Tata Nacho

Ignacio Fernández Esperón, alias Tata Nacho (Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, February 14, 1894; Mexico City, June 5, 1968), was a Mexican composer. His works include: Goodbye my shorty, La borrachita, Nunca, nunca, nunca ; Así es mi tierra, whose lyrics were written by Jorge Hope Macías, and Primaveral, whose lyrics were written by Ricardo López Méndez El Vate and which was sung for the first time by the soprano Ernestina Garfias at the Palacio de Bellas Artes; I want to see (again); Intimate, which was performed by tenor José Carreras in Switzerland, and Open your eyes.

Early Years

His musical vocation was born as a child when he heard his mother, Doña Piedad, play the piano. While still very young he moves to New York City to study music and during his stay he is roommates with George Gershwin. In the big city he meets and marries María Zepeda Ávila, also a Mexican. From there he moved to Spain as a representative of Mexico at the Seville World Fair, from where he left for Paris, where he continued his musical studies and was a disciple, among others, of Edgar Varèse. Before the start of World War II, he returned to Mexico with the idea of founding a society of composers. Thus, with the help of his cousin, the composer Manuel Esperón, Mario Talavera and Alfonso Esparza Oteo created what would later become the Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico (SACM) of his homeland. As there is no legal figure for this kind of association in this country, it was necessary to resort to the trade union, for which it advocates and fights until a law for the protection of copyright is approved and promulgated. From his first marriage to María Zepeda, he had a daughter named Piedad (known familiarly as Suzy). After becoming a widower, he meets María del Refugio González in Guadalajara, whom he will marry later and with whom he has two children: María Luisa (known as Malú) and Mario Ignacio (also known as Manacho). Among many other notable activities, Tata Nacho, as he was affectionately known since his adolescence, was director of the Mexico City Typical Orchestra, scored several films and was musical director of various radio programs.

Copyright Defender

Tata Nacho was a tireless defender of copyright, and at the time of his death he was still president of SACM.

Popularity on TV

His song Quiero ver is widely known in Spanish-American culture, as it has served as the background music for the Mexican television program El Chavo del Ocho, whose characters Don Ramón and Professor Jirafales teach this theme on guitar to both Chavo del Ocho and Quico, the refrain being remembered I want to see, again, your little eyes at a serene night... This The song also appeared in other skits, where Chespirito pretends to be a puppet.