José Asunción Flores (27 August 1904 – 16 May 1972) was a

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

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 Defi ...

and creator of the Guarania

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

Early life

Flores was born in the poor neighborhood of La Chacarita, in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) 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 ...

. As a kid, he had to work as a

paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th ...

and

shoeshiner Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally d ...

in order to help his mother with food and other necessities. At the early age of 11 he had already joined the Capital Police marching band and was a student of composer Félix Fernández and director Salvador Déntice. In 1922 he made his first composition, a

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

song named "Manuel Gondra".

The birth of the Guarania

In 1925, after experimenting with different arrangements of the old Paraguayan song ''Maerãpa Reikuaase'' he managed to create a new genre, which he called '' Guarania''. His first Guarania song was ''Jejui''. The purpose of this new genre was to express the feelings of the Paraguayan people through music. Later Flores would comment on his creation as: In 1928 he met the Guairá-native

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Manuel Ortiz Guerrero Manuel Ortiz Guerrero (16 July 1894 – 8 May 1933) was a Paraguayan poet and musician. Biography Guerrero was born in Ybaroty, a neighbourhood in the city of Villarrica del Espíritu Santo, Paraguay. He was the son of Vicente Ortiz and Susana ...

, and soon after the two started working together to create the most beautiful Guaranias songs to date such as ''India'', ''Cerro Corá'' and ''Panambí Verá''. In 1932 he enrolled in the army to fight for Paraguay in the

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõBuenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. While he was living in Argentina his songs were diffused throughout Paraguay and the Guarania genre became a success, confirming the originality and creativity of Flores' work. In 1944 the song ''India'' was declared by the Paraguayan government as a "national song". While living in Buenos Aires, Flores also worked on

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and wrote twelve symphonies in his lifetime.José Asunción Flores
Johannes Gutenberg University.

Exile, death and legacy

Because of his work and contributions to Paraguayan music and culture, Flores was awarded the National Order of Merit in 1949. However, he decided not to accept the award to protest the killing of a student that occurred in a protest against the government. Because of that, he was considered "a traitor" by the government and when

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989. Stroessner led a coup d'état on 4 May 1954 with t ...

became the president of Paraguay in 1954 Flores was forbidden to return to Paraguay. His wish to return to his home country was even denied in the latter years of his life when he was ill and wanted to see his homeland and people one more time before his death. Even though the government banned his songs, they were still being played by radio stations and the people, who had already identified with the Guaranias. Flores died in 1972, in Buenos Aires. In 1991, after Stroessner was ousted, Flores' remains were brought back to Paraguay, and they rest in a

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

that has his name.

List of works

José Asunción Flores' songs include: * "India" *"Nde Rendape ajú" * "Panambí Verá" * "Paraguaýpe" * "Buenos Aires, Salud" * "Kerasy" * "Nde Raty Py Kuá" * "Obrerito" * "Gallito Cantor" * "Purahéi Paha" * "Mburicao" * "Ñasaindype" * "Ñande Aramboha" * "Cholí" * "Musiqueada Che Amape" * "Ka´aty" * "Arribeño Resay" His symphonies include: *''Pyhare pyte'' *''Ñande Ru Vusu'' *''María de la Paz''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Jose Asuncion 1904 births 1972 deaths People from Asunción Paraguayan composers Male composers Paraguayan classical musicians People of the Chaco War Paraguayan expatriates in Argentina Paraguayan exiles 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century composers 20th-century male musicians