Francisco Gabilondo Soler
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Francisco Gabilondo Soler (October 6, 1907, Orizaba, Veracruz - December 14, 1990, Texcoco) was a Mexican composer and performer of children's songs. He recorded and performed those songs under the name of Cri-Cri: El Grillito Cantor ("Cri-Cri: The Little Singing Cricket" in English)
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[edit] Biography
Gabilondo was born in the city of Orizaba, Veracruz. During his childhood he read the stories of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, as well as the adventure stories of such writers as Jules Verne and Emilio Salgari. He also taught himself to play the pianola. In 1928, he entered the National Observatory of Mexico to study astronomy but, unfortunately, his studies were cut short by a lack of resources. Before dedicating himself to music full-time, he practiced boxing, bullfighting and swimming. He also worked for a time as a linotypist. [1]
When he was 25 years old, he began performing as a professional musician, interpreting humorous subjects of his inspiration. At first he played in public bath houses. He entered the new radio field to become one of the main figures in the "Golden Age of Mexican Radio," beginning with humorous and social criticism programs. He used the experiences of his childhood to write some children's songs, and on October 15, 1934, he appeared, for the first time, on Radio Station XEW in Mexico City, singing many of the songs he had previously written. This marked the first performance in his persona as 'Cri-Cri'. The first songs to be played were "El ratón vaquero," "Los mosquitos trompeteros," "Negrito Sandía," "Cucurumbé" and "La Muñeca fea.".[1]
Between 1941 and 1944 he served in the Mexican merchant marine travelling around South America. He returned to Radio Station XEW in 1944 and continued his shows there for the next 28 years. He retired in 1962.
Despite never finishing his astronomical studies, he maintained a lifelong passion for the field, being inducted into the Sociedad Astronómica de México (Astronomical Society of Mexico) and having an observatory built in Tultepec. A film about his life was made in 1963 called Cri-Cri, el grillito cantor starring Ignacio López Tarso and Marga López..[1]
In 1984, he was honored in a special ceremony dedicated to him, where he was just accompanied by the piano. Francisco Gabilondo Soler “The Singing Cricket”, died on December 14 1990, of cardiac disease, at the age of 83 years.[2]
[edit] Style
Francisco Gabilondo Soler was able to mix a variety of styles in his songs, including the fox trot, tango (such as in the song “Che Araña”), U.S. country music( “El Raton Vaquero”) and Mexican ranchera music, always employing remarkably imaginative orchestration and rhythm. Cri-Cri's songs, of which he wrote both the music and the lyrics, became fables of sorts that had both an educational and an entertainment aspect. Some of his songs became so popular over the decades that a few of his characters have become forever engrained in Mexican popular culture, such as "La muñeca fea." This translates to "The Ugly Doll", a song that tells the story of an old broken doll who is sadly forgotten in an attic and is befriended by a mouse. Cri-Cri was a historically unique musician due to the multi-generational endurance of his songs and lyrics.
[edit] Career
When Francisco Gabilondo Soler was 25 years old, he started his professional career in music.
At first he did not write children’s songs but he soon realized that most of his fans were children. Therefore he decided to concentrate his efforts to write songs for children. Francisco Gabilondo Soler composed 210 songs of which three have been lost. Almost all his songs are stories that teach values to children. He had the tendency to personify animals and things. He wrote songs about dolls, animals, and toys with something special that identifies them from the rest. [3]
On October 15, 1934 he performed for the first time on the XEW radio, singing his own songs. On that day "CRI-CRI" the singing cricket was born. On 1944 Gabilondo Soler, created his own radio show on XEW where he played his songs for people of all ages.[2]
Gabilondo's songs have also been recorded by opera singer Plácido Domingo, French singer Mireille Mathieu, and Argentine singer Libertad Lamarque, among other world-famous performers.
He recorded Cri-Cri, El Grillito Cantor (1956), Homenaje a Cri-Cri (1957), Mas Canciones del Grillito Cantor (1958), Los Amigos de Cri-Cri (1959), Cuentos y Canciones de Cri-Cri (1963), Todo el Año con Cri-Cri (1963) 30 Aniversario de Cri-Cri (1964), Conejo Blas a Dónde Vas (1964) and several other collections of his songs.
[edit] Songs
His songs are being translated to many languages like French, English and Russian among others. More than songs, he composed stories with music, that make kids dream all around the world. [3]
Some songs performed by Cri-Cri:
- Abuelito
- Acuarela
- Al Agua Todos
- Barquito de Nuez
- Batallon de Plomo
- Bombon I
- Caminito de la escuela
- Campanita y Juan Pestañas
- Canción de las Brujas
- Cáncion de Reyes
- La negrita Cucurumbe
[edit] Miscellaneous
It is said that Cri-Cri was inspired with some posters showing black people swallowing watermelons leading to the song "El Negrito Sandía”.
People in the United States considered this song disrespectful because, many years ago Afro-American people in the USA were insulted by associating their heads with watermelons.
Another controversy is about The ugly doll song because it mentions how poor people’s lives can be. Apparently people didn’t realize the message of the songs at that time.
It is known that Francisco Gabilondo and Walt Disney had a closed relationship so it wouldn’t be a surprise that Francisco was influenced by Disney.[4]
In 2007, for the centennial of his birth, the dance company at the Palacio de Bellas Artes has prepared a spectacular based on his work. The choreography is based on his most representative songs and the scenes are filled with images of the characters that appear in them such as "El ratón vaquero" (The cowboy mouse), "Los mosquitos trompeteros" (The mosquito trumpeters) and "La muñeca fea" (The ugly doll). This homage to Cri Cri is set to run through 2008.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Reyes Fragoso, Arturo (February 2008). "[www.donde-ir.com Homenaje a Cri Cri en Bellas Artes]". Donde Ir: La Guia de la Ciudad: 70-71.
- ^ a b Francisco Gabilondo Soler. Retrieved on 2005-07-06.
- ^ a b Programa especial de Cri-Cri. article. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
- ^ Francisco Gabilondo Soler. article. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
