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He was born on August 16, 1895, in the town of Ajofrín in Toledo to a modest family. His father, Avelino Guerrero Cruz, was a sacristan, and his mother, Petra Torres Benito, embroidered and sewed. Both had passionate and cheerful personalities, always cheerful and energetic, traits that the young Jacinto would inherit. He was the eldest of four siblings: Inocencio, Consuelo, and Paquita completed the family. His musical education began when his father, who was now the director of his hometown's band, wanted the little boy to join the band to play the bass drum and cymbals, a task that Jacinto took on at the age of six, as he was already a lover of theater and music (his preferences were sacred and popular music). When he was nine years old, his father died of pneumonia. That same year, in 1904, he came to Toledo, where he entered the Colegio de Infantes and developed his talent for business and his fondness for women. Here he studied music theory, lamentations, Latin, and literature. In the music archive, he taught himself about composers such as Palestrina and Victoria. Three years later, he composed his first score (Salve a cuatro voces). When he was still very young (14-16 years old), he made enormous sacrifices to support his family: he worked as a choirboy, choir singer, entertainer at village festivals, musician in cafés, pianist at the El Miradero cinema, buying and selling items, etc. He combined his various activities with studying and practicing the violin and piano. In 1914, he composed the first work that brought him enormous success and fame: Himno a Toledo (Hymn to Toledo), written for an orchestra. Thanks to this composition, he received a scholarship from the Diputación and the city council to study at the Madrid Conservatory.
Once in the capital, where he lived on one peseta a day, Jacinto learned that composing was just as important for success in Madrid as making good friends and contacts. Just one year after his arrival, he obtained a position as a violinist in the orchestra of the Teatro Apolo. He attended the third year of solfège and the first and second years of harmony at the conservatory and spent the summer preparing for the exam, which was equivalent to three piano courses. In 1916, he received military training in Toledo for a short time, but was fortunate enough not to be called up for the quintet. A year later, he unanimously received a first-class diploma in harmony from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. In 1918, he composed his first stage work: a sainete de costumbres entitled La cara de Dios and a short symphonic piece called Jhaía (Danza mora). In the same year, his first symphonic poem, Jhaía, was also premiered, but despite its great success, hard work, and low earnings, Guerrero wrote this serious work as his first and last. In 1919, his first work, El Camino de Santiago, premiered, but it was not very successful. To prevent this from happening again, he sought out a librettist and hired José Ramos Martín, for whom he wrote the Sainte La pelusa o el regalo de los Reyes, which premiered in 1920 at the Teatro de La Latina. This work was praised by audiences and critics alike. That same year, he got a new job as a pianist at the Fuencarral Theater. He kept this job until his brother Inocencio arrived in Madrid, having been called up for military service, which forced the whole family to move to the capital with Jacinto. In 1921, La alsaciana premiered in Barcelona. In 1922, his zarzuela La montería premiered in Zaragoza, which included the number ¡Hay que ver!, sung by Victoria Pineda (a friend of the maestro's), which was a great success. Guerrero himself began conducting the audience during the numerous repetitions of the piece, which later had a significant impact. Thanks to Guerrero's increasing income, his family finally achieved economic stability, without ceasing to be as hard-working and modest as they had been in Ajofrín. In 1923, Los gavilanes was released in cinemas, and Guerrero insisted that the SGAE give the author 10% of the box office takings (which had not been the case until then). A year later, he premiered several sainetes and zarzuelas, such as La sombra del Pilar, with a libretto by Federico Romero and Guillermo Fernández Shaw, but the most important work, reflecting Guerrero's spirit in its purest form, premiered in 1927: El huésped del sevillano, whose song “El canto a la espada” became world famous, had an impact as strong as or even greater than that of “¡Hay que ver!” a few years earlier. This work is notable above all for its references to the Toledo period and its extensive use of sainete. In September 1929, Himno de los Carabineros (with lyrics by Francisco Serrano Anguita) premiered, and in 1930 he composed the soundtrack for one of the first feature films of Spanish sound cinema: La canción del día (The Song of the Day). He also premiered La rosa del azafrán at the Teatro Calderón, which served to silence some of the harsh critics who accused Guerrero of being too popular. That same year, he traveled to Paris and, in the summer, to America, specifically Buenos Aires, where