, with Agustín Lara. Lara was born in
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz to Joaquín Lara and Mara Aguirre del Pino. He subsequently moved to
Puebla, but returned to Mexico City in 1928. That same year he started working for the
tenor Juan Arvizu as composer and accompanist. In September 1930, Lara began a successful radio career. At the same time he acted and composed songs for such films as
Santa. , by sculptor Humberto Peraza Lara's first tour, to Cuba in 1933, was a failure because of political turmoil on the island. Later, more successful tours in South America, as well as such new compositions as
Solamente Una Vez (composed in
Buenos Aires and dedicated to
José Mojica),
Veracruz,
Tropicana, and
Pecadora increased his fame. In 1934 he went to Los Angeles, where he did multiple concerts at the
California Theatre. He would later return to the city to write songs for
Tropic Holiday (1938), a musical film. By the beginning of the 1940s, Lara was well known in Spain. In 1965, the Spanish dictator
Francisco Franco, gave him a house in
Granada to show his appreciation of Lara's songs with Spanish themes, such as
Toledo,
Cuerdas de mi Guitarra,
Granada,
Seville and
Madrid. He received additional honors and decorations from around the world. His career was portrayed in the 1959 Mexican film
The Life of Agustín Lara. In 1968, Lara's health began to decline rapidly; and a fall that occurred on October 16, 1970, fractured his pelvis. He was hospitalized under the false name of Carlos Flores, but the press learned about his hospitalization anyway. The next day, October 17, 1970, he experienced cardiorespiratory arrest in the elevator while being transferred to the intensive care unit. He never regained consciousness, and on November 6, 1970, Lara died. == Family ==