Scope and Contents

The collection documents the life and career of Clotilde Arias, who was chosen by the U.S. State Department to write a Spanish translation to "The Star Spangled Banner," during the years of the Good Neighbor Policy. In addition to materials related to her translation of the National Anthem, entitled "El Pendón Estrellado," the collection includes music manuscripts, lyrics, composition notebooks, parts for instruments, and correspondence with the State Department. This collection also contains papers related to Arias's work in advertising, her work as a translator, and her own business records. Personal papers include correspondence, immigration and naturalization documents, printed material, and photographs as well as items from a scrapbook. Also included are compact discs containing images from items in the collection.

Arrangement

This collection is composed of six series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1923-1956

Series 2. Music Materials, 1921-1953

Series 3. "El Pendón Estrellado"/"The Star Spangled Banner," 1919-1954, 2009

Series 4. "Himno de las Américas"/"Hymn of the Americas," 1939-1945

Series 5. Miscellaneous Printed Materials, 1942-1956

Series 6. Photographs and Scrapbook, 1939-1957

Biographical / Historical

Clotilde Arias was a Peruvian-born musician, composer, and translator who lived in New York City following her migration from Iquitos, Peru, to the United States in the 1920s. Her full name was Maria Clotilde Arias and she briefly took her husband Jose Anduaga's last name during their marriage from 1929 to 1942 but was known most often as Clotilde Arias. With Jose Anduaga, Arias had one son, Roger Arias. While she is known for her Department of State-commissioned translation of "The Star-Spangled Banner" titled "El Pendón Estrellado," Arias worked diligently as a translator and musician in a variety of contexts as well as working with a variety of organizations that promoted Pan-Americanism. Prior to her life in the United States, Arias worked for the Iquitos newspaper writing satirical pieces related to local issues. Arias died in 1959 in New York City.