Manuel L. Posadas was a leading
Afro-Argentine musician from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Biography
Manuel L. Posadas was born in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
in 1860, the son of a musician, journalist and soldier
Manuel G. Posadas and Emilia Smith. He was the brother of
Carlos Posadas, who also excelled in the local industry. He showed talent for music, studying in the School of Music of the
province of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
in 1875, being a disciple of Pedro Ripari.
In 1879 he traveled to Belgium to improve his studies, entering the Royal Conservatory of Brussels where he studied under some of the great European masters of the era, including the violin and Belgian composer Eugene Ysaye. He performed as a violinist at the Teatro Real of the galleries there and in 1882 he returned to Buenos Aires offering on arrival a concert at the Coliseum Theatre on 9 September of that year.
He returned to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
for a while, but finally settled back in his native city, devoting himself to teaching music. He became first violin of the Teatro Colón and taught at the National Institute for the Blind. Among his students were told the teacher Juan José Castro (1895—1968), a leading composer and conductor.
He also directed some of the bands that inspired the dance of Carnival in the city: the daily La Tribune in its edition of February 11, 1903 reported that "The Argentine Politeama dances presented at the next innovation that will surely be received with satisfaction by the item dancer. The company has paid particular attention to organize an orchestra of 40 full professors in Argentina, under the direction of maestro Manuel Posadas."
He died in Buenos Aires in 1916.
References
*Jorge Miguel Ford, ''Worthy of my race'', Typography at the School of Arts and Crafts, 1899
*George Reid Andrews, ''The Afro-Argentines of Buenos Aires'', Ediciones de la Flor, 1989
*Andrew M. Carter, ''Transculturation and syncretism in afroporteños'', in ''Tales of the City - A Journal of Buenos Aires'', No. 7, December 2000.
*Vicente Gesualdo, ''History of Music in Argentina'', Volume 1, Editorial Beta, 1961
{{DEFAULTSORT:Posadas, Manuel L.
1860 births
1916 deaths
Afro-Argentine musicians
Argentine musicians
Argentine people of Scottish descent