Consuelo Velázquez

Consuelo Velázquez wrote Bésame mucho. Born in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, she trained as a classical pianist at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City. Bésame mucho, composed when she was very young, crossed languages and genres to become a standard for singers, jazz musicians and orchestras alike; Amar y vivir, Cachito and Verdad amarga belong to the same catalogue, together with songs for film and radio. Much of her later working life went to the cause of authors' rights, and she led Mexico's composers' and authors' organisations. She died in 2005. Her graduation concert was given at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and she appeared as a soloist with Mexican symphony orchestras. Among the professional bodies in which she was active was the Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de Mexico, and she also sat in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies. She graduated in 1938, chaired the governing board of the Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México from 1967 to 1982, and served as a federal deputy from 1979 to 1982.