Background
Arias was born in 1901 in Iquitos, Perú, on the shores of the Amazon.
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Clotilde Arias
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She is best known for her composition of the song "Huiracocha", popular in Peru and sung worldwide. And for her translation of the "The Star-Spangled Banner", the United States national anthem, into lyrical Spanish, commissioned by the United States. Department of State in 1946. She moved to New York City in 1923 to study music
They settled in Brooklyn and had a son, Roger.
In 1942, she became a naturalized United States. citizen. Arias"s artistic talents in music, painting, and composing – including playing for silent movies – emerged early in Iquitos.
Her perfect pitch and exceptional ability to sight read made her a highly sought accompanist. Amongst her numerous compositions, "Huiracocha" may be the best known.
Named for a god of the Incas, the song retells the legend of his emergence from the depths of Lake Titicaca to create the sun, moon, and stars, and to breathe life into Allcavica, ancestor of the Inca people.
According to Arias"s own program note, this song is "dedicated to the Indian, the Forgotten Manitoba of the Americas". Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Arias gained success as a composer in the male-dominated advertising industry. She worked for advertising agencies and composed jingles for Alkaseltzer, the Ford Motor Company and the Campbell Soup Company.
Arias composed other serious classical songs, including "Idilio Roto (Broken Idyll)," as well as songs in the popular style of the 1930s, some of which she sold door to door to help support her family.
Later, she collaborated with notable composers and writers, including Marjorie Harper, Andy Razaf, Albert Gamse and Irving Caesar. Best known were her Spanish lyrics to song hits "Rum and Coca-Cola" (English lyrics by Morey Amsterdam) and "Managua Nicaragua" (English lyrics by Albert Gamse).
On December 9, 2006, "Huiracocha" was performed at London"s Barbican Hall by tenor Juan Diego Flórez. A separate 2009 performance of Huiracocha on YouTube is also available for viewing.
In 2013, "Huiracocha" was recorded by Ward De Vleeschhouwer on the album Chicha Morada in a version for piano solo.
Her lyrical Spanish translation of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is on display in The Star-Spangled Banner exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington, District of Columbia
