Jesusita en Chihuahua facts for kids
Jesusita en Chihuahua is a famous Mexican polka song. A polka is a lively dance and type of music. This song was written by a talented musician named Quirino Mendoza y Cortés. He wrote it while he was a military leader during the Mexican Revolution. He was also leading a military band in a city called Puebla.
The song was first played on Christmas Day in 1916. Since then, many different artists have performed it. They have even given it different names. This song became very important during the Mexican Revolution. It was the favorite song of a famous general, Pancho Villa. He loved to have his bands play it during battles. The song is about brave women called soldaderas. These women traveled with the revolutionaries. They helped with many tasks and sometimes even fought in battles.
Different Names for the Song
Over time, Jesusita en Chihuahua became known by other names. Some people called it the "J.C. Polka" for short. Later, this name changed to the "Jesse Polka" or "Jessie Polka".
A Texas swing band called Cliff Bruner and the Texas Wanderers helped make the song very popular. They started playing it in 1938 as the "Jessie Polka." Cliff Bruner learned the song when he was a kid. He heard it from Mexican farm workers in Beaumont, Texas. Another famous musician, Lawrence Welk, also played the song. He called it "The Cactus Polka."
Who Else Played It?
Many other artists have performed Jesusita en Chihuahua. Here are some of them:
- Los Creadorez del Pasito Duranguense de Alfredo Ramírez
- Esquivel
- The Richard Hayman Symphony Orchestra
- Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán
- The 101 Strings Orchestra
- Percy Faith
- Brave Combo
- Raúl di Blasio
- Edmundo Ros
- Al Caiola
The Song in Movies
A Mexican movie called Jesusita en Chihuahua was released in 1942. It starred Pedro Infante as the mayor of Chihuahua. He gets help from a strong woman named Jesusita, played by Susana Guízar. Of course, Mendoza's famous polka song is featured in this film.
Jesusita en Chihuahua has also appeared in many other movies. Some of these include:
- The Three Caballeros (1944)
- Anchors Aweigh (1945)
- This Was Pancho Villa (1957)
- ¡Cielito lindo! (1957)
- Sueños de oro (1958)
- Quiero ser artista (1958)
- La diligencia de la muerte (1961)
- Perdóname, mi vida (1965)
- Three Amigos (1986)
- Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
- My Family (1995)
Words for the song were written in both English and Spanish for the movie Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946). Another set of English words was written by Jack Elliott for the film Old Los Angeles (1948).
