Raised in Mexico City, de la Parra began her piano studies at age 7 and the cello at age 13. During adolescence she discovered her passion for conducting and at the age of 16 moved to London to pursue high school and music studies at the St. Leonard’s Mayfield School.
In the year 2000 at age 19, de la Parra moved to New York City to study Piano and Conducting at Manhattan School of Music. She obtained a BM in Piano Performance under the direction of Jeffrey Cohen and studied conducting with her mentor, Kenneth Kiesler, receiving an MA in Conducting in 2008. De la Parra has also been coached by Marin Alsop, Charles Dutoit, and Kurt Masur.
De la Parra's recent conducting highlights include appearances with the New World Symphony,Houston and San Antonio Orchestras, concerts with the Singapore Sun Festival Orchestra working with Geoffrey Rush, the Russian National Orchestra collaborating with Joshua Bell and Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, and Venezuela's Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra. She was also awarded that orchestra's highest honor given to a musician.
De la Parra has appeared as guest conductor with the Westchester Philharmonic, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Veracruz, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, Uruguay’s Montevideo Philharmonic and Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra, among others. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as guest conductor of the New York Pops Orchestra.
A champion of new music, de la Parra has presented more than twenty world premieres by composers including Enrico Chapela, Paul Brantley, Paul Desenne, Eugenio Toussaint, Ernesto Villa-Lobos, and many more.
Future engagements include performances with the New World Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Tivoli Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Phoenix Symphony, among others.
It was during her undergraduate studies at Manhattan School of Music that de la Parra created what would be the start of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. In 2004 the Mexican Consulate asked de la Parra to produce a concert featuring Mexican music for the Mexico Now Festival. A 65-piece orchestra concert was produced to critical acclaim from major publications. It was at this event that de la Parra became the first Mexican woman to ever conduct a concert in New York City. Since its inception, POA has accomplished two international tours, initiated a Young Composers' Competition, and established an Arts and Education Program, while also presenting an annual season in New York City.
Cielito Lindo
Alondra de la Parra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vienen bajando
Unos ojitos negros,
Cielito lindo de contrabando.
Pájaro que abandona su primer nido,
Su primer nido
Regresa y ya no encuentra,
! Ay, ay, ay, ay! Canta y no llores.
Porque cantando se alegran,
Cielito lindo los corazones.
Ese lunar que tienes,
Cielito lindo junto a la boca,
No se lo des a nadie,
Cielito lindo que a mí me toca.
! Ay, ay, ay, ay!
Canta y no llores.
Porque cantando se alegran,
Cielito lindo los corazones.
The lyrics to Alondra de la Parra's beautiful Spanish song "Cielito Lindo" describe the journey of a beautiful girl with black eyes who is coming down from the mountains. The song suggests that she is coming into town secretly, as if she is a smuggler. The singer sings that the girl's black eyes are contraband or smuggled goods, and that they are like a precious treasure. The next stanza compares the girl to a bird that has left its first nest, only to return and not find it. The 'cielito lindo' or the good sky, represents someone or something dear that has been lost or cannot be found.
The singer then asks the girl not to give away her mole (a beauty mark near the mouth). The mole is his to touch alone and he cautions her to guard it well. In the end, the singer repeats the song's refrain, telling the listener not to cry, to sing instead, because singing brings joy and happiness to our hearts.
Line by Line Meaning
De la sierra morena, vienen bajando,
From the dark mountains, they come descending
Vienen bajando
They come descending
Unos ojitos negros,
A pair of black eyes
Cielito lindo de contrabando.
Cielito lindo smuggled in
Pájaro que abandona su primer nido,
A bird that leaves its first nest
Su primer nido
Its first nest
Regresa y ya no encuentra,
Comes back and finds it no more
Cielo lindo el bien querido.
Beloved cielo lindo
! Ay, ay, ay, ay! Canta y no llores.
Oh, sing and don't cry
Porque cantando se alegran,
Because singing brings joy
Cielito lindo los corazones.
Cielito lindo in the hearts
Ese lunar que tienes,
That beauty mark you have
Cielito lindo junto a la boca,
Cielito lindo near the mouth
No se lo des a nadie,
Don't give it to anyone
Cielito lindo que a mí me toca.
Cielito lindo that belongs to me
! Ay, ay, ay, ay! Canta y no llores.
Oh, sing and don't cry
Porque cantando se alegran,
Because singing brings joy
Cielito lindo los corazones.
Cielito lindo in the hearts
Writer(s): QUIRINO FIDEL MENDOZA CORTES
Contributed by Avery D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@lunadenoche5
De la Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, no da risa
Un par de ojitos negros
Cielito lindo, de contrabando
De la Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Un par de ojitos negros
Cielito lindo, de contrabando
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
No se lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca
Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
No se lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca.
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Siempre que te enamores
mira primero, mira primero
donde pones los ojos, donde pones los ojos
no llores luego
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
@caxamaco
De la sierra morena
Vienen bajando, vienen bajando
Unos ojitos negros
Cielito lindo de contrabando
Pájaro que abandona
Su primer nido, su primer nido
Regresa y ya no encuentra
Cielito lindo el bien querido
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo los corazones
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo los corazones
Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo junto a la boca
No sé lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo que a mí me toca
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo los corazones
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo los corazones.
@israelsoyyo
Han pasado 10 años de que subiste esto, está bien. Pero no puedo creer semejante voz, demasiado hermosa tu voz, joder, lo escucho y no me creo semejante hermosura de voz... ¡Increíble! ¡Yo me muero solo de escucharte cantar!
@AGORAJosAnto
🤢
@litalof2467
Muy bonita interpretación
@litalof2467
Muy bonita interpretación.
@olgagonzales5413
Qué bonita voz, bella interpretacion
@loridjc8248
Es un ángel 😇
@christinegineys9560
Pleins de souvenirs ma maman la chantait souvent superbe voix
@javiercervantesandrade8835
DENISSE GUTIERREZ
UNA VOZ ANGELICAL
ÚNICA Y SUBLIME
@litalof2467
Me gusta. Muy linda.
@abelmurillohumor
Saludos Alondra desde San Antonio TX USA