Salvador Flores Rivera, also known as Chava Flores, was a Mexican composer and singer of popular and folkloric music. His songs often described the lives of Mexico City's ordinary people.
Biography
Flores was born in the old La Merced neighborhood, in México City historical center,at the calle de La Soledad. It is presumed he grew up in Tacuba, in Colonia Roma and in Santa Maria la Ribera, although he is also located in Azcapotzalco and Unidad Cuitláhuac, where he lived until 1933, when he moved to Morelia, Michoacán. His father died in 1933, so he had to start working to contribute to the support of his family.
Chava Flores had many jobs since his childhood; he worked as a tailor, warehouse manager, collector, door-to-door salesman, a hardware store administrator, owner of a shirt and sausage store and a printer, among other things. All of those occupations involved moving throughout the city, which was very useful when he became a composer because, he traveled to neighborhoods, streets and colonies, and witnessed various situations that would later translate into his songs. Thanks to that he was awarded the title of Cronista Cantor de la Ciudad de México In 1946, he had to close his shirt store. With his colleagues in the hardware store, Flores began his work in a printing press; In the beginning, things worked in a regular way but, the press began to improve in 1949 when it published the magazine El Álbun de Oro de la Canción.
First songs
Flores debuted with the song "Dos Horas de Balazos". To this song he added "La tertulia", both were recorded by RCA Victor in 1952. He acted in the tents and cabarets of the city, and gained fame in the rest of the country, in Latin America and in the United States. By 1976, he had already recorded seven full-length albums, and owned the label Ageleste.
Moving to Morelia and death
In 1983, he moved to the city of Morelia, Michoacán, where he had a television program. The following year, he was rushed to Mexico City, and died a few days later.
Some of his songs
Flores's songs featured a popular language, with double entendres and wordplays. Some of his compositions are:
Interpreters of his songs
Filmography
Actor
La esquina de mi barrio, 1957, dir. Fernando Méndez
Mi influyente mujer, 1957, dir. Rogelio A. González
Bajo el cielo de México, 1958, dir. Rafael Baledón
El correo del norte, 1960, dir. Zacarías Gómez Urquiza
Rebelde sin casa, 1960, dir. Benito Alazraki
La máscara de la muerte, 1961, dir. Zacarías Gómez Urquiza
4 hembras y un macho menos, 1979, dir. Del Tal Gomezbeck
¿A qué le tiras cuando sueñas... mexicano?, 1979, dir. Arturo Martínez