Querétaro

A hill in a song, a voice on the radio

The narrator of “El queretano” boasts of his skill with a lasso and declares his affection for Querétaro. Among his threats to traitors is a reference to Cerro de las Campanas, the city’s hill associated with the execution of Emperor Maximilian in 1867. The song, credited to Guillermo Bermejo and Ernesto Cortázar, has become a regional favourite.

The collection Música campesina de Querétaro includes a recording by Los Tradicionales alongside pieces from different parts of the state. The hill gives the singer’s bravado a recognisable place in the capital; the collection places the song beside a wider regional repertoire.

Another voice associated with the city travelled by radio. Juan Arvizu, born in Querétaro in 1900, studied at its school of sacred music before moving to Mexico City. He sang in the inaugural programme of station XEW in 1930 and became an early interpreter of songs by Agustín Lara, whom he met while Lara was playing piano in a café. Their recording of “Santa” preserves that musical partnership.