El 10 de marzo/March 10th
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Alfredo Zitarrosa! (1936-1989)
A Uruguayan singer, songwriter, poet, and journalist, he was a chief figure in the Nueva Canción movement, a social movement and musical genre characterized by folklore-inspired songs with socially conscious lyrics in Latin America. Because of the dictatorship in Uruguay, he lived in exile from 1976-1984 in Argentina, Spain, and Mexico. His songs were banned in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay during the dictatorial regimes in those countries. Zitarrosa started his career as a professional singer in 1964, when a friend got him a job singing on a Peruvian television show for $50. He repeated the experience on Bolivian radio shows and returned to Uruguay a singer. Before that, he had worked as a radio announcer and a journalist. He was also a poet, having won the Premio Municipal de Poesía for his book of poems, Explicaciones, in 1959. Zitarrosa was extremely popular in Latin America and his album sales rivaled those of the Beatles at one point. He recorded Del amor herido in 1967, Yo sé quien soy in 1968, and Zitarrosa 4 in 1969. Classics from those records include Pal que se va, Del amor herido, Doña Soledad, Qué Pena, and El violín de Becho. In 1973 he edited his song Adagio en mi país and converted it into a hymn of resistance against the dictatorship. Adagio en mi país is now a classic anti-war song. Learn more about Zitarrosa from the documentary Cantando a nombre de mi tierra (in Spanish, click HERE) or from the article Alfredo Zitarossa: de no olvidar in Uruguay's El Observador (in Spanish, click HERE).
For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
Other March 10th birthdays:
Ferdinand II (Fernando II) (1452-1516): King of Aragon from 1479 until his death, his marriage to Isabela of Castile in 1469 (when he was 17!) formed the single political unit known as España. Ferdinand and Isabella has a pre-nuptial agreement granting them equal power. The "Catholic Monarchs" (or Reyes Católicos, RRCC, as they were known) were responsible for the Alhambra Decree in 1492, which stated that all Jews living in Spain must either convert, leave, or die. They also sent Columbus on his voyage to the Americas, paving the way for Spain to become the first modern world power.
Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell (1933-2004): Argentinian storyteller, writer, translator, and literary critic.
Other March 10th events of note:
1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the U.S. Senate, ending the Mexican-American War.
1952 - Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba and appoints himself "provisional President."
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| Image from alchetron.com. Click HERE. |
For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
Other March 10th birthdays:
Ferdinand II (Fernando II) (1452-1516): King of Aragon from 1479 until his death, his marriage to Isabela of Castile in 1469 (when he was 17!) formed the single political unit known as España. Ferdinand and Isabella has a pre-nuptial agreement granting them equal power. The "Catholic Monarchs" (or Reyes Católicos, RRCC, as they were known) were responsible for the Alhambra Decree in 1492, which stated that all Jews living in Spain must either convert, leave, or die. They also sent Columbus on his voyage to the Americas, paving the way for Spain to become the first modern world power.
Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell (1933-2004): Argentinian storyteller, writer, translator, and literary critic.
Other March 10th events of note:
1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the U.S. Senate, ending the Mexican-American War.
1952 - Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba and appoints himself "provisional President."
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