Cenobio Hernández (1863–1950) was a Mexican-American composer, born in San Luis Potosi,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and died in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He began by playing

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and eventually moved to

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

bajo sexto Bajo sexto (Spanish: "sixth bass") is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 12 strings in six double courses. A closely related instrument is the bajo quinto (Spanish: "fifth bass") which has 10 strings in five double courses. ...

, and other stringed instruments. While in Mexico, Cenobio's father, Don Cenobio, taught his children the fine art of music, providing to them a rigorous musical education. Cenobio Hernández was heavily active in the late 1920s performing in orchestras in the silent film industry. After moving away from Mexico, he settled in San Antonio, Texas and performed at the Majestic, the Empire, and the Palace theaters in San Antonio, Texas at the turn-of-the-century. In 1927, when the silent film industry moved into the "talking film" industry, Cenobio Hernández began to focus his time on composing music. Although he did not play

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, Cenobio wrote several compositions for piano. He wrote many upbeat

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 ...

s, marked with trance-like, hypnotic harmonies (chordal structures) and careful, elegant melodies (marked with unexpected movements and unique transitions). Inspired in an instant, Cenobio would use a pencil to write ideas on paper bags and other everyday materials, hand-drawing the staff lines, the harmony, and then the melody. The music of Cenobio Hernandez, although not well known, has been featured in some of the least expected instances. Ice skaters Liz Punsalan and Jerod Shallow (of the U.S. team) used some of Hernández's compositions as background for their 1994 and 1998 Olympic competitions in Lillehammer, Norway, and Nagano, Japan. While over 100 polkas and waltzes exist, the oldest piece discovered, which was composed by Cenobio Hernández, was written in 1896.

External links

A Man, His Music, and His LegacySamples of Cenobio Hernandez's Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Cenobio 1863 births 1950 deaths Mexican composers Mexican male composers American musicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians