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.
Nostalgia
Eugenia León Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Para apagar un loco amor
Que más que amor es un sufrir
Y aquí vengo para eso
En los besos de otras bocas
Si su amor fue flor de un día
Por qué causa es siempre mía
Esta cruel preocupación
Quiero por los dos mi copa alzar
Para olvidar mi obstinación
Y aún la vuelvo a recordar
Nostalgias
De escuchar su risa loca
Y sentir junto a mi boca
Como un fuego su respiración
Angustia
De sentirme abandonado
Y pensar que otro a su lado
Pronto, pronto le hablará de amor
Hermano
Yo no quiero rebajarme
Ni pedirle, ni llorarle
Ni decirle que no puedo más vivir
Desde mi triste soledad
Veré caer las hojas muertas
De mi juventud
Y gime bandoneón
Tu tango gris
Quizás a ti te hiera igual
Algún amor sentimental
Llora mi alma de fantoche
Sola y triste en esta noche
Noche negra y sin estrellas
Si las copas traen consuelo
Aquí estoy con mi desvelo
Para ahogarlas de una vez
Quiero emborrachar mi corazón
Para poder después brindar
Por los fracasos del amor
The lyrics to Eugenia Leòn's song "Nostalgia" convey a deep sense of longing and heartbreak. The singer expresses a desire to numb the pain of a love that has caused more suffering than happiness. They seek to drown their sorrows and erase the memories of past kisses and love affairs. Despite knowing that the love they had was fleeting, they cannot let go of the torment it has brought them. The singer reminisces about the joy of hearing their lover's laughter and feeling their warm breath against their lips, but is plagued by anguish at the thought of their now being with someone else, who will inevitably speak of love to them soon.
In the second verse, the singer resolves not to lower themselves by begging, crying, or admitting their inability to move on. From their lonely sadness, they watch the metaphorical dead leaves of their youth fall. The bandoneón, a type of accordion traditionally associated with tango music, cries out in a gray tango, mirroring the singer's sentimental pain. Their soul laments being a puppet, alone and sad in this starless night. The chorus returns with the singer expressing their intention to drown their heart in alcohol to be able to toast to the failures of love afterward.
Overall, the lyrics depict a sense of nostalgia and heartache, longing for a love that has slipped away and struggling to move on from the pain it has caused.
Line by Line Meaning
Quiero emborrachar mi corazón
I want to drown my heart in alcohol
Para apagar un loco amor
To extinguish a crazy love
Que más que amor es un sufrir
Which is more suffering than love
Y aquí vengo para eso
And here I come for that
A borrar antiguos besos
To erase past kisses
En los besos de otras bocas
In the kisses of other mouths
Si su amor fue flor de un día
If their love was just a one-day flower
Por qué causa es siempre mía
Why is it always mine?
Esta cruel preocupación
This cruel concern
Quiero por los dos mi copa alzar
I want to raise my glass for the both of us
Para olvidar mi obstinación
To forget my stubbornness
Y aún la vuelvo a recordar
And still I remember it
Nostalgias
Nostalgias
De escuchar su risa loca
Of hearing her crazy laughter
Y sentir junto a mi boca
And feeling next to my mouth
Como un fuego su respiración
Like a fire, her breath
Angustia
Anguish
De sentirme abandonado
Of feeling abandoned
Y pensar que otro a su lado
And thinking that someone else by her side
Pronto, pronto le hablará de amor
Soon, soon he will speak to her about love
Hermano
Brother
Yo no quiero rebajarme
I don't want to demean myself
Ni pedirle, ni llorarle
Nor ask for her, nor cry for her
Ni decirle que no puedo más vivir
Nor tell her that I can't live anymore
Desde mi triste soledad
From my sad solitude
Veré caer las hojas muertas
I will see the dead leaves fall
De mi juventud
From my youth
Y gime bandoneón
And the bandoneon moans
Tu tango gris
Your gray tango
Quizás a ti te hiera igual
Perhaps it hurts you the same way
Algún amor sentimental
Some sentimental love
Llora mi alma de fantoche
My soul cries like a puppet
Sola y triste en esta noche
Alone and sad in this night
Noche negra y sin estrellas
Night black and without stars
Si las copas traen consuelo
If the drinks bring comfort
Aquí estoy con mi desvelo
Here I am with my sleeplessness
Para ahogarlas de una vez
To drown them once and for all
Quiero emborrachar mi corazón
I want to drown my heart in alcohol
Para poder después brindar
So that later I can toast
Por los fracasos del amor
For the failures of love
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Cobian, Cadimaco
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind