Upon his return, he entered the University of Puerto Rico and went on stage for the first time as part of the Grupo Taoné[2] which had legendary musicians like Roy Brown, Antonio Cabán Vale "El Topo," Noel Hernández, Carlos Lozada, and the duo Pepe y Flora.
[4] Jiménez continued to perform with Taoné for several years while developing a unique style that reaffirmed his commitment to Puerto Rico’s culture and Jíbaro music.
With Taoné, he traveled to the United States and made presentations at the universities of Harvard, Yale and Princeton, as well as in many Puerto Rican migrant communities in New York City, Chicago, Connecticut, Boston and Los Angeles.
He represented Puerto Rico in the First Latin American Folk Song (Primer Cantar Folclórico de América Latina), held in Cuba.
In later productions, Jiménez composed “trovas” depicting sacred music themes like “Jesús, Hijo de Dios" ("Jesus, the Son of God”) based on the décimas of artist Luis Germán Cajigas, which were inspired by verses from the Biblical books of Luke, Matthew and Mark.