Q: I have seen a few sources attribute the authorship of “Jesusita en Chihuahua” (featured in The Three Caballeros) to Manuel Esperon and Ernesto Cortazar. According to most sources though, the piece was composed by Quirino Mendoza y Cortes. Can you confirm who actually wrote the song, and if it was Cortes (I assume that it was), do you have any guesses as to why it has been misattributed to Esperon and Cortazar? I know that they had some ties to The Three Caballeros, so could it be that they did an arrangement of the piece for the film?
Jeremiah, Fairfax, Virginia
A: The official music source at Disney simply lists this song as “traditional,” developed by Ed Plumb. Plumb was credited with the English lyrics on the published sheet music.
Dave Smith