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Consuelo Velázquez died on January 22, 2005. According to her obituary she was 88 years old. Most music resources, however, list her birth date as August 29, 1924 in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco State, Mexico.
Velázquez was the songwriter and lyricist of many Latin standard songs like Amar y vivir, Verdad amarga, Franqueza, Que seas feliz, Cachito, Enamorada and, specially, of the enduring 1940s-era hit Bésame mucho.
Velázquez, who is said to have begun playing the piano at the age of four, started her professional career as a classical music concert pianist, performing at Palacio de Bellas Artes and XEQ Radio, but later became a singer and recording artist. According to Velázquez herself, she was strongly influenced by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. She composed the romantic ballad Bésame mucho in 1941, which was soon recorded by artists around the globe, making it an international hit.
Though the Spanish lyric on Bésame mucho was changed into English by Sunny Skylar, the song has been recorded by hundreds of contemporary and past great performers, including The Beatles, The Flamingos, Nat "King" Cole, Xavier Cugat, The Ventures, Sammy Davis Jr., Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Ray Conniff, Frank Sinatra, Dave Brubeck, Diana Krall and Luis Miguel.
Velázquez also was elected to the Mexican Congress, served as president for SACM (Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico), and was vicepresident of CISAC (International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies). She died of respiratory problems in Mexico City. Velázquez had been in hospital since she suffered a fall in November 2004.
Fact
- Bésame mucho is also known as Kiss Me Much, Kiss Me a Lot, Kiss Me Again and Again, Embrasse-Moi and Stale Ma Boskavaj.
External links
- Template:Imdb name
- In Russian (http://satyricon20.tripod.com/sat39.htm)de:Consuelo Velázquez