Lorenzo Barcelata

Lorenzo Barcelata (July 24, 1898 – July 13, 1943) was a Mexican composer and actor born in Tlalixcoyan, Veracruz. He died in Mexico City from cholera, shortly before his 45th birthday.

Barcelata came from a musically oriented family. He wrote his first song, "Arroyito", at the age of 14. He later moved to Tampico where he formed the Cuarteto Tamaulipeco with composer Ernesto Cortázar. Their fame quickly spread throughout the region and they received international fame when the Mexican government sent them on a tour of Cuba. While there, they were signed to perform a 52-week tour of the United States. After two of the members were fatally injured in an automobile accident, Barcelata returned to Mexico. He reformed the quartet as his fame continued to grow. Beginning in 1932, he entered the Mexican film industry and became a prominent film composer until his death. He also achieved fame as an actor as he played roles in several films.

His most famous song is "María Elena", (also known as "Yours is My Heart"), and was originally written for Lucia Martínez García. The song was written at the request of Ernesto Soto Reyes, Lucía's husband, who paid $10,000 pesos for the song. Shortly before registering the song, Barcelata showed it to his businessman friend Anacarsis "Carcho" Peralta, who loved it; curiously, the song appeared shortly afterwards as "María Elena", the name of one of the businessman's girlfriends. "Maria Elena" was featured in the 1936 Mexican film of the same name. A version of it was also included on the soundtrack to the 1935 American film Bordertown. It was later translated into English and performed by the Lawrence Welk orchestra. Another English version was recorded by Jimmy Dorsey. Dorsey's version topped the charts in 1941. Wayne King also recorded an English version which reached the No. 2 position during the week of June 14, runner-up only to the Dorsey version. A vocal version by Tony Pastor also reached the Top 10 during that month. "Maria Elena" has since been recorded internationally by several different musicians. In 1958, the Brazilian group Los Indios Tabajaras recorded a version that became popular throughout Latin America and later (in 1963) reached the No. 6 position in the US charts & No. 5 in the UK charts.

The popularity of "Maria Elena" in the US in the early-1940s resulted in Barcelata touring the country once again. He returned to Mexico in 1943 where he was scheduled to produce several radio programs. However, he died on July 13, before recording could begin. In total, he left behind a catalog of 214 songs, including "Por ti aprendí a querer", and "El Cascabel", among others.

A recording of "El Cascabel" was one of the pieces of music on the Voyager Golden Record. This version was a mariachi interpretation performed by Antonio Maciel y Las Aguilillas with El Mariachi México de Pepe Villa. The 12 inch album (complete with stylus, cartridge and instructions for use) which was launched into deep space aboard the Voyager space probes in the late 1970s.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 24, 1898 (Tlalixcoyan), Died June 13, 1943 (Mexico City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1953

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, vocalist, songwriter, lyricist, arranger, leader

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 151-175 of 215 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W97408 10-in. August 1929 La posadas, part 1 Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Vocal and instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Columbia W97409 10-in. August 1929 La posadas, part 2 Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Vocal and instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Columbia W97415 10-in. August 1929 Muñequita de oro : Canción Paco Santillana Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia W97435 10-in. September 1929 Arroyito : Canción Consuelo de Guzmán Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia W109307 10-in. May 1928 Coconiti Guty y Lencho Male vocal duet, with guitars composer  
Columbia W703086 10-in. December 1929 Chinampera : Canción Guty Cárdenas ; Enric Madriguera Orchestra Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
OKeh W400728 10-in. 6/1/1928 Coconita Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400729 10-in. 6/1/1928 Cantinela Tamaulipeca Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400730 10-in. 6/1/1928 Cuerudo Tamaulipeco Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400731 10-in. 6/1/1928 Arroyito Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400733 10-in. 6/1/1928 Lucha Maria Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400745 10-in. 6/5/1928 Virgencita Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer, lyricist  
OKeh W400746 10-in. 6/5/1928 Una canción Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal quartet, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400749 10-in. 6/5/1928 Las carreras!!! Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400751 10-in. 6/5/1928 Ora chata malora Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental trio composer  
OKeh W400755 10-in. 6/6/1928 La pitahaya Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble composer  
OKeh W400757 10-in. 6/6/1928 Niño fidencio Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble composer  
OKeh W400759 10-in. 6/6/1928 Mexicanita Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble composer  
OKeh W400760 10-in. 6/6/1928 El bohemio Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble composer, lyricist  
OKeh W400761 10-in. 6/6/1928 Como gota de agua Los Trovadores Tamaulipecos Male vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28779 10-in. 11/27/1928 Coconito Rodolfo Hoyos Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E28996 10-in. 1/21/1929 Mi guitarra Milla Dominguez ; Orquesta Típica Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E29072 10-in. 1/17/1929 Arroyito Rodolfo Alcantas Male vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and mandolin composer  
Brunswick E29073 10-in. 1/17/1929 Lucha María Rodolfo Alcantas Male vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and mandolin composer  
Brunswick E29192 10-in. 2/25/1929 Yumurí Los Trovadores Male vocal solo and male vocal ensemble, with 2 guitars songwriter  
(Results 151-175 of 215 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Barcelata, Lorenzo," accessed April 24, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106695.

Barcelata, Lorenzo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106695.

"Barcelata, Lorenzo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106695

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.