Agustín Lara

Agustín Lara
Statue of A. Lara in Madrid, by sculptor Humberto Peraza
Wives	María Félix[1] Rocío Durán Yolanda Santacruz Gasca[2] Clara Martínez[3] Vianey Lárraga
Issue Rocío Durán (adopted daughter/wife) Enrique Álvarez Félix (stepson) Gerardo Agustín Lara Santacruz (adopted son) Agustín Lara Lárraga (biological son)
Father	Joaquín M. Lara[4]
Mother	María Aguirre del Pino de Lara
Born	October 30, 1897 Tlacotalpan, Veracruz[5]
Died	November 6, 1970(1970-11-06) (aged 73) Mexico City

Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino^[6] (Spanish pronunciation: [aɣusˈtin ˈlaɾa]; October 30, 1897– November 6, 1970), known as Agustín Lara was a Mexican composer and interpreter of songs and boleros. He is recognized as one of the most popular songwriters of his era. His work was widely appreciated not only in Mexico but also in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Spain. After his death, he has also been recognized in the United States, Italy and Japan.

Notable performers of his work include Pedro Vargas who was his friend, Pedro Infante, Javier Solis, Julio Iglesias, Manuel Mijares, Vicente Fernandez, Luis Miguel, Perez Prado, and Natalia Lafourcade among others.

Biography

Agustín Lara and Alfredo Ruiz del Río.

Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After their mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their aunt. It was there that he had his first contact with music.

Lara’s first musical composition was Marucha, written in honor of one of his first loves. In 1927 he already was working in cabarets. He subsequently moved to Puebla, but returned to Mexico City in 1928.^[7] That same year he started working for the tenor Juan Arvizu as composer and accompanist. In September 1930, Lara began a successful radio career. At the same time he acted and composed songs for such films as Santa.

Lara’s first tour, to Cuba in 1933, was a failure because of political turmoil on the island. Later, more successful tours in South America, as well as such new compositions as Solamente Una Vez (composed in Buenos Aires and dedicated to José Mojica), Veracruz, Tropicana, and Pecadora increased his fame.

By the beginning of the 1940s, Lara was well known in Spain. In 1965, the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, gave him a house in Granada to show his appreciation of Lara’s songs with Spanish themes, such as Toledo, Cuerdas de mi Guitarra, Granada, Seville and Madrid. He received additional honors and decorations from around the world.

In 1968, Lara’s health began to decline rapidly; an accident that fractured his pelvis further aggravated his condition. On November 6, 1970, Lara died.^[8] He was buried in Mexico City. By the time of his death, Lara had written more than 700 songs.

Family

Grave of Agustín Lara

Agustín was a son of Joaquín Lara and his wife María Aguirre y Pino.^[4][9] He had an aunt named Refugio Aguirre del Pino and younger sister, María Teresa Lara.^[10][11] He married María Félix and Rocío Durán (whom he adopted)^[12] and was a stepfather to the actor Enrique Álvarez Félix, who died in 1996.^[13]

Adopted sons of Lara are Gerardo Agustín Lara Santacruz (biological son of Lara’s sixth wife Yolanda Santacruz Gasca)^[14] and Agustín Lara Lárraga (biological son of actress Vianey Lárraga,^[15] one of Lara’s wives).^[16]

Lara also had a stepmother.

Selected filmography

• Melodies of America (1941)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Agustín Lara.

External links

• SACM (Spanish
• Biblioteca Babab (Spanish)
• Agustín Lara discography at Discogs
• Agustín Lara at the Internet Movie Database
• "Agustín Lara". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 3, 2010.