Few Mexican musicians in the twentieth century achieved as much notoriety or had such an international impact as the popular singer and songwriter Agustin Lara (1897-1970). Widely known as "el flaco de oro" ("the Golden Skinny"), this remarkably thin fellow was prolific across the genres of bolero, ballad, and folk. His most beloved "Granada", a song so enduring that it has been covered by the likes of Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, and Placido Domingo, is today a standard in the vocal repertory. However, there exists very little biographical literature on Lara in English. In Agustin Lara: A Cultural Biography, author Andrew Wood's informed and informative placement of Lara's work in a broader cultural context presents a rich and comprehensive reading of the life of this significant musical figure. Lara's career as a media celebrity as well as musician provides an excellent window on Mexican society in the mid-twentieth century and on popular culture in Latin America. Wood also delves into Lara's music itself, bringing to light how the composer's work unites a number of important currents in Latin music of his day, particularly the bolero. With close musicological focus and in-depth cultural analysis riding alongside the biographical narrative, Agustin Lara: A Cultural Biography is a welcome read to aficionados and performers of Latin American musics, as well as a valuable addition to the study of modern Mexican music and Latin American popular culture as a whole.
Acknowledgements ; List of Illustrations ; Prelude: Sell Your Love Dearly ; Chapter One: Music and Mexican Modernity ; Chapter Two: From Bordello Pianist to Tropical Troubadour: 1897-1930 ; Chapter Three: Musical Revue, Radio and Film: 1931-34 ; Chapter Four: Palm Trees and Pirate Nights: 1935-41 ; Chapter Five: Tales of Beauty and the Bohemian: 1942-47 ; Chapter Six: Postwar Cabareteras and Boleros: 1948-53 ; Chapter Seven: To Spain and Veracruz: 1954-70 ; Notes ; References ; Cast of Lara's friends and associates ; Full Listing of Lara's Songs ; Filmography ; Index
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