Severo Muguerza

Severo Muguerza (1883-?) was a Spanish composer. He was born in Bilbao and lived most of his later years in Mexico.

Career

Among his earliest works are La melindrosa (lyrics by Enrique F. Gutiérrez-Roig and Luis Gabaldón) and performed at the Teatro de la Latino in Madrid, April 15, 1921, and El príncipe azul, a comic opera in one act (lyrics by Julio Torres and Rafael Robledo) and performed at the Teatro Ruzafa, in Valencia, Spain, on December 14, 1923.^[1]

On November 8, 1931, he directed an operetta at the Teatro Nacional, in which Caridad Suárez Valdés interpreted the role of 'Valencienne' in the La viuda alegre, alongside Esperanza Iris as ‘Ana de Glavary’, Manolo Villa as ‘Danilo’ and Panchito Naya as ‘Rosillón’. Muguerza directed Los diamantes de la corona at the Teatro Nacional January 30, 1932, with Panchito Naya, Estelita Echazábal and Paco Salas.^[2]

Leaving prior to the beginning of Spain's civil war (1936–39), Severo traveled to Latin America with Palmira Tomas, an opera singer from Barcelona, and her sister Carmen, also a soprano star, to Caracas, Cuba and later Mexico, settling in Cuernavaca. There he composed the film music for Destino de Mujer (1934), The Eternal Secret (1942), Una Gitana en Mexico (1945), and Adultery (1945).^[3] Muguerza, Palmira and Carmen settled and lived in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.

Spain's civil war (July 18, 1936 to April 1, 1939) changed Mexico's cultural life overnight.^[4] The civil war killed millions and brought thousands of intellectuals, musicians, and actors to Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico. Spanish musicians and actors joined Mexico's golden age of cinema, contributing themes based on civil war and injustice.^[5]

Muguerza along with Antonio Díaz Conde, Gustavo Pittaluga, and Rodolfo Halffer wrote many film scores in Mexico's film industry between 1940 and 1945.

Personal life

In Spain Muguerza married María Berri, with whom he had a child, actress Esperanza Muguerza Berrio, who later married actor Carlos Lemos.^[6]

In Mexico Muguerza and Palmira Tomas had one son, Gustavo Muguerza Tomas, who became a Laggs Tea salesman and married Carmen Perez, a school administrator. From this marriage Severo and Palmira had two grandsons, architect Gustavo Muguerza Perez (1947–2015) and Eduardo Muguerza (1948-) Perez.

In the 1950s, he committed suicide by a self-inflicted gun wound.

References