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.
María la Bandida
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
...que trae en su historia la ley de la vida.
Éste es el corrido de una hembra preciosa,
Que todos conocen como "La Bandida".
No sabe ni entiende de cosas de amores,
Sus ojos grandotes no expresan cariño
Quién sabe lo negro que fue su destino.
María, María, María La Bandida
Su pelo sedoso refleja la muerte
Y en sus labios rojos hay una mentira.
Con ella se gana o se pierde la vida:
Por algo le llaman, María La Bandida.
María, María, María La Bandida
No tiene la culpa de ser tan bonita:
Las hembras la envidian, la siguen los hombres.
Le gustan los gallos, le gusta el tequila,
Pero más le gusta romper corazones.
Tal vez con el tiempo se entregue a la buena,
Tal vez con el tiempo su orgullo se doble.
Hay quien le haya visto llorando una pena,
Y el llanto en la vida es de gente noble.
María, María, María La Bandida
Su pelo sedoso refleja la muerte
Y en sus labios rojos hay una mentira.
Con ella se gana o se pierde la vida:
Por algo le llaman, María La Bandida.
"María la Bandida" is a corrido, a Mexican narrative folk song, that tells the story of an infamous woman named Maria Mendoza, who is known as "La Bandida" (the bandit). The song describes her as a beautiful but tough woman who has no understanding of love and whose big eyes don't show affection. The lyrics suggest that Maria has had many disappointments in life and may have had a difficult past.
The verses also describe the kind of life that Maria leads, full of danger and unpredictability. Her silky hair reflects death and her red lips are full of lies. People either win or lose their lives with her. Despite her flaws, Maria is envied by other women and pursued by men. She likes roosters and tequila, but above all, she enjoys breaking hearts. However, the lyrics hint that there may be more to Maria than meets the eye, as she may eventually soften and shed a tear like any noble person.
Line by Line Meaning
Que trae en su historia la ley de la vida.
This is the tale of Maria Mendoza, depicting the harsh realities of life.
Que todos conocen como "La Bandida".
Maria Mendoza is popularly known as 'The Bandit.'
Sus ojos grandotes no expresan cariño
The large eyes of Maria Mendoza don't reflect any love or affection.
Quién sabe lo negro que fue su destino.
No one knows how tough the fate of Maria Mendoza must have been.
Su pelo sedoso refleja la muerte
Even though Maria Mendoza's hair is soft, it represents death and hopelessness.
Y en sus labios rojos hay una mentira.
The red lips of Maria Mendoza hide a lie.
Por algo le llaman, María La Bandida.
There's a reason why people call her Maria The Bandit because of her nature.
No tiene la culpa de ser tan bonita:
Maria Mendoza can't be blamed for being physically attractive.
Las hembras la envidian, la siguen los hombres.
Women are jealous of Maria Mendoza, and men try to follow her.
Pero más le gusta romper corazones.
Maria Mendoza enjoys breaking hearts more than anything else.
Tal vez con el tiempo su orgullo se doble.
Perhaps with time, Maria Mendoza's ego might get humbled.
Hay quien le haya visto llorando una pena,
Some people have seen Maria Mendoza crying for her sorrows.
Y el llanto en la vida es de gente noble.
Though it's a sign of weakness, crying in life is sometimes considered noble.
Contributed by Harper P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Erasmo Sanchez
Las mejores composiciones de la música mexicana, sin duda las de Jose Alfredo
Claribel Jimenez
Viva México saludes respeto y admiración para el pueblo mexicano desde mi amada colombia
Pedro Gomez
Esta si es música vien para los que la escuchan porque sigue siendo la mejor
Alvaro Sierra
Que hermosa es está canción, me recuerda mi Niñez, crecí escuchando esta música -, soy Colombiano más exactamente de Villanueva La Guajira, tierra del Vallenato puro, de la tierra de los hermanos Zuleta, del Pollo Israel Romero, del poeta de Villanueva Rosendo Romero, del Pange Maestre, de Jorge Celedón, Jean Carlos Centeno y muchos otros, amamos y vivimos por el Vallenato, pero la música de ranchera, ocupa un lugar muy especial en mi corazón, amo las rancheras de José Alfredo Jiménez quien para mí, es el mejor, me gusta mucho Antonio Aguilar y Javier Solis quienes para mí gusto, son los tres mejores cantantes de rancheras. Tengo la fortuna de conocer esa hermosa tierra, ciudades cómo de México D.F,, Mexicali, San Antonio y a Tijuana (Baja California). Viva México carajo.
Luis Angel Frias Ospino
Y yo de Fonseca La Guajira pero también me gusta mucho estos temas de José Aldredo Jiménez
Luzdvaldo
Remueve toda fibra del SER. Como no vivirlo así ; interpretado con todo el dolor,musicalidad y sentimiento de su propio compositor . Vive aún José Alfredo carajo !! 😢 2:46
Jezael Lucero Barraza
Hermoso corrido...su apología a la belleza femenina está llena de admiración y sentimiento. La interpretación, sin duda la mejor...única.
Victoria Zabala
No fue el mejor cantante pero si uno de los mejores compositores y el más grande representante del folklore mexicano.
Josefina Rangel
El Rey de Reyes de la musica Ranchera Mexicana ❤❤
elio ramon franco dominguez
hermosa cancion,,, fuerza mexico,,,