Known for songs like Oh Rosita and DelusionsGuatemalan composer and musician Fidel Maximilian Funes Nolasco achieved international fame after founding the group Fidel Funes and his marimba orchestra.
Together with his group, Funes left an indelible mark on the history of the Marimba Orchestra in Guatemala, positioning himself as a reference of this genre worldwide and winning the love of hundreds of followers, who today regret their departure.
At 68, the death of the musician Fidel Funes was confirmed on Saturday, May 1. According to data revealed by his family, his death occurred at 9.21 hours due to cardiac arrest. The director of the group faced for years a chronic kidney disease that would have been complicated in recent days due to decompensation. Finally, he suffered a cardiac arrest that caused death.
With his departure, Fidel Funes leave a 44 -year legacy of experience in Guatemalan music, where he wore joy, rhythm and put hundreds of people who admired his talent.
His last appearance with the group, which today is directed by his son Ricardo Funes, was on September 28, 2024, during the celebration of his anniversary.
Fidel Funes’s legacy
Fidel Funes was a Guatemalan musician and composer dedicated mainly to the marimba orchestra. He was born on March 12, 1956 in the Tumbador, San Marcos, where he grew up surrounded by relatives who were his referents in Marimba’s music, since both his father and his grandfather played this instrument.
His passion for music was so great that, at age 12, he left his house and moved to the capital to learn to interpret it. During that time, he lived with a sister.
As he told in his last interview with Free press and Guatevisiónin its beginnings in the capital he had to distribute bicycle bread to help his family, while studying the basic cycle at the Domingo Betancourt Institute, in zone 3.
On that occasion, he recalled that, at age 14, he sought to learn Marimba and arrived with the teacher Daniel Chacón, director of the Marimba Happy Boyswho became his mentor.
During the 70s, Fidel Funes continued his learning at the National Conservatory of Music of Guatemala, where he studied for four years.
Before founding his group, he was part of groups such as The great continental, Marimbas that sing and The Gallitovery recognized in the 1960s and 1970s.
One of its main achievements was to integrate into the group Checha and his Mayan Indiawhere he was a musician for four years, in addition to being part of the marimba of Fine Arts.
It was until 1980 when the idea of merging the marimba with other instruments to form cumbias arose.
A rugged beginning
As the Marimba orchestra teacher recalled, the beginning of his group “was rugged.” With a group of musicians from San José Pinula, he decided to join to form a new group, which was initially called Marimba Indiana Orchestrawith which they recorded a single.
After his success on the radios, a man approached Fidel Funes’s house and told him that there was already a group with that registered name. Despite his attempts to buy the rights of the name, Funes was taken to the Pavón prison for improper use of the commercial name.
After the altercation and after meeting with representatives and musicians, they decided to change the name to Fidel Funes and his marimba orchestrawith which it is known until today.
After the incident and with his music playing on the country’s radios, his first concert arrived in July 1980, and his official launch was held in December of that year.
After 44 years of musical career, the composer and his group reached international success, tours in the United States, Mexico and Europe. During their trajectory, they managed to sell more than one million albums and position 50 musical successes.
His legacy will pass to his son
In the interview that Guatevisión He performed with Fidel Funes during the 44th anniversary of his group, the founder stressed that he did not want the Marimba Orchestra to disappear. Therefore, Ricardo Funes, known as Coconuthe would be in charge of leading the second generation of the project when he was no longer.
Despite his illness, on that occasion the teacher decided to share the stage with his group.