Granada

Agustín Lara wrote Granada in 1932 without having set foot in Spain; he was a Mexican pianist who had learned his trade in the bars and brothels of Mexico City and imagined the Andalusian city from a distance. Pedro Vargas took it up first, and it passed from the bolero repertoire into the tenor repertoire by way of Mario Lanza and later the three tenors. Spain forgave the presumption: Granada made Lara an honorary citizen and gave him a house, and the song is now played there as a civic anthem.