Manuel Maria Ponce was born in 1882 in Fresnillo, Zacatecas. He was a distinguished Mexican composer. Born in a small provincial Mexican town to modestly prosperous parents who gave him his first piano lessons, his natural talent soon outstripped the educational potential in Mexico so he traveled to Europe to continue his studies.

In 1901, Ponce entered the National Conservatory of Music, already with a certain prestige as a pianist and composer. There he remained until 1903, the year in which he returned to the city of Aguascalientes. In 1904 he went to Italy for advanced musical studies at the School of Bologna.
Between 1906 and 1908 he studied with Martin Krause at ...