Zulema Garcia Olsen
Zulema Garcia Olsen (1873 — April 1907) was an American musician and composer, and represented "Spanish Texan" women at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893.
Early life[edit]
Zulema Garcia was born in San Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Jose Maria Garcia de Villarreal and Florencia Leal de Garcia. Her father was a landowner and rancher on the Mexican border. Her mother's Leal ancestors came from the Canary Islands.[1]
She was declared a musical prodigy by the local newspaper, and by her first instructor, R. G. Guerrero, in 1884.[2] Her first composition came at age 11, when she wrote "Un Suspiro", a waltz. At age 13, she wrote a military march. She studied music in Paris with Antoine François Marmontel.[3][4] While a student in Paris, she performed at the Mexican embassy.[5]
Career[edit]
Garcia was known as a pianist, a violinist and a composer.[6] Her compositions included "Our Wedding March" (performed at her own wedding); "The Columbian March (Columbus Landing in America)," which was performed by John Philip Sousa's band at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; "On the Death of Prince Napoleon", "The Spring Palace Waltz", and "The Mockingbird".[4] She represented "Spanish Texans" on the State Board of Lady Managers for the Texas World's Fair Exhibit Association, the organization tasked with creating a state display at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.[3] She was the youngest Lady Manager appointed from any state.[6] She performed at a dinner with the Mexican National Band in Chicago in 1892, with many dignitaries of the Exposition present.[7] English writer and Texas newspaperman Henry Ryder-Taylor dedicated a song, "The Snake Ring Song", to Zulema Garcia in 1895.[8][9]
Personal life[edit]
Zulema Garcia married J. J. Olsen in 1896. In their eleven years of marriage, they had seven children.[1] Zulema Garcia Olsen was 33 years old at the time of her death from typhoid fever in April 1907.[4][10] Some of her photographs and papers are archived with the Garcia-Smith Family Collection at Texas A&M University in Kingsville, Texas.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "The Garcias Set Pace Among City Pioneers" San Antonio Express (June 17, 1934).
- ^ "A Young Musical Prodigy" San Antonio Light (June 25, 1884): 4. via Newspapers.com
- ^ a b "Miss Garcia" The World's Columbian Exposition Illustrated (June 1891): 19.
- ^ a b c "Funeral of Mrs. Olsen" San Antonio Gazette" (April 15, 1907): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "She Attained Honors" San Antonio Daily Express (April 28, 1907): 17. via The Portal to Texas History
- ^ a b Elizabeth Brooks, Prominent Women of Texas (Werner Company 1896): 94-95.
- ^ "A World's Fair Dinner" Inter Ocean (October 27, 1892): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Henry Ryder-Taylor, "The Snake Ring Song" Galveston Daily News (September 8, 1895): 13. via Newspapers.com
- ^ S. W. Pease, "Henry Ryder Taylor" Handbook of Texas Online (Texas State Historical Society 2010).
- ^ "Burial Permits" San Antonio Gazette (April 15, 1907): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Garcia-Smith Family Collection, Texas A&M University, Kingsville TX.
