Female musical practice and creation in Santiago de Chile in the mid-nineteenth century. The case of Delfina Pérez

Abstract

During the second half of the 19th century, music creation and musical practice of salon music, in private contexts, was a common activity. It was also considered appropriate as a form of artistic expression for bourgeois women of the period. In their practice, women sustained a dialogue with literature, poetry and other forms of education, in a context of modernity, and of expression in a semi-public space, the salon.

                        In this paper, I study a specific case of one of those women, Delfina Pérez. In Chilean historiography, Delfina Pérez is considered the pseudonym of Delfina de la Cruz Zañartu, who was also a pianist and composer. However, I present evidence to consider they are two different women, of very different character. Delfina de la Cruz Guzmán was the wife of a Chilean president, and thus this paper helps situate Delfina Pérez in her own terms, as a woman and professional composer, who was active for decades during the second half of the century.