Roberto Cantoral García (7 June 1935 – 7 August 2010) was a Mexican composer, singer and songwriter. He was known for composing a string of hit Mexican songs, including "

El Triste "El Triste" ("''The Sad One''") is a song written by Mexican composer Roberto Cantoral. It was performed for the first time on March 15, 1970, at the "Latin Song Festival II" (predecessor of the OTI Festival) by the Mexican singer José José. ...

", "Al Final", "La Barca" and " El Reloj" The Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México ( en, Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico) estimated that "La Barca" and "El Reloj" have been recorded over 1,000 times by other artists like Plácido Domingo, Gualberto Castro, José José,

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

, Joan Báez and Linda Ronstadt. In 2009, he won the Latin Grammy Trustee Award. '' Iconos'', which was released by

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

in 2010, featured "El Triste".

Early life

Roberto Cantoral Garcia was born on 7 June 1935 in

Ciudad Madero Ciudad Madero is a coastal city, located in southeast Tamaulipas in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the seventh most populous city in the state, with a census-estimated 2015 population of 209,175 within an area of 18.0 square miles (46.6 km2) the c ...

, Tamaulipas. From an early age, he showed an ability for music and its composition. Cantoral moved to Mexico City to attend college but dropped out to become a band leader.

Career

1950–1960

In 1950, Cantoral formed the Hermanos Cantoral ( en, Cantoral Brothers) with Antonio Cantoral. The duo recorded "El preso número 9" ( en, Prisoner Number 9) and "El crucifijo de piedra" ( en, The Crucifix of Stone). The duo ended in 1954 with Antonio's death and Roberto formed Los Tres Caballeros ( en, The Three Knights) with Chamin Correa and Leonel Gálvez who performed during Mexico's era of romantic music and traveled to Japan, Argentina and the United States.

1960–1980

In 1960, Cantoral went solo and achieved international fame for "Al final", "Noche no te vayas", "Regálame esta noche" and "Yo lo comprendo" ( en, In the End, Night, Don't Leave, Give Me This Night and, I Understand). In 1970, he wrote the ballad "

" ( en, The Sad One) for José José. In 1971, he won the OTI Festival with "Yo no voy a la guerra" ( en, I'm not going to the War) and in 1973 for "Quijote". Cantoral donated the proceeds from "Pobre navidad" ( en, Poor Christmas) to worldwide children institutions such as UNICEF and his song, "Plegaria de paz" ( en, Prayer of Peace) was broadcast "three consecutive years at the Vatican". Cantoral composed themes for '' El derecho de nacer'', ''Paloma'' and ''Pacto de amor''.

1980–2000

In 1982, Cantoral was elected as Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México's

Chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

for his first term.

Awards

During his lifetime, Cantoral received many awards. He received medals of merit from Adolfo López Mateos and

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

. In 1969, Cantoral won la presea Diana Cazadora and premio Cuauhtémoc de Oro ( en, Diana the Huntress award and Cuauhtémoc Gold prize). He won three gold records for "El Reloj", "La Barca" and "El Triste".

Personal life

Vista del Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral

Cantoral resided in

Rancho Viejo, Texas Rancho Viejo is a town in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,437 at the 2010 census. The town is named from a ranch in that area named "Rancho Viejo" (Old Ranch). This ranch was owned by Blas María de la Garza Falcón, w ...

, just across the border from Mexico. His home, which suffered a fire in 2006 but was renovated, features a large marble clock in honor of his song, ''El Reloj'', and several statues. Cantoral was married to Itatí Zucchi and was the father of Mexican actress Itatí Cantoral, the co-star of the Televisa television series '' Hasta Que El Dinero Nos Separe''. Roberto Cantoral had three sons, Carlos, Roberto and José, with Zucchi.

Death

In 2010, 75-year old Cantoral died after suffering a heart attack on a flight from

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, to Ciudad de México. The plane made an emergency landing in Toluca, Mexico, where Cantoral was pronounced dead. His body was placed on public view at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Cantoral's ashes were scattered in his hometown, Tampico, Tamaulipas

Tribute

On June 7, 2021, Google celebrated his 85th birthday with a Google Doodle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantoral, Roberto 1935 births 2010 deaths Mexican composers Mexican male composers Mexican male singer-songwriters Mexican singer-songwriters People from Cameron County, Texas People from Tampico, Tamaulipas People from Tamaulipas Latin music songwriters Mexican people of Spanish descent Mexican people of Chilean descent Mexican people of French descent