Alfonso Esparza Oteo

Alfonso Esparza Oteo (born August 2, 1894 in Aguascalientes , † January 31, 1950 in Mexico City ) was a Mexican composer, pianist and singer.

Esparza received his first music lessons from his father Luis R. Esparza and then studied piano, organ, singing and composition with Juan María Cisneros , Arnulfo Miramontes and Manuel Ponce at the institute of Fermín Ramírez . In 1912 he performed as a piano improviser at the Teatro Actualidades , and in the same year he became organist at the Church of San José . From 1914 he took part in the Mexican Revolution under General Pancho Villa and achieved the degree of major within two years.

Esparza returned to music in 1917 with the performance of his first own composition, the Plenitud foxtrot at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in Aguascalientes. From 1919 he lived in Mexico City, where in 1920 his most famous song, Un Viejo Amor , was performed at the Teatro Lirico , based on a text by Adolfo Fernández Bustamante . President Álvaro Obregón appointed him director of the Orquesta Típica Presidencial that same year . When this was dissolved by Obregón's successor Plutarco Elías Calles , Esparza founded his own orchestra.

He undertook several concert tours through Mexico, where he presented himself as a composer and pianist, and formed the quartet Los Ases de la Canción with Miguel Lerdo de Tejada , Tata Nacho and Mario Talavera . He acted as artistic director of Casa Wagner , director of Southern Music Co. , artistic director of the radio station XEB and program director at XEW . He was also co-founder and first general secretary of the Sindicato de Autores, Compositores y Editores Mexicanos , and a little later of the Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México .

His best-known songs include Te He de Querer , Te Vengo a Decir Adiós , Albur de Amor , Cenizas de Olvido , La Chaparrita , Déjame Llorar , No Vuelvo a Amar , El Quelite , Estrellita Marinera , Juan Colorado , La India Bonita , Hermosas Fuentes , Golondrina Mensajera , Estambul , Pajarillo Barranqueño and Un Viejo Amor . They were performed by well-known musicians such as Néstor Mesta Chayres , Pedro Vargas , Libertad Lamarque , Luis Pérez Meza , Alejandro Rivera , Hermanas Águila , Hermanas Padilla , Hermanas Hernández , Tito Schipa , Alfredo Sadel , Carlos Almenar Otero , Alfredo Kraus , Juan Pulido , Hermanas Huerta , Pilar Arcos , Guty Cárdenas , Emilio Tuero , Lorenzo Barcelata , Josefina Chacha Aguilar , Pedro Infante , Javier Solís , Jorge Negrete , Ana Gabriel , Cuco Sánchez , Héctor Palacios , Alfonso Ortiz Tirado , Juan Arvizu , José Moriche , Ernestina Garfias , Jorge Añez , Alcides Briceño , Margarita Cuero , Eduardo Solís , Elena Ehlers , Jorge Macías , Los Panchos and Tomás Morato . Many of his songs have also been used as film scores.

swell

personal data
SURNAME	Esparza Oteo, Alfonso
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Mexican composer, pianist and singer
DATE OF BIRTH	August 2, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Aguascalientes (city)
DATE OF DEATH	January 31, 1950
Place of death	Mexico city