Caballos de vapor

Caballos de vapor originated in discussions between the composer and the painter Agustín Lazo Adalid in 1922 or 1923 about a multi-media work concerning the effects of mechanization on society in modern-day Mexico.

It was premiered as a separate piece in a concert of the International Composers Guild at the Aeolian Hall in New York, under the baton of Eugene Goosens, on November 28, 1926.

Stage direction was by Wilhelm von Wymetal, Jr., sets and costumes were by Diego Rivera, and choreography by Catherine Littlefield.

Aboard the train were, among other luminaries, Diego Rivera and his wife, the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo; George Gershwin; and Chávez's friend Aaron Copland".

[5] In 1954 Chávez revised the ballet, restoring a few small cuts that had been made for the Philadelphia premiere and reducing the size of the orchestra somewhat.