Carli Jiménez, La Mona’s son, from quartet to powerful show businessman: bullying, tattoos and dad’s teachings

When he smiles, he cannot hide that mischievous gesture that comes from his foursome DNA. Although in the rest of the interview with Clarion, Carli Jimenezson of a living legend as he is “La Mona” Jiménez, prioritizes his cultivated business profile.

In addition to honoring and thanking this very charismatic legacy from Córdoba, Carli Jiménez managed to reinvent herself and grow so much that today she is an important player in the entertainment industry and in concert and show productions.

His story has all the nuances: from having had to learn to be “the son of…” (according to him, a heavy backpack with chiaroscuros); to the challenge of seeking new horizons that transcend his beloved native province and the borders of Argentina.

Since he was little, in that beautiful house in the Cerro de las Rosas neighborhood, where “la Mona” Jiménez had moved with his family, Carli had to submit to adverse conditions in the social environment.

He remembers: “It was the top neighborhood in Córdoba and for the neighbors, most of them judges, notaries and lawyers, it was difficult to tolerate. ‘Who is this who moved next door to me? A quartet singer?!'” they asked. “They were people who discriminated against gender and, obviously, against the character of ‘La Mona’.”

He states: “I was born in that house, that is, it was at the time when I went through all of my primary and secondary school. At school I formed a group of friends and I no longer had anyone to discriminate against me. But at the beginning of primary school, when you are not invited to birthdays by your classmates but by your parents, I was brave there. They didn’t invite me because I was the son of ‘La Mona’”.

And he adds: “In the face of that type of things, my old man never gave up. On the contrary, he made him stronger and that was a life lesson for me.”

Carli Jiménez is 44 years old; His wife is called Lucía and with her he shares two children: Eren (20 years old) and Juan Ignacio (19 years old). His father’s real name is Juan Carlos Jiménez Rufino; his mother’s name is Juana Delseri (she was manager and producer of “la Mona”); and has two sisters: Lorena, 49 years old, theater teacher and quartet singer; and Natalia, 43, a fashion designer (she makes her father’s costumes for shows).

Carli always expressed that she had an absent father, because “he worked a lot, from Monday to Monday.”. He says that he settled in Buenos Aires at the age of 17, “running away” from the maelstrom of being “Mona’s son” in Córdoba. But then, something happened…

He says: “My old man had to have surgery for polyps in his throat. He couldn’t sing and he was mentally ill. He told me: ‘I’m going to start singing little by little, accompany me so I can rest my voice. I accepted and ended up singing with him for 10 years.. But at the same time I managed Level Marketing, selling shows.”

-You connected with music from a very young age…

-I started studying when I was 12 years old. I liked the art of composing and writing songs (Later he studied sound engineering, and in 2016 he composed for the novel Educating Nina).

-Did you also teach quartet?

-Yeah. I started teaching in a small school with musicians from my band in a vulnerable area of ​​Córdoba. I had 140 kids between 8 and 16 years old who were learning to play instruments such as accordion, piano, bass and percussion. Today they play in professional bands. In fact, two of those girls played with “la Mona” for almost three years.

Carli Jiménez made a funk music album with drummer Martín Carrizo, played at several festivals and set up her own studio where established artists recorded. He produced shows for many of them, like Willy Crook and Alfredo Casero.

-And what did your old man tell you when you mixed with artists from “another background”?

-At first I didn’t understand. He said: “Here we have everything to make a quartet, what are you doing in Buenos Aires producing Alfredo Casero shows? And today I have a training that my dad appreciates, due to those tools that I acquired at that time.

-Is it true that you refused to participate in Dancing for a Dream?

-I didn’t want to, because it’s not my thing, imagine. I was already in another stage. In fact, being so close to the world of “La Mona” made me not want to have so much exposure.

Carli’s deconstruction to become a businessman and overthrow the prejudices against the quartet even included her way of dressing.

