The Bolivian composer was born in Sorata in 1898 and died in La Paz in 1971. He studied at the Conservatorio Plurinacional de Música (COPLUMU) [Plurinational Conservatory of Music] in La Paz shortly after it opened under the direction of Peruvian David Molina. Later, he expanded his studies in Europe, specifically in Italy and France, where he became a piano virtuoso and a composer of international fame and level. He was also a notable writer, poet, and an illustrious educator. He directed the COPLUMU and was director and founder, with Armando Palmero, of the famous Academia Nacional de Música Man Césped [Man Césped Music Academy] in Cochabamba. His musical compositions are characterized by a combination of popular elements of his time and Bolivian native music. He introduced melodies with great expressive elegance and harmonic transparency in his piano works. Some of his noteworthy compositions include Pequeña Danza [Small Dance], Motivo Aymara [Aymara Reason], Capricho Andino [Andean Caprice], Allegretto Scherzando, and Rondino, his most popular piano piece.
