Blas Parera

Blas Parera ( born February 3, 1776 in Murcia, Murcia Province; † January 7, 1840 in Mataró, Province of Barcelona ) was a Spanish composer and creator of the Argentine national anthem.

Life

Blas Parera, was born on February 3, 1776, the son of Ramón Parera and Bernarda Morat in Murcia, Spain. He grew up in Mataró, where he attended the Colegio de Santa Anna, in whose orchestra he played. In 1793 he emigrated to America and settled four years later in Buenos Aires down.

From 1802 to 1803 Parera a church musician at the Church of San Francisco in Montevideo, Uruguay, worked. Then he returned to Buenos Aires and began working as a professor at the " Colegio de Niños Exposito ". He also worked as an organist at various churches in Buenos Aires, including the Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. In addition, he gave concerts, composed several couplets and conducted the orchestra of the " Coliseo de Provisional Come Dias de Buenos Aires " from 1806.

As a volunteer, he participated in the defense of Buenos Aires during the British invasion.

In 1809 he married one of his pupils, Facunda del Rey.

In the following four years Parera was working on a hymn for the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. He managed several compositions, including the " Marcha Patriótica " ( Patriotic March ), which became the Argentine National Anthem later.

In July 1813, he went to Rio de Janeiro, to study with Marcos Antonio Portugal. In 1815 he returned to Buenos Aires, where then his son Juan Manuel was born. He later became the father of two daughters ( Dolores and Juana ).

1818 moved Parera back to Spain, where he settled in Mataró. Until 1830 he worked at the post office. On January 7, 1840, he died in Mataró and found his final resting place.