Vieja Luna

Celia was Celia--of that, there is no doubt.

Who, however, was Juan Orlando de la Rosa Valenzuela? Yes, he was the Cuban composer of this beautiful bolero. He was born in 1919 and only lived to be 37 years old. During his short life, he was an accomplished pianist, having played with the famous Lecuona. He helped to launch the careers of Elena Burke and Omara Portuondo in his group, El Cuarteto Orlando de la Rosa. He helped to form a genre, contributing prolifically to the Golden Age of the Bolero, composing classic songs like “Cansancio”, “Mi corazón es para ti”, “Qué emoción”, “Nuestras vidas”, “Si te dicen”, “No vale la pena”, and, of course, “Vieja luna”.

Here are the lyrics:

Quiero escaparme con la vieja luna,
en el momento en que la noche muere;
cuando se asoma la sonrisa blanca,
en la mañana de mi adversidad.

Quiero volver a revivir la noche,
porque la vieja luna volverá;
ella es quien sabe donde esta mi amor,
ella sabe si es que la perdí;
vieja luna que en la noche va.

Más Delirio más moderno

Listen to another beautiful version (quite modern) of this timeless song, Tú, Mi Delirio, by a wonderful Mexico City songstress, Magos Herrera.
My wonderful teacher and extraordinary vocalist, María Márquez, said to us, in our class last night, that many in the jazz world say that in order for it to be considered "real jazz", it must be sung in English only. What do you think?