Mexico has produced many talented composers throughout its history. Manuel Ponce, Armando Manzanero, and Juan Gabriel are just a few composers on this great list. However, there is one name that cannot be forgotten when talking about great Mexican composers: Jose Alfredo Jimenez. While the students in our Academy of Music are currently studying one of his many hits, they have also begun to learn about the history of this great mariachi composer. Here is some of what they have learned.
Brief History of Jose Alfredo Jimenez
Jose Alfredo Jimenez, one of the greatest Mexican composers, was born January 19, 1926 in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. As a young boy, Jose Alfredo was also very passionate about soccer. At the age of 14, he moved in with his aunt in Mexico City to pursue a professional soccer career. As fate would have it, his soccer career did not play out how he had hoped and thus his sole focus on music began.
Although Jose Alfredo had no musical training, he was able to compose his own songs. One day while working as a waiter, he got to serve Mexican Icon: Miguel Aceves Mejia, and his party. There he told Miguel, that he was also a composer and asked him to listen to his work. Miguel then invites him to his radio auditions, Amanecer Ranchero, that he hosted alongside Ruben Fuentes and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan. Miguel Aceves Mejia was impressed and thus recorded the first Jose Alfredo Jimenez songs to ever be recorded.
In 1973, Jose Alfredo appeared in the famous Mexican T.V. show, Siempre en Domingo, where he sung his last song, Gracias. Later that year he passed away at the age of 47 due to liver cirrhosis.
His Legacy & Impact on Mariachi Music
Jose Alfredo Jimenez’s music has been so successful, that other well known artists have also performed and recorded his music. Singers like Vicente Fernandez, Antonio Aguilar, Javier Solis, and Luis Miguel are just a few of the many artists that have had success with Jose Alfredo’s music. For mariachis everywhere, his songs are a staple of their own repertoire books. It will be very difficult to sit through a mariachi performance or concert, without listening to one of Jose Alfredo Jimenez’s songs being performed.
Jose Alfredo Jimenez has left us with countless songs that have played an important part of many people’s lives. His music has withstood the test of time, and his legacy will live forever.
Enjoy this clip of Mariachi Los Camperos performing a Jose Alfredo Jimenez Medley during one of our Christmas Concerts!
You can visit the Jose Alfredo Jimenez Museum next time you visit Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.