Cesar Gonzmart - Early Years

Early Years

Gonzmart was born César Gonzales in Tampa, Florida and named by his mother for the Roman general and statesman, Julius Caesar. (César is the Spanish spelling of Caesar.) At the age of three, he accompanied his mother, aunt and grandmother on a cruise to Cuba. Having been impressed by shipboard violinist, he started lessons at age six. A successful student, musically and otherwise, he went to Stetson University on scholarship after only 2½ years at Hillsborough High School. In 1935 at age 15, César earned $20 a week substituting in the Columbia Restaurant's band, a job he held for three months before leaving for Deland to attend college.