he performed numerous zarzuelas and revues that were even more successful than in Madrid. However, there were some problems: due to the Irigoyen revolution, there were several shootings in the street where the theater was located, so he decided to go to other Argentine cities. After receiving the Cross of Isabella the Catholic in 1931, he began construction of the Coliseum Theater together with architects Casto Fernández-Shaw and Pedro Muguruza. After several strikes and financial complications, which the maestro knew how to resolve, the theater was finally built. This marked the beginning of a new stage in Guerrero's career in the world of associations. A year later, he joined the Spanish and American Cinematographers Association (CAE) as a founding member and president, as he also wanted to contribute his work to film music. In 1935, his nephew and godson, Paquita's son, was born, but a year later the civil war broke out, forcing the family to move to Paris and later to San Sebastian. After the end of the war in 1939, the operetta Carlo Monte, with a libretto by Enrique Jardiel Poncela, premiered in Monte Carlo. Poncela had intended to introduce comedians instead of singing actors, so that the music lost its value after disputes with Guerrero and his concession. That same year, his family was able to return to Madrid, and from then on Guerrero performed his works in Madrid and Barcelona. His mother was a loyal supporter of the work of her beloved Jacinto, more of the zarzuelas than the revues, and she never missed an opportunity to go to the Coliseum. A few days after the premiere of Loza, Lozana in 1943, Doña Petra died, which was a great pain for Guerrero, who admired and loved his mother more than any other woman, even though there were many in his life. He smoked and ate too much, without taking care of himself, and in 1944 he had to undergo two operations for an intestinal abscess at the Santa Alicia sanatorium in Madrid, which caused some complications, but he survived. That same year, he wrote the magazine ¡5 minutos, nada menos! In 1948, he became president of the SGAE, which led him to travel to Brussels, Paris, and Lisbon a year later. In 1951, he flew to New York with Federico Moreno Torroba and, upon his return, sought the help of the Fernández-Shaw brothers to stage his new zarzuela (El canastillo de fresas, which premiered posthumously), with the aim of founding an ensemble under the motto “Resurgimiento de la Zarzuela” (Resurgence of Zarzuela). He himself admits that what he likes best is “looking for characters, forming ensembles, and organizing performances.” El tríptico toledano premiered in Barcelona, and in Toledo he received an honor for his professional career. In September of the same year, he died at the Sanatorium Rúber in Madrid.
In 1977, a monument was unveiled in his honor, erected on the initiative of the then city councilor of Toledo, Pedro Toledo Martínez, a native of Ocaña and resident of Toledo. The monument was created by the sculptor Enrique Pérez Comendador from Hervas; his brother Inocencio founded the Jacinto and Inocencio Guerrero Foundation in Madrid in 1982 (Inocencio died in the same year). Also in 1982, the Jacinto Guerrero Professional Conservatory was founded in Toledo. In 2001, on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, his symphonic works were published and numerous recordings were made on compact disc, as well as a reduction of his works for string sextet and piano.
Once in the capital, where he lived on one peseta a day, Jacinto learned that composing was just as important for success in Madrid as making good friends and contacts. Just one year after his arrival, he obtained a position as a violinist in the orchestra of the Teatro Apolo. He attended the third year of solfège and the first and second years of harmony at the conservatory and spent the summer preparing for the exam, which was equivalent to three piano courses. In 1916, he received military training in Toledo for a short time, but was fortunate enough not to be called up for the quintet. A year later, he unanimously received a first-class diploma in harmony from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. In 1918, he composed his first stage work: a sainete de costumbres entitled La cara de Dios and a short symphonic piece called Jhaía (Danza mora). In the same year, his first symphonic poem, Jhaía, was also premiered, but despite its great success, hard work, and low earnings, Guerrero wrote this serious work as his first and last. In 1919, his first work, El Camino de Santiago, premiered, but it was not very successful. To prevent this from happening again, he sought out a librettist and hired José Ramos Martín, for whom he wrote the Sainte La pelusa o el regalo de los Reyes, which premiered in 1920 at the Teatro de La Latina. This work was praised by audiences and critics alike. That same year, he got a new job as a pianist at the Fuencarral Theater. He kept this job until his brother Inocencio arrived in Madrid, having been called up for military service, which forced the whole family to move to the capital with Jacinto. In 1921, La alsaciana premiered in Barcelona. In 