Julio C. Arteaga (29 October 1867 – 1923) was a Puerto Rican musician and composer of

danza Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence danc ...

Early years

Julio Carlos de Arteaga Matheu ( a.k.a., Julio Carlos Arteaga Matheu) was born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, on 29 October 1867 to Diego Arteaga Lopez, from

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and Isabel Matheu. He had two siblings, Juan Jose and Herminia Isabel.

Professional career

A composer and musician from Puerto Rico, Arteaga's musical performances were not limited to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, and he traveled to New York City often performing there as well. Among his many musical awards, at a music competition in Paris he won First Prize in Piano Performance in 1890.

Music school

After teaching music theory and music lessons out of his home for a while, in 1898 he co-founded the ''Asociación Musical de Puerto Rico'' (Puerto Rico Music Association). In that same year he and Felipe Gutiérrez Espinosa, another outstanding Puerto Rican composer, approached Governor

Guy V. Henry Guy Vernor Henry (March 9, 1839 – October 27, 1899) was an American military officer and Medal of Honor recipient who served as military governor of Puerto Rico. Biography Henry was born in Fort Smith, Indian Territory (now Arkansas), the ...

with a proposal to establish a music institute in San Juan. While the project never materialized due to lack of interest in Governor Henry's administration, it gave birth to the idea of establishing music schools independent of the public instruction system. Together with his wife, Nicolasa Torruellas, he founded the Arteaga Academy in Ponce, where they taught piano, music theory, organ, and voice, among others. Among his pupils was Monserrate Ferrer Otero ("Monsita Ferrer"), and Mercedes Arias. This last one, Mercedes Arias, was the failed love of

Juan Morel Campos Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juan Morell Campos'', was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over ...

, the woman he loved but could never marry, and on whom Morel Campos found inspiration for several of his great masterpiece

s, including ''"Maldito Amor"'' (Damned Love), ''"No Me Toques"'' (Don't Touch Me) and ''"Alma Sublime"'' (Sublime Soul). He returned to New York City where he had studied violin and works as

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

at St. Patrick's Cathedral from 1920 to 1923.Armando Torres Leon. ''Los Municipios de Puerto Rico y Su Historia y Su Cultura: PONCE, La Perla del Sur.'' Santurce, Puerto Rico: Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico. Programa Regular de Educación. Programa Editorial. Celeste Benitez, Secretaria de Educación. 1992. p. 145. He died in New York City in 1923.

Family life

Arteaga married Daría Nicolasa Torruellas, also a musician, with whom he had five children, four boys (including Pedro

903– 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

and Julio Carlos 907–, and a girl. The girl, Genoveva, would become an outstanding musician herself.

Legacy

* There is a

relief sculpture Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

on the right front wall face of the

Concha Acustica de Ponce A Concha (Spanish, 'shell'), plural conchas, is a traditional Mexican sweet bread (''pan dulce'') with similar consistency to a brioche. Conchas get their name from their round shape and their striped, seashell-like appearance. A concha consis ...

engraved with his face and shoulders as well as his name. His is the center sculpture: to his left is

Antonio Paoli Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican tenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach internat ...

and to the right is

Juan Ríos Ovalle Juan Ríos Ovalle (1863–1928) was a Puerto Rican musician and composer of danzas. Among his most popular danzas are: Angelina, La Graciosita (The Little Funny One), Lluvia de Perlas (Rain of Pearls), Odalisca, and Teresa. Early years Born in ...

. * A music school in New York City has his name.''Guide to the Genoveva de Arteaga Papers: Genoveva de Arteaga (1898–1991)''
Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños. Hunter College. City University of New York. p.4. November 1991. Retrieved 2 March 2018. * In Urbanizacion Perla del Sur, in Ponce, there is a street named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arteaga, Julio C. 1867 births 1923 deaths Puerto Rican composers Puerto Rican male composers Musicians from Ponce 19th-century Puerto Rican musicians