Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Ybycuí, Paraguarí Department, Paraguay
About Florentín Giménez
- Florentín Giménez (born March 14, 1925, in Ybycuí, Paraguarí Department, Paraguay) is a Paraguayan pianist and composer. In his teens, Giménez learned to play the drums and became a member of the Orchestra of Popular Music, directed by Severo Rodas.
- In 1945, at the age of 20, he learned to play the piano and became a pianist in Ramón Reyes’ Orchestra, where he stayed until 1947, when the Paraguayan Civil War forced him to leave the country and settle in Argentina.
- After the war, he returned to Paraguay and formed his first orchestra, “Ritmos de América” (America’s Rhythms). In 1950, he formed the 14-member orchestra “Florentín Giménez y su típica Moderna”, which featured singers Oscar Escobar, Juan Carlos Miranda, Carlos Centurión, and Jorge Alonso.
- The group toured extensively in Argentina.
- During this same period, he formed an orchestra dedicated solely to folk music. Because of his protests against the government, Giménez was labeled a communist and arrested in 1953.
- He was jailed for several months.
- Upon his release, he signed a contract to play with his orchestra in more than 80 Brazilian cities, but the government refused to allow him to leave the country.
- In 1956, Giménez left Paraguay. Among his symphonic works are “Minas cué”, “El río de la esperanza”, “Ciclos”, “Fantasía Étnica”, and “Misa Paraguaya”.
- He has also composed music for plays and films.
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