Alfonso Ortiz Tirado

Who was Alfonso Ortiz Tirado?

Alfonso Ortiz Tirado was an opera singer and doctor born in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico in 1893. His musical talent was apparent early in life, but he studied at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria and university to become a doctor. He specialized in gynecology as well as general medicine, and eventually became the personal physician of Frida Kahlo and performed surgery on Agustín Lara. As a musician, he studied under José Pierson and soon afterward had a successful international career as an opera singer, earning the label of “tenor of the Americas.” He was often cast for productions of L'elisir d'amore and Madame Butterfly. He earned a large sum of money doing this, and used it to establish a children’s hospital in Mexico City. Ortiz died in 1960, and was interred at the Panteón Frances de la Piedad. The Festival de Canto Operístico Tirado in the state of Sonora was named after him.