Biography
José Asunción Flores (August 27, 1904 – May 16, 1972) was a Paraguayan composer and creator of the Guarania music genre.Flores was born on August 27, 1904 in a poor neighborhood in Asuncion and from a young age he was forced to work as a polisher and as an errand boy in a gambling club to help his mother. At the age of 11 he joined a musical group and in 1922 he made his first composition, a polka song called 'Manuel Gondra'.
In 1925, and after experimenting with old songs of his country, he managed to create a new genre, which he called Guarania, with the aim of expressing the feelings of the people of modern Paraguay through music.
In 1932 he fought for his country in the Chaco War and after the war, due to the political instability prevailing in Paraguay, he moved to Buenos Aires. While living in Argentina, his songs spread throughout Paraguay and the Guarania genre became a hit, confirming the originality and creativity of Flores' work. In 1944 the song India was declared by the government of Paraguay as the "national song".
Because of his work and contribution to Paraguayan music and culture, Floes was awarded the National Order of Merit in 1949. However, he decided not to accept the award to protest the killing of a student in an anti-government protest. Because of this, he was considered an enemy by the government, and when Alfredo Stroessner became president of Paraguay in 1954, Flores was banned from entering the country. Although the government banned his songs, they were still played on radio stations and widely distributed on cassettes. In the last years of his life he was ill and had tried to return to his country but was again refused entry. He died on May 16, 1972 in Buenos Aires.