Sylvia Elvira Infantas Soto (14 June 1923 – 19 June 2024) was a Chilean singer, actress, and

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

Early years

Infantas was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in 1923. She was the daughter of Tenor and Jorge Infantas, and grew up in the El Almendral neighborhood of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

Singing career

She began her singing career in 1942, performing on various radio stations. She was chosen as the best "melodic singer" of 1943 by Radiomanía magazine and eventually became recognised for her performances of Chilean folk music leading the groups "Silvia Infantas y los Baqueanos" (1953–1959) and "Silvia Infantas y los Cóndores" (1960–1969). In 1962, she participated in the third annual

Viña del Mar International Song Festival The Viña del Mar International Song Festival () is an annual international music festival held every third week of February in Viña del Mar, Chile. Started in 1960 it is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America, and one of the long ...

; her performance of "El loro aguafiestas" (with backing from Los Cóndores) won the first place in the competition. Infantas was a central figure in Chilean folk music from 1942 to 1970. She made international tours of Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, West Germany and Panama. She also made tours in Los Baqueanos between 1953 and 1959 and Los Cóndores between 1960 and 1969. In 1955, composer Vicente Bianchi presented his musical interpretation on

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

's poems "Tonadas de Manuel Rodríguez", "Canto a Bernardo O'Higgins" and "Romance de los Carreras". These works were recorded and popularized by Infantas and Los Baqueanos. Their recording of ''Música para la Historia de Chile'' has been recognized as an outstanding contribution to the culture of Chile.

Acting career

Infantas also developed a career as an actress at the Teatro de Ensayo de la Universidad Católica (TEUC) between 1946 and 1952 acting in plays such as ''El gran farante'', ''El tiempo y los Conway'', ''Contigo en la soledad'', ''El cid'', '' El burlador de Sevilla'', ''Invitación al castillo'', '' Pygmalion'', ''El senador más honorable'', ''La pérgola de las flores'', and ''La anunciación a María''. For the latter, she won the

Caupolicán Award Caupolicán (meaning ‘polished flint’ (queupu) or ‘blue quartz stone’ (Kallfulikan) in Mapudungun) was a ''toqui'' or war leader of the Mapuche people, who led the resistance of his people against the Spanish Conquistadors who invaded the ...

for "best actress" in 1950. She also acted in the 1968 film '' Ayúdeme usted compadre''.

Death

Infantas

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in 2023, and died in Santiago, on 19 June 2024, at the age of 101.

Awards and honors

In 2009 she was named "Figura Fundamental de la Música Chilena" by the "Sociedad Chilena del Derecho de Autor" (SCD). In 2015, she was awarded the President of the Republic National Music Award in the category "Folk Music". She received the award from President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

at age 92 in an official ceremony at the

La Moneda Palace Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the president of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency, and General S ...

. In March 2019, in the context of the commemoration of

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with Internationa ...

, a biography titled "Silvia Infantas, voz y melodía de Chile" was published; it was written by music journalist David Ponce.

Discography

Silvia Infantas y los Baqueanos

* ''Música para la historia de Chile'' (1955) *Tonadas de Manuel Rodríguez (1955) *Romance de los Carrera (1955) *Canto a Bernardo O'Higgins (1956) *La Independencia de Chile (1955) *Chile compañero *A la mar, marinero *Yo vengo de San Rosendo *La refalaita *Sólo al mar *Patitos en la laguna *Carretita Chancha *Consejos por casamiento *Tristeza India *Eternamente *Huaso *Canción del brindis *Huaso ladino *Vamos, corazón *Feliz cumpleaños *Somos los buenos muchachos *La barquilla del amor *Eternamente *Pinceladas del pago *La pena de mi canto *Los lagos de Chile *Al pie de una guitarra *La rosa y el clavel *Arriba las palmas *Echándole el pelo *La amasandera de Quilipín *La chiquilla que baila *Entre mate y mate *Aradito de palo *Allá va mi huaso *Caldito de ave *¡Viva la Cueca! *La blanca azucena *Ramoncito, el camarón *Ja Jai qué linda la Cueca * Yo conocí a una a una morena *Ilusión campesina *El marinero *Así es mi tonada *La Cueca del gorila *Aló aló *Hermanos Lagos *Corazones partidos *El canario *Los finaos *La batelera *El casamiento

Silvia Infantas y los Cóndores

* ''Bajando pa' Puerto Aysén'' (1964) * ''Rosita de Cachapoal'' (1964) * ''Cuando baila mi morena. La cueca: su origen, su música, sus estilos'' (1965) * ''¡Con permiso...! Soy la cueca'' (1968) * ''Huaso pintiao'' (196x) * Cantarito de Greda *

Si vas para Chile Si vas para Chile () is a waltz composed by the Chilean musician Chito Faró, stage name for Enrique Motto Arenas, in 1942. It is one of the most popular songs in Chilean music and it has been covered by many artists, including Los Huasos Quinche ...

*La consentida *Racimito de uva negra *En Chillán planté una rosa *Camino de luna *Fiesta del campo *Mis recuerdos *La Juana Rosa *Apología de la cueca *Campanilla de plata *La palomita *La rosa blanca *Los dichos chilenos *Tonadas para la Patria * Huasita Regalona *Mi guitarra *Campito de mi tierra *Zorzalito *La gitana *Porqué se fue *Tierra chilena *Tiro y tiro y el huaso firme *Los lagos de Chile *Mi casa de campo *Échame el lazo (1964)

Solo artist

* ''Héroes y tradiciones'' (1999)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Infantas, Silvia 1923 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Chilean women singers Women in Latin music Chilean women centenarians Musicians from Santiago, Chile