1922, his zarzuela La montería premiered in Zaragoza, which included the number ¡Hay que ver!, sung by Victoria Pineda (a friend of the maestro's), which was a great success. Guerrero himself began conducting the audience during the numerous repetitions of the piece, which later had a significant impact. Thanks to Guerrero's increasing income, his family finally achieved economic stability, without ceasing to be as hard-working and modest as they had been in Ajofrín. In 1923, Los gavilanes was released in cinemas, and Guerrero insisted that the SGAE give the author 10% of the box office takings (which had not been the case until then). A year later, he premiered several sainetes and zarzuelas, such as La sombra del Pilar, with a libretto by Federico Romero and Guillermo Fernández Shaw, but the most important work, reflecting Guerrero's spirit in its purest form, premiered in 1927: El huésped del sevillano, whose song “El canto a la espada” became world famous, had an impact as strong as or even greater than that of “¡Hay que ver!” a few years earlier. This work is notable above all for its references to the Toledo period and its extensive use of sainete. In September 1929, Himno de los Carabineros (with lyrics by Francisco Serrano Anguita) premiered, and in 1930 he composed the soundtrack for one of the first feature films of Spanish sound cinema: La canción del día (The Song of the Day). He also premiered La rosa del azafrán at the Teatro Calderón, which served to silence some of the harsh critics who accused Guerrero of being too popular. That same year, he traveled to Paris and, in the summer, to America, specifically Buenos Aires, where he performed numerous zarzuelas and revues that were even more successful than in Madrid. However, there were some problems: due to the Irigoyen revolution, there were several shootings in the street where the theater was located, so he decided to go to other Argentine cities. After receiving the Cross of Isabella the Catholic in 1931, he began construction of the Coliseum Theater together with architects Casto Fernández-Shaw and Pedro Muguruza. After several strikes and financial complications, which the maestro knew how to resolve, the theater was finally built. This marked the beginning of a new stage in Guerrero's career in the world of associations. A year later, he joined the Spanish and American Cinematographers Association (CAE) as a founding member and president, as he also wanted to contribute his work to film music. In 1935, his nephew and godson, Paquita's son, was born, but a year later the civil war broke out, forcing the family to move to Paris and later to San Sebastian. After the end of the war in 1939, the operetta Carlo Monte, with a libretto by Enrique Jardiel Poncela, premiered in Monte Carlo. Poncela had intended to introduce comedians instead of singing actors, so that the music lost its value after disputes with Guerrero and his concession. That same year, his family was able to return to Madrid, and from then on Guerrero performed his works in Madrid and Barcelona. His mother was a loyal supporter of the work of her beloved Jacinto, more of the zarzuelas than the revues, and she never missed an opportunity to go to the Coliseum. A few days after the premiere of Loza, Lozana in 1943, Doña Petra died, which was a great pain for Guerrero, who admired and loved his mother more than any other woman, even though there were many in his life. He smoked and ate too much, without taking care of himself, and in 1944 he had to undergo two operations for an intestinal abscess at the Santa Alicia sanatorium in Madrid, which caused some complications, but he survived. That same year, he wrote the magazine ¡5 minutos, nada menos! In 1948, he became president of the SGAE, which led him to travel to Brussels, Paris, and Lisbon a year later. In 1951, he flew to New York with Federico Moreno Torroba and, upon his return, sought the help of the Fernández-Shaw brothers to stage his new zarzuela (El canastillo de fresas, which premiered posthumously), with the aim of founding an ensemble under the motto “Resurgimiento de la Zarzuela” (Resurgence of Zarzuela). He himself admits that what he likes best is “looking for characters, forming ensembles, and organizing performances.” El tríptico toledano premiered in Barcelona, and in Toledo he received an honor for his professional career. In September of the same year, he died at the Sanatorium Rúber in Madrid.
In 1977, a monument was unveiled in his honor, erected on the initiative of the then city councilor of Toledo, Pedro Toledo Martínez, a native of Ocaña and resident of Toledo. The monument was created by the sculptor Enrique Pérez Comendador from Hervas; his brother Inocencio founded the Jacinto and Inocencio Guerrero Foundation in Madrid in 1982 (Inocencio died in the same year). Also in 1982, the Jacinto Guerrero Professional Conservatory was founded in Toledo. In 2001, on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, his symphonic works were published and numerous recordings were made on compact disc, as well as a reduction of his works for string sextet and piano.
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