Bésame mucho: Analysis, Lyrics and History of the Song

Kiss Me a lot It is one of the most popular songs in the Latin American repertoire. It was composed by the Mexican Consuelo Velázquez in 1932, when she was 16 years old. It soon became one of the most covered songs in the world, and was named the song of the 20th century.

The song, with an erotic air, gave rise to a myth: that 'Consuelito' would have composed it before her first kiss, only for poetic inspiration. Would it be true? What is hiding behind Kiss Me a lot? What has made this piece such an iconic song? Let's learn more about its history and its meaning in the following sections.

Lyrics

Kiss Me,
Kiss Me a lot
As if it were tonight
The last time

Kiss Me,
Kiss Me a lot
That I am afraid of losing you
Lose you after

I want you very close
Look in your eyes
See you next to me
Think that maybe tomorrow
I will be far away
Far away from you

Analysis

The letter of Kiss Me a lot it condenses an eroticism exacerbated by anxiety, insecurity or fear of the future. This is not a farewell. The farewell is only a discursive justification, a hypothesis that is both the drive of the lover and the cause of seduction of the loved one.

Kiss Me a lot rather, it expresses a desire for possession. It is an absolute act of seduction on the part of the lyrical voice that, knowing the ephemeral nature of time amorous-erotic, you want to capture it as an eternal image when the desolate hour, the probable separation, the death itself.

In a poetic sense, this topic is not unusual in literature. What Consuelo Velázquez does is give a musical voice to one of the most frequent topics of poetic making: Carpe Diem, which means 'seize the day'.

Unlike the somewhat light way in which the Horacian phrase is interpreted today, Carpe Diem expresses an awareness in the face of the continuous mutations of life and, especially, of death, before which the poetic subject claims the intensity of all experiences, making memory the only treasure and comfort.

Eroticism is not far from this reality, from this poetic restlessness. On the contrary, eroticism, like youth, demands whoever defends it against the impossibility of stopping time and its changes. Eroticism is exacerbated, then, by the fear of death, physical or symbolic.

See also Origin and meaning of the phrase Carpe Diem.

The story of Kiss Me a lot

The idea for the song Bésame mucho was born in 1932, when Consuelo Velázquez was 16 years old. From a musical point of view, the theme seems to have been inspired by an aria from the suite Goyescas by Enrique Granados, known as "La maja y el moiseñor".

Another thing would be the letter. According to the testimony of the composer's son, Mariano Rivera Velázquez, the lyrics of the song It would not be terminated until 1940, in which the Second World War was in full swing. growth.

Consuelo, somewhat more mature for that moment, felt particularly sensitive to the stories of separations of boyfriends and young married couples, whose men had to perform military service and faced the possibility of death. These reflections would allow Consuelo Velázquez to be able to finalize the lyrics of the song.

Anyway, we have to remember that she herself declared to have composed this song before being kissed for the first time.

The first recordings and their international expansion

The song was recorded for the first time by the singer Emilio Tuero in 1941, and shortly thereafter by Chela fields, although the one who made its internationalization possible was the North American Andy russell, who recorded it in 1944, after which he spent 14 weeks leading the charts in the United States.

From that moment on, the song became known on all continents, but around the decade In 1950, at the height of Francoism, the League of Spanish Decency banned the song in Spain.

The fame of this song spread throughout the world, overcoming language barriers, especially since Nat King Cole recorded the first translated version. It has been recorded in more than forty languages, and has been sung by such emblematic figures as the Beatles, Edith piaf, Frank Sinatra, Elvys presley, Sara Montiel, Placido Domingo, Paloma San Basilio, Andrea Bocelli, Luis Miguel and many more.

Kiss Me a lot in cinematography

The big screen has been another of its broadcast spaces. Kiss Me a lot has been incorporated into the soundtracks of films such as Moscow does not believe in tears (1979); Arizona dreams, by Emir Kusturika (1993); Kiss Me a lotby Philippe Toledano (1994); Mona Lisa's smileby Mike Newell (2003); The party of the goat, by Luis Llosa (2005); Juno (2007) and Coconut (2017), also from Disney studios.

Versions

Emilio Tuero, first recording of Bésame mucho (1941)

Andy Russell, first international recording (1944)

The Beatles, 1962 version

The Beatles band fell into the seduction of Kiss Me a lot. It is believed that this song was the inspiration for the composition of the song Yestarday, due to the structural coincidences that are recognized between the two. They did two versions. We present one of them here.

Consuelo Velázquez live (1990)

This beautiful version, with an arrangement for orchestra and piano, was performed by Consuelo Velázquez herself on the program Always on sunday, in the year 1990. Don't stop listening to it. It is a jewel!

Maria Rivas (1992)

María Rivas, a Venezuelan singer, presents this daring version, in which she begins with a Latin American working song, fusing jazz with drums from the Venezuelan coast and the bolero. Consuelito Velázquez's song begins at minute 2:22.

Biography of Consuelo Velázquez

Consuelo Velázquez was a Mexican composer and pianist born in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, on August 21, 1916, and died in Mexico City in 2005.

In 1938 she obtained the title of pianist and music teacher at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City. Along with this, she was dedicated to composing love songs. She was hired by radio station XEQ to perform on a classical music show under a false (male) identity.

Over time, the director of the station and producer of important artists, named Mariano Rivera, allowed him to make himself known and to publicize her repertoire, of a popular nature. Consuelo, since it was not well seen for a concert pianist to play boleros, said that those songs belonged to a friend of hers. As soon Kiss Me a lot she became known, the composer tasted the honeys of international success.

She married Mariano Rivera at 28 years of age, and had two sons named Mariano and Sergio. She was a deputy for the Institutional Revolutionary Party between 1979 and 1982. She worked hard in the defense of copyright in her country, thanks to which she became president of the Association of Authors and Composers of Mexico.

Among the best-known songs of her can be counted the following:

• a bit
• I did not go
• Heart
• Love and live
• Be happy
• Bitter truth
• I told you
• Kiss Me a lot
• In love
• Frankness