Herminio Giménez (February 20, 1905 – July 6, 1991) was a

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Life

At the early age of 11 he was already part of the

Paraguarí Paraguarí (; ) is a city, '' distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.

music band and two years later he was hired to be part of the

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

marching band. While at the marching band he made his first successful song, a polca named ''Jasy Morotí'', in 1918. He was the first person to record Paraguayan music in an album, in 1927. The continued beauty of his works throughout the years positioned Giménez as one of the greatest Latin American composers. During the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

's government, Giménez went into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He spent most of his time in the city of

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

. After Stroessner was ousted, he returned to Paraguay and died in 1991.

Works

Giménez compositions ranged from

Paraguayan polka Paraguayan polka, also known as danza paraguaya (Paraguayan dance), is a style of music created in Paraguay in the 19th century. The Paraguayan polka is very different from the traditional polka, mainly because the Paraguayan version combines t ...

s and Guaranias to

waltzes The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

and marching songs. His most famous works include: ''Añorando a Matto Grosso'', ''Al Papa Wojtyla'', ''Ruperto Bravo'', ''Feliz Cuarto Centenario, Corrientes'', ''Sapukái en las Malvinas'', ''Corasô rasy'', ''Corasô rasy'', ''Panchita Garmendia'', ''Ha che tren'', ''Che valle Pirajumi'' and ''Campesina Paraguaya''.Herminio Giménez, en su centenario
, Girala Yampey.

References

Paraguayan male composers Paraguayan classical musicians 1905 births 1991 deaths Paraguayan expatriates in Argentina 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century Paraguayan composers 20th-century male composers {{Paraguay-composer-stub