Luis Aguilar

Admired for his singing as well as his acting, Luis Aguilar, a.k.a. el Gallo Giro, went down in history as one of the great stars of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. Aguilar wasn't as prolific a recording artist as some of his fans would have liked; most of his singing was done in movies or nightclubs instead of in recording studios. Nonetheless, he was blessed with a deep, full, rich baritone and brought a great deal of heart and passion to his mariachi and ranchera performances. The singer/actor was, according to most sources, born in 1917 in Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora; some sources insist that he was born in 1918, but 1917 has been listed more often than 1918 as the year of his birth. Aguilar was 21 when he decided to move to Mazatlán on Mexico's Pacific Coast; he enjoyed being near the ocean and might have had a career as a pescador (fisherman) if he hadn't gone into the arts instead. But during a visit to Mexico City, Aguilar was discovered by film producer Raúl de Anda; after bringing Aguilar to his office and asking him to sing, de Anda hired him. Aguilar's first role was in the 1943 movie Sota, Caballo y Rey; he went on to appear in more than 200 Mexican films. One of his most famous roles was in 1948's El Gallo Giro, which is how he acquired that nickname. In the ‘40s and ‘50s, Aguilar was closely identified with the ranchera genre of Mexican cinema--the term ranchera can refer to both a musical style and a type of movie, and the two overlapped for Aguilar when he performed ranchera music in ranchera movies. El Gallo Giro is closely identified with western movies as well--and while rancheras and westerns are the film genres that he is best remembered for, Aguilar also had some roles in comedies and crime dramas. After the 1974 film Las Tres...