Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo

Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo (May 14, 1907 – May 5, 1982) was the main reference of the so-called "golden generation" of the Paraguayan popular music and a strict studious of the Paraguayan folk music. He was born in Ybycuí on May 14, 1907, son of Crescencia Cardozo Caballero.

He started his music education with the flute player Eloy Martín Pérez, in his home town.

He continued his studies with Juan J. Rojas and the first instruments that he played were the flute and the guitar.

In Asunción, he joined the Police Band of the Capital, working under the direction of the masters Nicolino Pellegrini and Salvador Dentice.

He made artistic tours around countries and cities of the region, finally stopping in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he settled to live and continue his studies with the greatest masters of harmony and compositions and instrumentation, Isidro Maistegui and Gilardo Gilardi. With the Argentinian folk specialist Juan Alfonso Carrizo he began his studies of folk science.

During the time of his military instruction he met Eladio Martínez, who he played with a duet "Martínez-Cardozo", which recorded an important quantity of discs for Odeon studios of Buenos Aires where he also performed many presentations at theatres, radios and cultural centers. In 1932, due to the beginning of the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, the duet "Martínez-Cardozo", together with other artists, made successful acting to gather money for the Paraguayan Red Cross.

At the end of the war, in Buenos Aires, the Paraguayan Circle is founded, and the "Martínez-Cardozo" are active members, and little by little Cardozo Ocampo begins "Ñandé Rogá", an important music work which later will end up being the foundation of "Guaraní Folk Group" and then "Folk Club Rincon Guaraní".

He wrote and directed radio cycles about Paraguayan music and culture by the Radio Argentina of Buenos Aires (between 1948 and 1952). He was the creator of "Banda Ocara" (1954–1957) in Asuncion. He organized several Paraguayan music concert cycles leading the Orquesta Estable of L.R.1, Radio Splendid, in the Argentinian capital, for two seasons (1961–1962). He was Folk teacher of the Institute of Fine Arts Romaro, Buenos Aires, between 1959 and 1965.

He was one of the founders of the Argentinian Society of Authors and Composers, having been a member of the Authors and Composers Circle, and from the fusion of both the SADAIC appeared in 1936. This group named him as delegate before the President of the Paraguayan Republic to deal the issuing of a protectionist law of the intellectual properties; the Decree-law number 94 was a result of this, inscribed by the President Federico Chávez.