José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (19 January 1926 – 23 November 1973) was a Mexican singer-songwriter, whose songs are regarded as the basis of modern Regional Mexican music and Rancheras.

Biography

Jiménez was born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico. His father died when he was ten years old and his mother moved the family to Mexico City. Jiménez worked from a young age to help support his family. He took a job as a waiter at a Yucatacan restaurant in Santa Maria de la Rivera named La Sirena. While working there he started writing songs and singing with a group called Los Rebeldes. It was there that singer Miguel Aceves Mejía claims to have discovered him. According to Mejía, Jiménez did not play an instrument, and did not even know the Spanish word for "waltz" or what keys his songs were in. Following Mejía's instruction, Jiménez auditioned at the Radio Station XEW's Amanecer Ranchero together with the Mariachi Vargas and Rubén Fuentes. Jiménez performed a capella, including his song “Ella”. Don Miguel was impressed, and subsequently recorded "Ella, "Yo", "Serenata huasteca" and "Tu Recuerdo y yo." After this, he composed more than 1,000 songs. Among the most famous are "Yo", "Me equivoqué contigo", "Ella", "Paloma querida","Que se me acabe la Vida ", "Tú y la mentira", "Media vuelta", "El Rey", "Sin sangre en las venas", "El jinete", "Si nos dejan", "Amanecí en tus brazos", "Llegando a ti", "Tu recuerdo y yo", El hijo del pueblo", "Cuando el destino", "El caballo blanco", "Llegó borracho el Borracho" and "Que te vaya bonito", as well as "Camino de Guanajuato", where he sang about his home state of Guanajuato. In addition to his own recordings, many of his songs have been recorded by renowned artists from around the Spanish-speaking world, most notably by the following artists: Selena, who sang "Cuando Nadie Te Quiera", Miguel Aceves Mejía, Enrique Bunbury, Antonio Aguilar, Tania Libertad, Luis Aguilar, Lola Beltrán, Vikki Carr, Gualberto Castro, Rocío Dúrcal, Alejandro Fernández, Pedro Fernández, Vicente Fernández, Los Relámpagos del Norte con Cornelio Reyna y Ramón Ayala, Los Tigres del Norte, Manolo García, Little Joe Hernández & The Latinaires, Julio Iglesias, Pedro Infante, the Mexican rock group Maná, Luis Miguel, Jorge Negrete, Sunny Ozuna & The Sunliners, María Dolores Pradera, Javier Solís, and Chavela Vargas. In addition, Joaquín Sabina paid homage to Jiménez with his song, "Por el Bulevar de los Sueños Rotos" ("On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams"). The country artist Luke Tan recorded a disc of his favorite Jiménez songs in Spanish, including some English translations. Jiménez was forty-seven years old when he died in Mexico City, of complications resulting from cirrhosis of the liver. One of his last appearances on Mexican television occurred in 1973, just months prior to his death, where he introduced his last song, "Gracias", accompanied by his wife, singer Alicia Juarez.

Tribute

Jiménez is buried in his hometown of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. His tomb, the "Mausoleum of José Alfredo Jiménez", is in the shape of a traditional shawl and sombrero, much like the ones Jiménez would wear during his performances.

Studio albums

Partial filmography

Cited

Other