Armando Manzanero: Secrets and Legacy of the King of Romanticism

This article appeared in fabcrunch.com and has been published here with permission.

Wikimedia Commons // Martha López Huan // CC BY-SA 4.0

Reserved, an accomplice in the love of thousands of couples, charismatic, talented and above all unique. Armando Manzanero was an artist with a personal seal, who in 70 years of artistic career remained faithful to his style. We could go on ad infinitum about his work, considering the more than four hundred hits of his authorship. In this article we review the events that shaped his life until he became the eternal King of Romanticism.

A King is born

Armando Manzanero Canché was born on December 7, 1935 to artists. His father, Santiago Manzanero, was one of the founders of the typical orchestra Yucalpetén, while his mother was an accomplished dancer. At the age of eight Armando began his musical career, unaware that in the future he would shine even brighter than Agustín Lara.

Instagram // @juanpablomanzanero

The emotion of his boleros was key. "I don't know about you, but I keep thinking" that this is worthy of kings.

Its first language: Mayan

"His grandmother spoke Maya," declared his first wife María Elena Arjona Torres in an interview conducted by Mónica Garza. On that occasion, the musical genius mentioned that his grandmother, Rita Baqueiro Chi, and his maternal family taught him the legendary Mayan language until he was 3 years old when he began to study Spanish.

Instagram // @juanpablomanzanero

This was not a constraint, the Yucatecan commented "I went to give myself to the school of arts to start studying music".

Passage through the circus

At the age of 12, the composer of "Parece que fue ayer" already had a musical group. It was El conjunto tropical. He had learned to play piano while accompanying other children who participated in an emerging talent program. The singer commented that he was paid with a can of milk, but the most important thing for him was the experience.

Instagram // @juanpablomanzanero

Then he collaborated for six months with the circus, until he joined Adriano Madariaga's orchestra.

An adolescent love

Armando Manzanero was still in high school when he met María Elena Arjona Torres, his first wife.

Wikimedia Commons // Government CDMX - Flickr // CC BY-SA 4.0

The year was 1943. The young couple were only 14 years old when they started dating. Between the details, chocolates and serenades of envy, the artist's girlfriend was delighted. Imagine, at a time when only guitar trios went to play, Maria Arjona received serenades with piano included. It was the event of the block