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Manuel Ponce was a prolific Mexican composer, pianist, music educator, and scholar, celebrated as a foundational figure in developing a distinct national classical music style in Mexico during the 20th century.Born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Ponce showed early musical talent. He studied in Mexico City, Europe (Italy, Germany), and notably in Paris with Paul Dukas. His career spanned composing (songs, piano, guitar, orchestral works), performing as a concert pianist, teaching at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, and musicological research on Mexican folk music. He died in Mexico City.

• Ponce's decade-long period in Paris (1925-1933) led to significant artistic growth but also caused some neglect of his reputation back in Mexico, leading to unfounded rumors that he had died.
• For many years, Ponce published some of his guitar compositions under pseudonyms or allowed them to be attributed to older composers to help his friend, the guitarist Andrés Segovia, overcome the prejudice against contemporary guitar music. Segovia premiered many of Ponce's major guitar works, including the famous "Concierto del Sur".
• His profound interest in Mexican folk music wasn't just academic; he deeply integrated its melodies, rhythms, and spirit into his concert works, elevating folk traditions to the concert hall.
• Ponce died relatively young at 65 from uremia (kidney failure) in 1948. Ironically, he passed away just as he was achieving his greatest national recognition as a symbol of Mexican musical identity.