Tito Guízar
Encyclopedia
Federico Arturo Guízar Tolentino (April 8, 1908 – December 24, 1999) was a Mexican
singer and actor
. He was born in Guadalajara
, Jalisco
, Mexico
.
In a career that spanned over seven decades, Guízar trained early as a opera
singer and traveled to New York
in 1929 to record the songs of Agustín Lara
. He also performed both operatic and Mexican popular songs at Carnegie Hall
, but he succeeded with his arrangements of popular Mexican and Spanish melodies such as Cielito Lindo, La Cucaracha, Granada, and You Belong to My Heart (English version of Solamente una Vez). In 1936, his song Allá en el Rancho Grande
launched the singing charro
in Mexico after appearing in the film of the same name, succeeding as well in the United States
.
Guízar made numerous television
appearances, toured in most of Latin American countries, recorded a significant number of songs, and had his own radio
show in Los Angeles
, Tito Guizar y su Guitarra. He also starred in dozens of films, including Tropic Holiday (1938), St. Louis Blues
(1939), Brazil (1944), and The Gay Ranchero (1948), playing with such stars as Evelyn Keyes
, Dorothy Lamour
, Ray Milland
, Ann Miller
, Martha Raye
, Roy Rogers
, Mae West
and Keenan Wynn
. In the 1990s, he continued playing series parts in Mexican television.
Guízar died from natural causes in San Antonio, Texas
at the age of 91.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
singer and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was born in Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
In a career that spanned over seven decades, Guízar trained early as a opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer and traveled to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1929 to record the songs of Agustín Lara
Agustín Lara
Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.-Biography:Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move again to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After Lara's mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their...
. He also performed both operatic and Mexican popular songs at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, but he succeeded with his arrangements of popular Mexican and Spanish melodies such as Cielito Lindo, La Cucaracha, Granada, and You Belong to My Heart (English version of Solamente una Vez). In 1936, his song Allá en el Rancho Grande
Allá en el Rancho Grande
Allá en el Rancho Grande is a 1936 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Fernando de Fuentes and starring Tito Guízar and Esther Fernández. The film is considered to be the one that started the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.-Plot:...
launched the singing charro
Charro
Charro is a term referring to a traditional horseman from Mexico, originating in the central-western regions primarily in the state of Jalisco including: Zacatecas, Durango, Guanajuato, Morelos, Puebla...
in Mexico after appearing in the film of the same name, succeeding as well in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Guízar made numerous television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances, toured in most of Latin American countries, recorded a significant number of songs, and had his own radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
show in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Tito Guizar y su Guitarra. He also starred in dozens of films, including Tropic Holiday (1938), St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues (1939 film)
St. Louis Blues is a 1939 musical film directed by Raoul Walsh that was set on a Mississippi River showboat. Although the plot was not related to the song, the "St. Louis Blues" was sung as one of the numbers. Artists included jazz singer Maxine Sullivan and composer/singer/actor Hoagy Carmichael...
(1939), Brazil (1944), and The Gay Ranchero (1948), playing with such stars as Evelyn Keyes
Evelyn Keyes
Evelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
, Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
, Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
, Ann Miller
Ann Miller
Johnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
, Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
, Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
and Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
. In the 1990s, he continued playing series parts in Mexican television.
Guízar died from natural causes in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
at the age of 91.