It all started in 1963 when the symphonic orchestra of the National University of Cuyo brought to Mendoza numerous musicians from Argentina and abroad. In those years, this orchestra became one the most prestigious in the country, leading to the creation of one of the best music schools in South America.

Along with those young artists came the oboe player Juan José Gonzalez, who played the first oboe at the orchestra and also became head teacher of the oboe class in the music school.

Ever since he arrived in Mendoza, Juan José Gonzalez became interested in studying the qualities of the cane that grew wild in the flat lands, at the foot of the Andes Mountains. He could have never imagined that years later, thanks to those tests, that cane would become worldwide famous.

In 1983 Juan José, together with his son Juan Pablo, founded a company with the intention of growing Arundo Donax and selling it to different foreign reed makers. That is how Argendonax SRL is created, first being a supplier of raw material, until 1995 when the first reeds were launched to the market under the brand “Zonda”. These were the perfect result of many years of research and technological development. The goal was to manufacture the best reeds in the world. 

In 2000 the Gonzalez FOF (For our Friends) Clarinet reeds were born, first presented at the New Orleans Clarinet fest, the Gonzalez brand was launched, a brand that has become a synonymous with prestige and quality.

In 2002 Eduardo Davolos, Juan Pablo’s cousin, joined the Gonzalez enriching the company with his knowledge on marketing techniques and institutional identity design.

Over the years the company has acquired new machinery achieving a daily production of 12,000 reeds (between clarinet and saxophones). This equipment has helped to increase not only the output but also the quality of our products to the highest level.

Currently Gonzalez is a leader among manufacturers of reeds in over 30 countries worldwide and is the third largest company by volume.

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