Andrés Jiménez, "el Jíbaro"

Andrés Jiménez, "El Jíbaro" (Puerto Rico, July 3 of 1947 ), is a composer of traditional folk music and the best known troubadour of Puerto Rican Folk, linked to the Neofolkloric movement of the New Song (nueva canción).

Andrés Jiménez was born on July 3, 1947, in the barrio "The Cat" in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. He is the fourth of 15 children from Juan Jiménez y Felícita Hernández. His father, a tireless farmer, taught him to love the earth and the cultivated soil passionately. Early on, his mother stirred an interest in singing, particularly by taking him to ceremonies where folk music, like the "seis chorreao" and "aguinaldos," was interpreted.

Economic constraints led him – like with many other Puerto Ricans - to emigrate to New York City, where he was drafted into the army. Upon his return, he entered the University of Puerto Rico, and presented on stage for the first time as part of the Grupo Taoné, which had legendary musicians like Roy Brown, Antonio Caban Vale "El Topo," Noel Hernandez, Carlos Lozada, Pepe and Flora.

Jiménez continued to perform with Taoné for several years, while developing a unique style that reaffirmed his commitment to Puerto Rico’s culture and Jibaro music. With Taoné, he traveled to the United States, and made presentations at the universities of Harvard, Yale and Princeton, as well as in many Puerto Rican migrant communities in New York, Chicago, Connecticut, Boston and Los Angeles.

In 1973, he participated in the Youth Festival in Germany. He represented Puerto Rico in the First Latin American Folk Song (Primer Cantar Folclórico de América Latina), held in Cuba. That same year, he toured different Mexican states, sponsored by the National Institute of Fine Arts. In October, along with his new band, he performed at the Festival in Tribute to the Troubadour (Festival Homenaje al Trovador), held in the Plaza Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela. In November, he received the “Meeting Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement’" (“Premio Encuentro por ‘Trayectoria Artística").

Andres Jimenez has been awarded the Agüeybaná Award twice for Best Performer of traditional folk music. He has also received awards like the Diplo, Chief Orocovix and has been recognized by various civic and cultural organizations, even by the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.

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