The restaurant where he worked as a young man, "La Sirena" was frequented by Andres Huesca, who heard some of his compositions of the then young singer, among which was "Cuando el Destino" and "Yo". Huesca immediately decided to record this and following this in 1948 for the first time on the radio station XEX-AM and months after the XEW-AM, which was catapulted to fame. He married Paloma Gálvez and had two children, José Alfredo and Paloma.
He had no musical training—according to the singer Miguel Aceves Mejía, Jiménez didn't play an instrument and didn't even know the Spanish terms for "waltz" and "key". Nonetheless he composed more than 1000 songs. Among the most famous are "Ella", "Media Vuelta", "El Rey", "El Jinete", "Si Nos Dejan", "Amanecí Entre Tus Brazos", "Cuando el Destino", "El Caballo Blanco", "Llegó Borracho el Borracho" and "Que Te Vaya Bonito", as well as "Camino de Guanajuato", where he sang about his home State of Guanajuato as well as his home town of Dolores Hidalgo Guanajuato.
In addition to his own hit recordings, many of his songs have been recorded successfully by recording artists around the Spanish-speaking world, most notably by Pedro Infante, Rocío Durcal, Javier Solís, Pedro Fernández, Jorge Negrete, Vikki Carr, Luis Miguel, Lola Beltrán, Lucha Villa, Vicente Fernández and by Spaniards Julio Iglesias, Joaquín Sabina and Manolo García.
Jiménez passed at a young age, like others of his contemporaries: Negrete, Infante and Solís, the so-called "Three Mexican Roosters", or Tres Gallos Mexicanos all died young. He was struck-down by hepatitis at age 47 and is regarded, along with Agustín Lara and Juan Gabriel, as one of the best songwriters that Mexico has ever produced. He was certainly one of the most prolific composers in the history of popular music, world-wide.
Shortly before his death, he wrote and recorded his last song, "Gracias", thanking the public for all of the affection they had shown him. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for serious music fans from around the Spanish-speaking world.
Maldición Ranchera
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
te vayan a cantar nuestra cancion
cuando estes recordando mi cariño
cuando sientas que te hago falta yo
Que no halla ni una gota de tequila
ni nada que consuele tu dolor
y asi cuando reniegues de tu vida
te vayan a cantar nuestra cancion
Que si es de noche no halla estrellas
que si es de dia no salga el sol
que estes tu sola con tus penas
que sienta frio tu corazon
Y luego que comiences a gritarme
y quedes al amparo del dolor
igual que cuando tu me abandonaste
que todos los mariachis de Jalisco
te vuelvan a cantar nuestra cancion:
Que bonito amor
que bonito cielo
que bonita luna
que bonito sol
Igual que cuando tu me abandonaste
que todos los mariachis de Jalisco
te vuelvan a cantar nuestra cancion.
The lyrics of José Alfredo Jiménez's song Maldicion Ranchera tell the story of a man who has been abandoned by his lover, and the curse he wishes upon her. He wants her to remember him whenever she hears Mariachis singing their song, and to feel a sense of loss and sorrow. He wishes for her to never find comfort in tequila or anything else to ease her pain, and to suffer just as he has suffered. He even goes as far as to curse her by wanting the night to have no stars and the day to have no sun, leaving her alone with her sorrow.
As the song progresses, the tone changes and becomes more bitter, as the man imagines his lover realizing her mistake and becoming haunted by her memories of him. He wants her to shout his name in agony and to feel the same emptiness that he felt when she left him. Despite the bitterness in his words, the song ends on a hopeful note, as he remembers the beauty they shared in their love and wishes for her to hear their song once again.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of deep hurt and longing mixed with a hint of anger and curse for the one who caused it. It's a powerful story of love and loss, told through the poetic imagery of Mariachis singing in Jalisco.
Line by Line Meaning
Que todos los mariachis de Jalisco
te vayan a cantar nuestra cancion
cuando estes recordando mi cariño
cuando sientas que te hago falta yo
I want all the mariachis from Jalisco to sing our song when you are remembering me and missing me.
Que no halla ni una gota de tequila
ni nada que consuele tu dolor
y asi cuando reniegues de tu vida
que todos los mariachis de Jalisco
te vayan a cantar nuestra cancion
I wish you no comfort, no tequila to ease your pain, so that when you regret your choices, the mariachis will still sing our song.
Que si es de noche no halla estrellas
que si es de dia no salga el sol
que estes tu sola con tus penas
que sienta frio tu corazon
May there be no stars at night, no sun during the day, so you feel alone and cold with your sorrows.
Y luego que comiences a gritarme
y quedes al amparo del dolor
igual que cuando tu me abandonaste
que todos los mariachis de Jalisco
te vuelvan a cantar nuestra cancion:
As you scream at me and feel the pain, just like when you left me, I want the mariachis to sing our song again.
Que bonito amor
que bonito cielo
que bonita luna
que bonito sol
What a beautiful love, sky, moon, and sun we had.
Igual que cuando tu me abandonaste
que todos los mariachis de Jalisco
te vuelvan a cantar nuestra cancion.
Just like when you left me, I want the mariachis to sing our song once more.
Writer(s): Jose Alfredo Jimenez Sandoval
Contributed by Caleb M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@wilsongonzalezjimenez9368
Mi gran ídolo de la música, el Maestro de Maestros don José Alfredo Jiménez. 👏👏👏👏
@emmacoronadoferrer7895
Qué grande hombre !!!! Sus composiciones hermosas y el mariachi también
@apoloherrera2868
Incomparable Maestro , tu inmortalidad infinita ...hasta el cielo un fuerte reconocimiento ,ya sabe usted que siempre lo he admirado ,usted seguirá siendo el mejor. ..por Dios destinado a nacer en esta hermosa tierra elegida de Dios !
@julioalonsooviedo3845
Mi Artista favorito...esas si son canciones!!!!!!! saludos desde Vêlez Colombia..
@elchicle2
"Y quedes al amparo del doloooooor, igual que cuando tu me abandonaste, que todos los mariachis de Jalisco, te vuelvan a cantar nuestra cancion". Maestro!......
@silviarojasarevalo3480
Luis Enrique Zamora 😂
@isbeliasarmientomorales9169
UNA GRAN CANCIÓN, LLENA DE PURO SENTIMIENTO.
@anakarinamoralesgonzalez1715
como me encanta esta canción, hasta la piel se me pone chinita, jose alfredo jimenez, un idolo mexicano, un gran compositor, tu pueblo te sigue cantando
@auroragonzalez5085
ana karina morales gonzalez así mero mi favorito
@GeneAngeles1
Pero que inspiración para componer de este Señor...!