The Venezuelan song of "Happy Birthday"

The Venezuelan Happy Birthday is the traditional song used in Venezuela to animate anniversary celebrations, usually celebrations of children, but also used in adult parties. It is also known by the name of " so precious that night "and is almost 80% Venezuelan production.

History of this jingle

This is famous with name "Happy Birthday" and was written by composer Luis Cruz in 1953. At the beginning was not very popular because it was a simple song for serenades. Years later, another Venezuelan musician named Emilio Arvelo retakes this song with collaboration by himself author, in order to create a rhythmic version of it.

Luis Cruz sang with the trio "Latinos" when he began working with Emilio Arvelo. They played together the serenades, in addition to record songs from time to time. Luis always sang this song in their serenades, this allowed that Emilio can discover and learn this song. Emilio Arvelo, in the 60s decided to take this song in the intention of rerecord but with better rhythms, thus was born this version, mixed with bolero and cha cha cha. Emilio Arvelo ignored that it would become a traditional symbol musical of the Venezuelan birthday.

The composition began to become very popular in Venezuela since 1964, and later extended to other countries like Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Panama and Puerto Rico.

But the story does not stop here because this song, as popularized Emilio Arvelo, includes in its last stanza, the famous song traditional of "Happy Birthday". This "Happy Birthday" in the traditional version but in Spanish, is a song composed in 1893 whose original version was "Good morning to all" which was written and composed by American sisters Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893, but was diverted to “happy birthday to you”.


This song in a first version says:

Good morning to you, Good morning to you, Good morning, dear children, Good morning to all.

But, this song was modified with the pass off’s years in:

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday …………., happy birthday to you.

In Venezuela, this song conserves this melody but says:

Cumpleaños Feliz, te deseamos a ti, cumpleaños……, cumpleaños feliz.

Happy Birthday to you, we will wish to you, Happy Birthday ... ... happy birthday to you.

So we can say that this song is Venezuelan tradition, but mixing the global sentiment of celebration before a special day like this.

Cerlest 01.05.2010