An astronomer cricket and the child’s day

In 1954, UNESCO established a day to celebrate the children. This day is the 20th of November of every year. However, every country has its own date according to its customs and traditions.

Latin-America is pioneer in the celebrations. Paraguay has this party every 16th of August to remember the participation of 3000 kids in the Paraguay’s War. In Mexico, my country, the first celebration was carried out in Veracruz City in 1916.

By the way, there is a character that is deeply linked with the children and widely known in Spanish language: Cri-Cri.

He is a cricket singer and violinist. His songs and stories began to be transmitted in the Mexican radio from the 30s in the XX century being an entire landmark for the infantile culture in Mexico. Around the 40s, he began to be known by the rest of the countries of the American continent, even Walt Disney carried out a lively sequence for one of his songs (‘The 3 pigs’). 

But before of being a musician, Cri-Cri (Gabilondo Soler) was an astronomer or at least he wanted to be. When he was young, Gabilondo dreamt of stars and mathematics. His talent and imagination, however, conducted him to a way of stories and fantasy by composing songs. He composed around 228 songs for children, embracing several rhythms from the waltz to the Chinese music, going by the American country, the Argentinean tango, the Spanish jota and the Mexican popular music. Parallel to their artistic activity, in 1951 he joined the Astronomical Society of Mexico and built an observatory for non-professional astronomers in Tultepec. 

After a brilliant musical career, he recovered his old passion for the astronomy at the beginning of the 70s, observing the night sky of Texcoco in the State of Mexico. He died in 1990 or rather said, Gabilondo and Cri-Cri decided to take a trip to the stars to sing from an astronomical constellation in the distant firmament. Look for it listening one of their songs. I am sure you can find it.