Consuelo Velázquez

Consuelo Velázquez Torres (August 21, 1916 – January 22, 2005), also popularly known as Consuelito Velázquez, was a Mexican concert pianist and composer. She was the composer of famous Mexican ballads such as "Bésame mucho", "Amar y vivir", and "Cachito". she was the youngest of five daughters. Her father was an army officer and poet who died when she was young. At four years old she started to demonstrate a good ear and an aptitude for music, and at barely six years old she began studying music and piano at the Academia de Música Serratos in Guadalajara. After several years of study, when she was 11, she moved to Mexico City, where she continued her studies and obtained a degree in teaching music and concert piano at the National Conservatory of Music. Her first public concert was held in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in the capital, and soon after she began working as a composer of popular music. directed by filmmaker Julio Saraceni was unique for her career. As a pianist she was also involved in the Mexican movies directed by Julián Soler Se le pasó la mano made in 1952 and Mis padres se divorcian made in 1959. Additionally, she appeared in the documentary about her life, Consuelo Velázquez, made in 1992. Throughout her life she composed music for several Mexican movies.

Bésame mucho

Her best-known piece is the iconic song "Bésame mucho", which she composed in the Cuban music genre bolero in 1932 when she was 16 years old. After its recording by the Spanish-Mexican baritone Emilio Tuero, "Bésame mucho" is also known as "Kiss Me Kiss Me Much", "Kiss Me a Lot", "Kiss Me Again and Again", "Embrasse-Moi" and "Stále ma bozkávaj". Translated into more than 20 languages, the song has become an icon of popular music. Part of its great success in the United States was due to its appeal to women who waited for their husbands during World War II.

Personal life In 1944 Velázquez married the media owner and artist promoter Mariano Rivera Conde (died in 1977), and they had two sons, Mariano and Sergio Rivera Velázquez.

Death Velázquez died in Mexico City of respiratory problems on January 22, 2005, at the age of 88.