Says: “When I started to go out to sell or get municipal authorizations, I realized that I had to put on the jacket. It was a kind of Impostor syndrome, because I was starting to do well but I didn’t believe it. He told me: ‘Hey, people think I’m not this and that’… I felt like I was falsifying the situation, I didn’t understand why I was starting to do so well. I need a lot of therapy (Laughs).”

And he adds: “Imagine, Carli Jiménez, the son of ‘La Mona’, came to the meetings, and there was an immediate bias that I was going to start dancing as a quartet. And I was going to sell them an Arena worth 50 million dollars! Do you understand me?”

-Until you believed it…

-Yes, totally, because in my life everything was very abrupt. I stopped singing, the pandemic started and when it ended, I was already with my company producing shows. We did the “La Mona” shows in a much more professional way. And we saw that that level of production was exactly similar to doing a Ricky Martin show. We had the best team in Córdoba to put on shows. We said: “Hey, if we can do ‘La Mona’, let’s also do Shakira, Ricky Martin, Calle 13…”. And we began to diversify.

Today, Carli is a renowned producer, entertainment entrepreneur and developer of cultural infrastructure. Based in Córdoba and with national projection, he leads Universo Producciones, organizing large-scale events throughout the country. He participated in performing concerts by artists such as Shakira and Ricky Martin in Córdoba, and currently has unpublished projects.

In alliance with Siglo 21 University, He is the promoter of the first production company in Argentina that measures the real effect of events with academic methodology. A model that allows quantifying the economic impact, job creation and tourist movement.

He states: “On the campus of Siglo 21 University, which 20,000 kids attend every day, we will make a dome for 4,500 attendees.”

Associated with the Eurnekian group; Federico Lauría, from Dale Play and producer of Bizarrap; and José Palazzo, head of the mega brand Cosquín Rock; Carli Jiménez will participate in the construction of an Arena in Córdoba for 14 thousand spectators, with an investment of 50 million dollars.

He also signed a decade-long contract to operate the Estadio Único de La Plata. He says: “It is something that positions us at the federal level, because not only do we have our know how specialized in Córdoba, but also its own stadium in Buenos Aires. We bought the license from Hard Rock so that the Estadio Único has a restaurant, and you can watch a show or a game, while you eat pork ribs or a hamburger, and have a few drinks.”

Carli says excitedly that on May 1 he will hold the National Quartet Festival at the Unico Stadium in La Plata.

He states: “It is the first time we have a festival outside of Córdoba. UNESCO declared the quartet as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and what we are experiencing is similar to what happened with tango. This festival will bring together the top leaders of the genre, in an event for 40,000 people, which will have between 10 and 12 hours of interrupted music; and a gastronomic offer that will include typical Cordoban dishes and drinks such as pritiated and Fernet with Coca.”

Currently, his father, “La Mona” Jiménez, shines as a judge on Guido Kaczka’s TV program (It’s my dream), without stopping performing several shows per week, which is surprising after overcoming serious health problems. Carli says: “My old man is 74 years old and continues to reinvent himself. I see him with energy, that’s important.”

And then he says that years ago he abandoned his other passion, bodybuilding: “It is an activity that involves a great commitment. At one point I was able to do it, I competed at the provincial level. I was 32 years old. I still do a lot of sports, not with those goals, but training for me is like therapy.”

-You are also a fan of tattoos. How many do you have?

-I don’t know, I lost count, I have tattoos all over my body. I am from a generation in which tattoos did not exist when I was a child. As I grew up, I saw people on the street with tattoos and it gave me a kind of obsession. I liked how they looked aesthetically. And when I got motivated, I didn’t stop.

-When you became the first, what did mom and dad say?

-They did not agree; I did the first one when I was 18 years old. They almost made me sleep outside the house! (Laughs). Now they are used to it.

-What do you owe to “La Mona” Jiménez?

-Life and resilience. Knowing how to get up after every slap one receives. It makes me happy to see him proud of me.