foto por Majela Serrano

instrumento/instrument: trompeta/trumpet

grupos/groups: Charanga Habanera, Yumuri y sus hermanos, Colé Colé, Rojitas

grabaciones/recordings: Charanga Habanera: Live in the USA, Charanga Habanera: Chan Chan Charanga; Charanga Habanera: Charanguero Mayor;Calixto Oviedo: La recompensa; La Rumba soy yo

lugar de nacimiento/birthplace: ?

formación musical/musical background: Guillermo Tomás; Amadeo Roldán; la ISA

lugar actual de residencia/current residence: La Habana

Juan Manuel Jiménez Chávez also came from a musical family - his father studied the piano, although he didn't make it his career, and his sister is an excellent flautist.

Juan Manuel was born August 9, 1973, and studied trumpet at Guillermo Tomás, at Amadeo Roldán and later graduated from the ISA in 1997.

Even when he was studying a Amadeo he had already begun to play professionally. “I played gigs here and there, first with Orquesta del Circo, and then in the Capri with Caribe Expreso and at the Hotel Habana Libre with La Riverside”. He continued gigging with various groups such as Colé Colé (1994), Yumurí y sus hermanos (1995-1996), Alto Voltaje, and Rojitas y su orquesta (1997-1998). “And from the summer of '98 I've been with La Charanga”.

Since joining Charanga Habanera he's also continued to record "por ahí", including Calixto Oviedo's CD “La recompensa” and last year's Grammy-winning “La rumba soy yo”, in addition to other productions of leading arranger/producers Joaquín Betancourt, and his namesake Juan Manuel Ceruto.

“La Charanga gives me the chance to play various genres of music, not just Timba, but also some traditional music and I play a solo here and there, and that makes me happy. I'm very happy in my job and also in my personal life: I just had a daughter who's only 23 days old.

Congratulation, papá Juan Manuel !!! [Majela Serrano]