José Asunción Flores was a Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

an composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and creator of the Guarania

Guarania (music)

Guarania is a style of music created in Paraguay by musician José Asunción Flores in 1925 with the purpose of expressing the character of the Paraguayan people...

 music genre

Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...

.

Early life

Flores was born in the poor neighborhood of La Chacarita

La Chacarita

La Chacarita may refer to:*Chacarita neighborhood in Buenos Aires*La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires*Ricardo Brugada neighborhood...

, in Asunción

Asunción

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...

. As a kid, he had to work as a paperboy

Paperboy

A paperboy is the general name for a person employed by a newspaper, They are often used around the office to run low end errands. They make copies and distribute them. Paperboys traditionally were and are still often portrayed on television and movies as preteen boys, often on a bicycle...

 and shoeshiner

Shoeshiner

Shoeshiner or boot polisher is a profession in which a person polishes shoes with shoe polish. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job is traditionally that of a male child. In the leather fetish communities, they are often called bootblacks...

 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 the director Salvador Déntice. In 1922 he made his first composition, a polka

Paraguayan polka

Paraguayan polka, also known as Danza Paraguaya , 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 ternary and binary rhythms, whereas the European only uses binary...

 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

Guarania (music)

Guarania is a style of music created in Paraguay by musician José Asunción Flores in 1925 with the purpose of expressing the character of the Paraguayan people...

. 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

Guairá Department

Guairá is a department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Villarrica.It covers a surface of , with a population of 178130 inhabitants .You can get there through the Road nª8 Blas Garay...

-native poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 Manuel Ortiz Guerrero

Manuel Ortiz Guerrero

- Biography:Guerrero was born at Ybaroty, a neighborhood in the city of Villarrica del Espíritu Santo, Paraguay. He was the son of Vicente Ortiz and Susana Guerrero, who died after giving birth. He was raised by his grandmother, Florencia Ortiz. He realized his first studies in a school in...

, 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

Chaco War

The Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco...

. After the war, political instability ruled in Paraguay and Flores moved to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

. 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

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 and wrote twelve symphonies in his lifetime.

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

Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda, whose name is also spelled Strössner or Strößner , was a Paraguayan military officer and dictator from 1954 to 1989...

 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

Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...

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