Manuel Y. Ferrer and Miguel S. Arévalo: Premier Guitarist-Composers in Nineteenth-Century Califonia

John Koegel

T HE MUSICAL CAREERS of Manuel Y. Ferrer and Miguel S. Arévalo, the premier Mexican-American guitarist-composers in nineteenth-century California, demonstrate that local Hispanic musicans continued to represent Mexican cultural traditions advantageously at a time when Anglo-American and European musicians dominated the state's formal public performance scene. Though born in Mexico, both men lived most of their lives in California, Ferrer in the San Francisco Bay area, and Arévalo in Los Angeles. Both toured throughout the state ¹ and frequently performed in their home cities, playing Mexican, European, and European-American music for Mexican-American and English-speaking audiences. Ferrer and Arévalo were also published composers. They moved easily between the Spanish- and English-speaking communities, often appearing as invited soloists before both Mexican and non-Mexican audiences. Arévalo and Ferrer also taught music to pupils of diverse social and ethnic backgrounds. Both exerted significant influence on musical life in their respective areas of California.

Manuel Ygnacio Ferrer (born May 1832, ² San Antonio, Baja California?; ³ died 1 June 1904, Oakland) ⁴

¹ Arévalo also toured the eastern states.

² Reports published in 1904 immediately after Ferrer's death (including his obituary) give his birth year as 1832. The 1900 Federal Census lists Ferrer's address at 5730 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland (next door to his friend Spanish composer and pianist Santiago Arrillaga). It also gives his birth year as 1832 (1900 Federal Census: State of California, City of Oakland, enumeration number 388, street number 8, lines 60-63).

³ My search of the church records from San Antonio, Baja California failed to reveal the baptismal record of Manuel Ferrer. Since only 25 children were baptized there Ferrer's birth year of 1832, one wonders if all baptisms were indeed recorded. Ferrer's record may have been lost or never registered (or he actually may have been born elsewhere). (Microfilm copy of baptismal records held at the Family History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; Salt Lake City, Utah). The Ferrer family's presence in San Antonio can probably be established. A certain Mateo Ferrer and one Lugarda Cota--probably Ferrer's parents--were married in the church of San Antonio on 30 July 1826. Also, Columba Ferrer, daughter of Mateo Ferrer and Lugarda Cota (and possibly Manuel Ferrer's sister) is mentioned in the baptismal...