Born in the "City of Palaces" (Mexico City), Eugenia Leon discovers her musical calling at the College of Sciences and Humanities in Naucalpan, where she lent her voice for the compositions of her schoolmates.
During the turbulent 70's, young people started to identify with the musical movement known as La Trova, singing about Latin American life, liberty, and soul.
Those influences defined her style and her future path, and she never looked back.
When she turned 18, she decided to study at the National School of Music. Those were hard times, constantly switching jobs, and learning from life's blows and surprises.
Encouraged by her sister, Eugenia Leon formed a musical group called "Victor Jara", with a totally Latin American folk style. Afterwards, she forms the group Sanampay, with the same roots. She left Sanampay in 1982 to pursue a solo career, based on a repertoire of songs from contemporary Mexican composers, and including also boleros and music from Brazil.
She releases her first recording in 1983, "Asi te quiero", and traveled all over Mexico with a small group of musicians playing in various gigs.
Eugenia Leon's career took a definite turn in 1985, when she entered the OTI International Festival at Seville (Spain) representing Mexico, with Marcial Alejandro's song "El Fandango Aqui". As a devastating earthquake hits Mexico City on September 19th, right while she's competing at the Festival, Eugenia transformed the pain of her people into strength, and turned her voice into the utmost expression of courage and hope. She was awarded First Place in the competition.
Since then, she has recorded more than 20 albums, all diverse and unique. Among the composers that have given her songs are Fito Paez, David Haro, Joan Manuel Serrat, Marcial Alejandro, Armando Manzanero, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Francisco Gabilondo Soler and Maria Grever. She has also explored diverse styles such as mariachi, bolero and tango. In 1998, the government of the Mexican state of Veracruz granted her the Agustin Lara award, as homage for her excellent interpretation of the songs of the famous composers.
Commemorating her 30 years as singer, Eugenia Leon staged a concert at the National Auditorium in Mexico City (the largest venue in the country) on November 1st, 2003, selling it out completely. The concert was a spectacular show with Mariachi Vargas and the Orquesta Sinfonica de las Americas, enthralling the audience with samples covering Eugenia's entire career and musical repertoire.
Eugenia Leon is the best Mexican singer according to many, while others also consider Eugenia's concerts and recordings to be a guarantee of high quality. In any case, Eugenia helps to make sure that the musical spirit of Mexico will remain alive and well.
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Eugenia León got her start in the New Song Movement, Latin America's equivalent to the rise of Bob Dylan and company in North America and Europe. With a repertoire that pairs contemporary composers with the creators of the traditional music of Latin America and Mexico, Ms. León is not locked in to any one genre. Rather she seeks to nurture her music with elements of theater, cabaret, and opera. Her association with actors, poets, painters, and writers imparts a distinct and rich dimension to the production and staging of her music.
In 1985, her rich voice and assured stage presence guaranteed her the top prize at the OTI International Song Festival in Spain. Since then she has participated in other prestigious events such as the Pan Pacific Music Festival in Japan, the Kennedy Center’s AmericArtes Festival in Washington, DC, the Latin Festival in New York City, Expo Seville in Spain, and the Americas Summit in Cartagena, Colombia. Ms. León was also invited to entertain the thousands of women gathered for their global summit in Beijing, China.
Back home in Mexico, audiences know that Eugenia León's musical style transcends the trendy ups and downs of the world of commercial music, and she regularly packs the top venues of the nation meeting demands of fans expectant of quality songs passionately delivered. This performer/audience relationship, she believes, leads to ever higher levels of musical culture in a country fairly bursting with song. The end of an Eugenia León concert often finds the entire crowd on it's feet applauding, at once, the Mexican popular music culture, and the artist who has given it a new voice.
With her roots deep in Mexican culture, she has also taken on the task of reaffirming the ties with other Latin American cultures. Her recent live recording of Tangos has renewed Mexico's love affair with this genre.
Along these lines, she paid homage to Mexico's most dearly loved children's song composer, Francisco Gabilondo Soler’s Cri Cri (Mister Cricket) with a shimmering recording of many of his most frolicsome melodies. Accompanied by the Baja California Symphony Orchestra, Eugenia León has gifted a new generation of Mexican children with the imagination and identity of this joyfully playful tunesmith.
El Jicote Aguamielero
Eugenia León Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Estaba en el panal,
Y le dijeron regia majestad:
Alguien le quiere hablar.
Cortado entró el jicote,
Humilde de condición,
Pero ilusionado de pedir,
Parece, parece que no sabe,
No sabe con quien habla
Igualado bigotón.
¡soy la reina, la reina por bonita!
Y un jicote aguamielero
No cuadra con mi amor.
Silencio quedó el jicote
Con tanta humillación,
A la orgullosa reina del panal
Así le contestó:
Leí que éramos iguales
Asegún la constitución,
La sociedad sin clases la creí,
Pero ya vió que no.
Y el jicote aguamielero,
Con bigotes de aguacero,
Rezumbando regresó a su maguey;
Sin rubores en la frente
Porque ultimadamente
A la sombra de las pencas es el rey.
La reina de las abejas
Estaba libando miel,
Y una de sus obreras le gritó:
Ahí está de nuevo aquel.
