In her native town of Rosario, Sinaloa, Beltrán completed her secretarial studies while she participated in many singing competitions. She then moved to Mexico City where she was discovered while working at the radio station XEW, and never went back to Rosario again.
She married Alfredo Leal, a matador and film actor, and with him had two children: María Elena Leal, who is also a singer, and José Leal. She entered the world of film in 1954 starring in El tesoro de la muerte. After participating in dozens of films, most of them musicals, she obtained a role in the telenovela Mi rival with Saby Kamalich. In 1976 and 1984 she hosted the musical shows Noches tapatías and El estudio de Lola Beltrán respectively.
Beltrán is still considered with Lucha Reyes the most successful ranchera-music singer of all time. She was the first ranchera singer to perform at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. She also performed at the Olympia music hall in Paris, the Tchaikovsky Hall of Moscow and the Conservatory of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the former Soviet Union.
Soon after recording Disco del Siglo with Lucha Villa and Amalia Mendoza "La Tariácuri" (produced by Juan Gabriel) she died of a massive pulmonary embolism at the Ángeles hospital of Mexico City.
Gavilancito Sangre Cruzada
Lola Beltrán Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chico chiquito sangre cruzada
Mi padre es un gavilan
Y una paloma mi madre amada
Por eso llevo sangre cruzada
El cerro de san isidro
De nuestro nido guardian eterno
Pronto las calmas
La cruz del cerro
Por eso yo nunca tengo miedo
Gavilan, gavilancito
Una paloma dijo al pasar
′Porque no pruebas mi carne'
′Pues todavia me falta edad
Esperate a que sea grande
Como mi padre y lo veras
Que de andarme provocando
Muy pocas ganas te quedaran
Tu de mis garras no escaparas'
Muy cerca del caimanero
Por los esteros llegue una tarde
Y una hermosa golondrina
Llego hasta mi para preguntarme
'Que es lo que buscas′ ′busco a mi padre
En sus quehaceres quiero ayudarle'
La picara golondrina
Provocativa por natural
Revoloteaba y decia
′Comeme, comeme gavilan'
′Esperate a que sea grande
Como mi padre y lo veras
Que de andarme provocando
Muy pocas ganas te quedaran
Tu de mis garras no escaparas'
Yo soy un gavilancito
Chico chiquito sangre cruzada
The lyrics of Lola Beltrán's "Gavilancito Sangre Cruzada" tell the story of a young gavilán (hawk) who comes from a mixed heritage of his father being a gavilán and his mother being a paloma (dove). Because of this, he carries "sangre cruzada" (crossed blood) in his veins. The lyrics also mention the hawk's home and protector, the "cerro de San Isidro," where he is safe from the fury of tempests and has no fear. In the second verse, the hawk is approached by a provocative golondrina (swallow) who invites him to try her meat, but the hawk is not interested and tells her to wait until he grows up and becomes like his father.
The lyrics use animal imagery to symbolize the mixed heritage of the hawk and convey themes of belonging, identity, and resisting temptation. The hawk's mixed blood represents the challenge of reconciling two different cultural identities and finding a sense of belonging within them. Additionally, the encounter with the golondrina and the hawk's refusal to give in to temptation reflects the importance of staying true to one's values and resisting peer pressure.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo soy un gavilancito
I am a small hawk
Chico chiquito sangre cruzada
A little one with crossed blood
Mi padre es un gavilan
My father is a hawk
Y una paloma mi madre amada
And my beloved mother is a dove
Por eso llevo sangre cruzada
That's why I carry crossed blood
El cerro de san isidro
The hill of San Isidro
De nuestro nido guardian eterno
Our eternal guardian nest
Si hay furia de tempestades
If there is a storm's fury
Pronto las calmas
Calmness soon follows
La cruz del cerro
The hill's cross
Por eso yo nunca tengo miedo
That's why I'm never afraid
Gavilan, gavilancito
Hawk, little hawk
Una paloma dijo al pasar
A dove said as it passed by
'Porque no pruebas mi carne'
'Why don't you try my meat?'
'Pues todavia me falta edad
'Because I'm not yet old enough'
Esperate a que sea grande
Wait until I grow up
Como mi padre y lo veras
Like my father, and you'll see
Que de andarme provocando
That if you provoke me
Muy pocas ganas te quedaran
You won't have a desire to do so anymore
Tu de mis garras no escaparas'
You won't be able to escape my claws'
Muy cerca del caimanero
Very close to the caimanero
Por los esteros llegue una tarde
I arrived one afternoon by the estuaries
Y una hermosa golondrina
And a beautiful swallow
Llego hasta mi para preguntarme
Came up to me to ask
'Que es lo que buscas' 'busco a mi padre
'What are you looking for?' 'I'm looking for my father
En sus quehaceres quiero ayudarle'
I want to help him with his chores'
La picara golondrina
The mischievous swallow
Provocativa por natural
Naturally provocative
Revoloteaba y decia
Fluttered around and said
'Comeme, comeme gavilan'
'Eat me, eat me, hawk'
Writer(s): Catalino Salazar
Contributed by Blake F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.