| Javier Solis | |
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Javier Solís |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gabriel Siria Levario |
| Also known as | El Rey del Bolero |
| Born | September 1, 1931 Tacubaya, Federal District, México |
| Died | April 19, 1966 Mexico City, México aged 34 |
| Genres | Ranchera, boleros, popular music |
| Occupations | Singer, Actor |
| Years active | 1950–1966 |
Javier Solís (pronounced: [xaˈβjer soˈlis]) (September 1, 1931, Tacubaya, Federal District, Mexico[1] – April 19, 1966, Mexico City, Mexico) was a popular Mexican singer of boleros and rancheras, and a film actor.
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Javier Solís was born Gabriel Siria Levario,[2] the first of three children of Francisco Siria Mora, a baker, and Juana Levario Plata, a trader. She had a stall at a public market and as her spouse had allegedly abandoned her, and she had little time save for work, she decided to leave her son at the household of his uncle Valentín Levario Plata and his wife, Ángela López Martínez, whom he considered his real parents. Siria had to drop out of school before his teens to support his family. He only passed the first five years at a school in Tacubaya in Mexico City, where he used to participate in singing contests. After dropping out of school he worked collecting bones and glass. Later he worked in a supermarket transporting merchandise. He worked as a baker, a butcher, a carpenters helper and a car washer. In his spare time, he trained as an amateur boxer, with aspirations of going professional, but after suffering a few defeats, he was urged to work at something 'more decent'.
Siria began singing in competitions under the pseudonym of Javier Luquín, in which the winner would be awarded a new pair of shoes;[3] he was eventually banned from participating because he so dominated the competition. At that time he was working as a butcher, and sang while he worked. His boss, David Lara Ríos, heard him and was so impressed with his talent that he urged Siria to dedicate himself to his music and recommended him to a voice coach, even paying for singing lessons with Noé Quintero. To his family's relief, he hung up his boxing gloves and began a singing career.
At age 16, Siria went to Puebla to sing with the Mariachi Metepec, but he didn't get his first professional break until two years later, when Julito Rodriguez and Alfredo Gil of the famous singing trio, 'Los Panchos', discovered him, and took him to audition at CBS Records.[3] There, in 1950, he signed a contract and recorded his first album. He was singing at the same time at the Teatro Lirico(Lyric Theatre) in Mexico City when he met dancer Blanca Estela Saenz, who would later become his wife. His first hit, Lloraras, came two years later, and it was his then-producer Felipe Valdes Leal that gave Siria his stage name, Javier Solís.[3]
Solís began to receive international acclaim in 1957, when he began appearing in the U.S. and Central and South America. He was among the first artists to sing in the new style now known as Bolero-Ranchera. He sang boleros typically associated with trio music, but which now were accompanied by mariachis. Solís was a versatile interpreter; he sang not only boleros, but rancheras, danzónes, waltzes and also tangos. His hit recordings included Sombras, Payaso, Vereda Tropical, En Mi Viejo San Juan, composed by the Puerto Rican Noel Estrada, and Amanecí En Tus Brazos, the latter a re-recording of the hit written and recorded by José Alfredo Jiménez.
Solís began his acting career in 1959, and appeared in more than 20 films, working with such artists as Pedro Armendáriz, María Victoria, Antonio Aguilar and Lola Beltrán. His last picture, Juan Pistolas, was finished in 1965,[3] the same year that his film Sinful was released. During his lifetime, he was considered a better singer than actor by his public, who rated him alongside such accomplished artists as Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante.
Following the death of Infante in 1957 due to an air crash in Mérida, Yucatán, Solís experienced a surge of popularity,[3] not least because he was considered the last of The Three Mexican Roosters, or Los Trés Gallos Mexicanos who along with Infante and Negrete, had been the idols of Mexican music and cinema. All of them died young; Solís was the last, passing at age 34 from complications due to gall bladder surgery. At that time, his doctors had refused him water, and his last words concerned his family and his thirst: "They will have to shower my grave with lots of water. I know that I'm going to die; there is no cure".[4]
Javier Solís was a prolific artist, leaving an extensive discography, and like Infante, most of his albums are still in print. This gives an indication of his continuing popularity, so many years after his death.
Adelante, Al claro de luna, Amanecí en tus brazos, Amigo organillero, Angustia, A pesar de todo, Aquel, Así, Ay cariño, Ayúdame Dios mío.
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