Esmeralda Gonzales Castro (1902–2004) or better known as Serafina Quinteras, was a Peruvian songwriter, journalist, and poet. She is most famous for the composition of the val
"Muñeca Rota"

Biography

Esmeralda was born on the 1st of August 1902. She was the daughter of the Ecuadorian poet, historian and diplomat Nicolás Augusto Gonzales Tola, and her mother was the writer and poet Delia Castro Marquez Indice. From an early age she took an interest in journalism and used multiple pseudonyms such as "Pancha Remolino and "Demetrio Rueda". Afterward she identified herself with the pseudonym "Serafina Quinteras" and used it for several decades in a collaboration with " El Comercio", a daily newspaper from Peru. She chose the name, because she admired the famous Spanish theater authors Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero. Along with Esmeralda, her cousin Emma Castro Pervuli also assumed the pseudonym Joaquina Quinteras, and together they began a career in Peruvian Creole music by composing their first songs like "El Ermitaño", "Todo y Nada" and their largest success was the vals "Muñeca Rota" and "Parlamanías". Her daughter,

Blanca Varela Blanca Leonor Varela Gonzáles (10 August 1926 – 12 March 2009) was a Peruvian poet. Daughter of writer, poet, singer and journalist Serafina Quinteras. Biography Blanca Varela was born in Lima. Her mother was a composer who authored man ...

, was also a notable poet.

Awards and honors

Marking the second century of freedom in Peru, the Ministry of Culture made a tribute to Serafina Quinteras, alongside other authors on the 27th of September 2020. She also received a golden medal for her contribution to music in 1996, given by the National Council of Women. She also received the Orden del Sol in the year 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinteras, Serafina 1902 births 2004 deaths Peruvian centenarians Peruvian songwriters Peruvian poets Peruvian women journalists 20th-century Peruvian women writers