Mandando cerrar la puerta
La reina se le negó
Porque su afán es que se ha de casar
Con un emperador.
Parece, parece que no sabe,
No sabe con quien trata
Ese prieto barrigón.
¡soy la reina, la reina por bonita!
Y un jicote aguamielero
No cuadra con mi amor.
Fruncido quedó el jicote,
Arqueandose de dolor,
Y en su pesar cantando el infeliz
Así se despidió:
Adiós reinecita hermosa, ¡ay!, que me trató tan mal.
Pero asegún las leyes del país
Aquí todos son igual.
Y el jicote aguamielero,
Con bigotes de aguacero,
Rezumbando regresó a su maguey;
Sin rubores en la frente
Porque ultimadamente
A la sombra de las pencas es el r
El Jicote Aguamielero is a song by renowned Mexican singer Eugenia León that lyrically touches on class struggles and social inequality, carrying the underlying political message of the class-free society. The song follows the conversation between the Queen Bee and a humble Jicote Aguamielero, who hopes to win her heart. Despite his efforts, she refuses him and denies him the opportunity of love due to his socio-economic status. The Jicote is clear about his acceptance of the system when he cites that "we are all equal according to the constitution," highlighting the limits of the society.
The song is a cautionary tale for those who believe in the power of their beauty or riches and uses the analogy of the bee kingdom to illustrate the depredatory nature of society. It shows the journey of the Jicote, who after being rejected by the queen bee, finds solace in his humble abode, unbothered that he is not loved by a queen. The lyrics are poetic, fusing the Spanish language with regional phrases and colloquialisms, thus making it relatable to the Mexican society.
Line by Line Meaning
La reina de las abejas
The queen of the bees
Estaba en el panal,
Was in the hive
Y le dijeron regia majestad:
And they told her regal majesty:
Alguien le quiere hablar.
Someone wants to speak to you.
Cortado entró el jicote,
The jicote entered, cut down
Humilde de condición,
Humble by nature
Pero ilusionado de pedir,
But hopeful to ask
Pedirle su corazón.
To ask for her heart.
Parece, parece que no sabe,
It seems, it seems that she doesn't know,
No sabe con quien habla
Doesn't know who she's talking to
Igualado bigotón.
Bearded commoner.
¡soy la reina, la reina por bonita!
I'm the queen, the queen for being pretty!
Y un jicote aguamielero
And an aguamielero jicote
No cuadra con mi amor.
Doesn't fit my love.
Silencio quedó el jicote
The jicote fell silent
Con tanta humillación,
With so much humiliation
A la orgullosa reina del panal
To the proud queen of the hive
Así le contestó:
He responded like this:
Leí que éramos iguales
I read that we were equals
Asegún la constitución,
According to the constitution,
La sociedad sin clases la creí,
I believed in a classless society,
Pero ya vió que no.
But now I see that isn't true.
Y el jicote aguamielero,
And the aguamielero jicote,
Con bigotes de aguacero,
With mustaches like a downpour,
Rezumbando regresó a su maguey;
Buzzing he returned to his maguey;
Sin rubores en la frente
Without shame on his face
Porque ultimadamente
Because ultimately
A la sombra de las pencas es el rey.
Under the shade of the leaves he is king.
La reina de las abejas
The queen of the bees
Estaba libando miel,
Was sipping honey
Y una de sus obreras le gritó:
And one of her workers yelled:
Ahí está de nuevo aquel.
There's that one again.
Mandando cerrar la puerta
Ordering the door to be closed
La reina se le negó
The queen denied him
Porque su afán es que se ha de casar
Because her desire is to marry
Con un emperador.
An emperor.
Parece, parece que no sabe,
It seems, it seems that she doesn't know,
No sabe con quien trata
Doesn't know who she's dealing with
Ese prieto barrigón.
That dark bellied one.
¡soy la reina, la reina por bonita!
I'm the queen, the queen for being pretty!
Y un jicote aguamielero
And an aguamielero jicote
No cuadra con mi amor.
Doesn't fit my love.
Fruncido quedó el jicote,
The jicote was scowling
Arqueandose de dolor,
Arching with pain
Y en su pesar cantando el infeliz
And in his sorrow, the unfortunate one sang
Así se despidió:
And thus he said goodbye:
Adiós reinecita hermosa, ¡ay!, que me trató tan mal.
Goodbye beautiful little queen, oh, how badly you treated me.
Pero asegún las leyes del país
But according to the laws of the country
Aquí todos son igual.
Here everyone is equal.
Y el jicote aguamielero,
And the aguamielero jicote,
Con bigotes de aguacero,
With mustaches like a downpour,
Rezumbando regresó a su maguey;
Buzzing he returned to his maguey;
Sin rubores en la frente
Without shame on his face
Porque ultimadamente
Because ultimately
A la sombra de las pencas es el rey.
Under the shade of the leaves he is king.
Contributed by Caden R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Chema
¡Maravillosa, de verdad maravillosa interpretación, Eugenia.. mil felicidades!
Eduardo Gss
Gracias por cantar las canciones de cri cri
uwu
Lol