Juan Carlos Jiménez Rufino was born on 11 January 1951 in Córdoba, Argentina.

[2][3] He earned the nickname La Mona ("the she-monkey") from his parents, who noted his resemblance to Cheeta the Chimpanzee from the Tarzan TV series.

[4] He started singing with Cuarteto Berna when he was 15 years old after winning a contest among 40 other singers.

His success allowed him to buy three brand-new cars and a house in the barrio of Cerro de Las Rosas, and to pay off a mortgage.

[1] In 40 years of musical career Jiménez has recorded more than 85 CDs and sold more than 36 million copies all over Argentina.