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Zambrana Family
Zambrana Family
Lico’s European family is well documented but absent from that story is the son he left in Cuba, my grandfather Angel Zambrana. We do not have a lot of information about Angel’s mother, my great grandmother and there are pieces of my family’s lineage that continue to remain a mystery.
Angel was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba and had two siblings, a brother, José and a sister, Juana. We do not know if they were full or half-siblings. José and Juana had no children. However, we do know that my grandfather played the trumpet and that his brother José played the double bass. Angel married Agueda Ponce, my grandmother. They had five children; José, Eugenio, Nolga, Miguel, and Camilo Zambrana. Me and my brother, David, are the children of Angel’s youngest son, Camilo Federico Zambrana and my mother Norma Suarez.
thezambranamusicfoundation.org
Angel Zambrana
I remember being a little girl and my father telling me stories about Lico and his musical accomplishments. As you can imagine, I had a million questions, “Why is our sur name not Jimenez?”, “Did Lico know about Angel?”, but unfortunately my father did not have the answers. As my sons began to demonstrate musical talents, I went on a personal journey to uncover any information pertaining to my lineage. I shared the same stories told to me with my sons and made them aware of our musical heritage.
We may never know the answers to the many questions surrounding our lineage, but what I do know for sure is that my sons and I, as representatives of Lico’s Cuban descendants, are committed to preserving his legacy and ensuring that our lineage is part of the narrative as Lico’s story is shared.
The Zambrana Music Foundation is committed to spreading awareness of the musical contributions made by forgotten, and seldom mentioned, Afro-Cuban classical musicians such as Lico Jimenez.
May Lico’s musical legacy live on forever.
-Isis Zambrana
Jonathan Ingram Zambrana, Isis Zambrana,
Joshua Diaz Zambrana
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