Antonietta Paule Pepin Fitzpatrick (9 April 1908 – 14 November 1990), also known as Nenette, was a French composer, pianist and lyricist.

Biography

Nenette was born on the island of

Saint Pierre et Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, a French overseas territory located in the Atlantic coast of Canada. Her father Emmanuel Victor Pepin was French, and her mother Henriette Fitzpatrick was Canadian of Irish origin. She was known by her family as Nenette, diminutive of Antonietta. While still a child during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she moved to France with her parents and her older sister, Jeanne Henriette. In 1926 Jeanne finished school and travelled with a dance company to

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 ...

, where she met her first husband. Two years later, once Nenette finished school, Jeanne invited her and her father to come out to Argentina. The two settled in

Villa Ballester Villa Ballester is a city located in the northern Greater Buenos Aires urban area and it is part of the General San Martín Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is served by the Línea Mitre commuter railway with its station also nam ...

in Buenos Aires in 1928. Nenette entered the National Music Conservatory, where she studied piano under

Juan José Castro Juan José Castro (March 7, 1895September 3, 1968) was an Argentine composer and conductor. Born in Avellaneda, Castro studied piano and violin under Manuel Posadas and composition under Eduardo Fornarini, in Buenos Aires. In the 1920s he was ...

, Pascual de Rogatis and

Isabel Aretz Isabel Aretz (14 April 1909 – 2 June 2005) was an Argentine– Venezuelan researcher, writer, ethnomusicologist and composer. Early years Isabel Aretz-Thiele was born in Buenos Aires. She was educated at the National Conservatory of Music ...

. She toured Argentina on numerous occasions, performing classical music on the piano. In 1942, after a concert she gave in Tucumán, the organizers took her to hear folk music from northern Argentina played by Argentine singer

Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century. Biography ...

. The two became friends, and four years later, in 1946, they moved in together. The couple had their only child that same year, naming him Roberto "Koya" Chavero. Nenette gave up her career as a pianist and started working alongside her husband. During Yupanqui's persecution, Nenette took care of their son Roberto and composed songs with her husband. She was the author of some of the most recognized works of Yupanqui, which due to the

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

of the era had to be published under a male

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Pablo del Cerro. She chose her pseudonym because of her name, Paule, and one of her favorite places, Cerro Colorado, in the Córdoba province. She also composed piano melodies such as ''Luna tucumana'', ''El alazán'', ''Indiecito dormido'', ''Chacarera de las piedras'', ''Vidalita tucumana'', ''Zamba del otoño''. In 1961, when she was 53 years old, she returned to France after a vacation with her son Robert, who was 15 years old at the time. She died in Buenos Aires on 14 November 1990 from a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

. She requested her ashes to be scattered in the sea of her home island in the North Atlantic. Despite being one of the most important composers of Argentine, she never renounced her French nationality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepin, Paula Nenette 1908 births 1990 deaths Argentine composers French emigrants to Argentina People from Saint Pierre and Miquelon Argentine classical pianists Argentine women pianists 20th-century classical pianists People of Saint Pierre and Miquelon descent 20th-century women composers Argentine women composers 20th-century women pianists