Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Clotilde Arias Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1164
Creators:
Arias, Roger
United States. Dept. of State
Arias, Clotilde, 1901-1959
Thompson, J. Walter (advertising agency).
Dates:
1919-1957
2009
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
Spanish
.
Physical Description:
3 Cubic feet
8 boxes
Repository:
This collection documents the life and career of Peruvian musician, composer, and translator Clotilde Arias. Her work includes a Department of State-commissioned translation of "The Star-Spangled Banner" titled "El Pendón Estrellado", advertising jingles, original compositions, and translations of music originally written in English. She also was heavily involved in numerous Pan-American organizations including La Unión de Mujeres Americanas/United American Women.This collection contains correspondence, music manuscripts, photographs,newspaper clippings and printed materials, and four compact discs.

Scope and Contents

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

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

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
El Oriente
writing satirical pieces related to local issues. Arias died in 1959 in New York City.

Administration

Author
Sarah Corona
Acquisition Information
Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, by Clotilde Arias's son, Roger Arias in 2010.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Sarah Corona, intern, August 2019.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Clotilde Arias Papers, 1919-1957, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Immigration records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music -- Manuscripts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Translations Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Translators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Good neighbor policy Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National songs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Contracts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
advertising Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Compact discs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sheet music -- 1920-1960 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parts (musical) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Songbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Composers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Star-spangled banner (Song) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women musicians -- 1930-1950 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women musicians Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Advertising agencies Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Commercial art Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women in the advertising industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women -- Peru Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women composers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music by women composers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women composers -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pan-Americanism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Commercial art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jingles (Advertising songs) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jingles (Advertising songs) -- Writing and publishing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Minorities in advertising Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music in advertising Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women translators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Naturalization records Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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