José Pablo Moncayo

José Pablo Moncayo (1912 – 1958) was born in 1912 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He studied piano since he was 6 years old, and in 1929 he enrolled in the National Conservatory of Music. Along with his studies he worked as a pianist in radio stations, and jazz nightclubs. Thanks to Carlos Chávez he was invited to the Symphony Orchestra of Mexico to participate as a percussionist. Later he became a pianist, composer, and conductor. Carlos Chávez, seeing his great musical talent, sent him to carry out an investigation to Veracruz city, and create a new musical composition. Moncayo arrived at the port of Alvarado and witnessed La Fiesta del Fandango (Fandango Party), from where he got his main inspiration for composing the Huapango. He obtained a scholarship at Serge Koussevitzky’s Berkshire Institute and attended courses taught by Aaron Copland at Tanglewood in 1942. He also taught composition and conducting classes at the National Conservatory of Music and was a teacher at the Superior Night School of Music, as well as at Schools of Artistic Initiation. He died on June 16th, 1958, in Mexico City, and with this also came the end of the musical period known as “Mexican nationalism.” His remains rest in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres (Rotunda of Illustrious Men) in Mexico City.