PE Performing Plus!

Performance Encounters performed at the announcement of the Latino/Latina Oral History World War II project’s new website last weekend. You may have been reading about this group in the news over the past several months.

They have been primarily responsible for holding Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker, accountable to include the history of the Latinos/Latinas in his new documentary of World War II to arrive this fall. The World War II History Project, held at the University of Texas, has interviews of over 500 World War II veterans across the country. Their stories and histories are rich and moving.

We had the honor of meeting several of these veterans, now in their eighties, who knew well the music that PE performed during the evening and will be presenting at “Canciones For Generacions,” our concert this fall. Many expressed a heartfelt connection to the songs whose melodies and words express sentiments of love and beauty that are timeless.

And now a note, no pun intended, on another composer whose songs will be featured on “Canciones For Generation,” this fall.

Armando Manzanero (born in Mérida, México on December 7, 1935) is a Latin American musician and composer, widely considered the premiere Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era.

At the age of eight he was introduced into the world of music in the Escuela de Bellas Artes (School of High Arts) of his native city, later furthering his musical studies in Mexico City. In 1950, at the age of fifteen, he composed his first melody titled Nunca en el Mundo (Never in the World), of which twenty-one versions in different languages have been recorded to date.[2] The following year he began his professional career as a pianist.
In 1957 he was signed as musical director by the Mexican branch of CBS International and as Musical Promoter for EMI, [3] becoming the next year the pianist of Latin American artists such as Pedro Vargas, Lucho Gatica and Raphael. [4]
In 1959, an executive of RCA Victor urged him to record his first album of love songs, which he named Mi Primera Grabacion (My First Record).[5]
In 1965 he won the first place of the Festival de la Cancion (Song Festival) in Miami with the song Cuando Estoy Contigo (When I'm With You). [6]
In 1970, his song Somos Novios was translated into English by Sid Wayne, composer for Elvis Presley. The English version "It's Impossible" was performed by Perry Como and was nominated for a Grammy
His work has been performed by singers such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Elvis Presley, Frank Pourcel, Paul Muriat, Ray Conniff, Manoella Torres, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Raphael, José José, Andrea Bocelli, Christina Aguilera, Luis Miguel, Cristian Castro, Il Divo, and accompanied the piano of Raúl di Blasio.
During his lifetime, Armando Manzanero has composed more than four hundred songs, fifty of which have given him international fame. He has participated in numerous radio and television shows, has recorded more than thirty albums and composed the musical scores of several movies. (Taken from Wikepedia.org)

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