet Thy Son's Wife'' (1950) * '' When the Night Ends'' (1950) * '' The Dangerous Age'' (1950) * '' Immaculate'' (1950) * ''

Get Your Sandwiches Here ''Get Your Sandwiches Here'' (Spanish: ''Acá las tortas'') is a 1951 Mexican drama film directed by Juan Bustillo Oro and starring Sara García, Meche Barba and Carlos Orellana. It was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City. The fil ...

'' (1951) * '' Radio Patrol'' (1951) * '' The Chicken Hawk'' (1951) * '' The Three Happy Compadres'' (1952) * '' The Beautiful Dreamer'' (1952) * '' Hot Rhumba'' (1952) * '' The Trace of Some Lips'' (1952) * ''

A Place Near Heaven ''A Place Near Heaven'' (Spanish: ''Un rincón cerca del cielo'') is a 1952 Mexican comedy drama film directed by Rogelio A. González and starring Pedro Infante, Marga López and Andrés Soler.De la Mora, p. 79. It was shot at the San Angel Studi ...

'' (1952) * '' The Three Happy Friends'' (1952) * '' The Minister's Daughter'' (1952) * '' Angélica'' (1952) * '' Now I Am Rich'' (1952) * '' The Vagabond'' (1953) * '' You've Got Me By the Wing'' (1953) * '' My Three Merry Widows'' (1953) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1953) * '' The Unknown Mariachi'' (1953) * '' When I Leave'' (1954) * ''

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" ( ) is a French Folklore, folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in . The tale is about a wealthy man in the habit of murdering his wives an ...

'' (1955) * '' Pablo and Carolina'' (1957) * '' Puss Without Boots'' (1957) * '' Every Child a Cross to Bear'' (1957) * '' A Thousand and One Nights'' (1958) * '' It Happened in Mexico'' (1958) *'' The Life of Agustín Lara'' (1959) * '' Love in the Shadows'' (1960) * '' Three Black Angels'' (1960) * '' The Partisan of Villa'' (1967)

References

External links

* * Bush, John. "Manuel Esperón: Biography" ''Allmusic.com''
"Manuel Esperón: Filmography"
''fandango.com'' 1911 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Mexico City Mexican composers Mexican male composers Golden Ariel Award winners Latin music composers {{Mexico-composer-stub