A Journey through the Life and Work of the Great Latin American Composer, Agustín Barrios by Berta Rojas His Early Years Paraguayan born Agustín Barrios (1885 -1944) was probably the most Latin American of all composers, thanks to his composition style so imbued with the sounds and rhythms of this continent and to the manner in which he captured the essence of music in Latin America. But above all, it is a reflection of his very life, so marked by scarcity of opportunity, financial hardship, and the lack of support for his efforts to internationalize or access the circles of power that could embrace his work and transform him into a valued and respected musician in his lifetime. Even today, these descriptions of the context in which he evolved as a musician are valid and applicable to many Latin American artists. As a musician, he is a mixture of these elements that are a quintessential part of his Latin American-ness. To understand him –and his life-- we need to delve into the history of his homeland. Paraguay lies at the center of the continent and is thus often called the “heart” of South America. It is a landlocked country --one of the main reasons European immigration to Paraguay was limited compared to influxes into other South American locales such as Buenos Aires and Montevideo. These two vibrant ports, in Argentina and Uruguay respectively, were where immigrants from Europe first disembarked, leading the surrounding cities to benefit from the influences of European culture in infinite ways. The migrants brought with them their ideas, knowledge, culture, music and their art. Eventually, this all reached Paraguay too, although long after hitting the shores of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Paraguay was a prosperous country back then, but five years of hostilities --the War of the Triple Alliance (1865 1870) waged against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay -- took a terrible toll. Towards the end of the war, when only a decimated male population remained to carry on the struggle, the women and children who had managed to survive fought the final battles. The country was devastated; utterly destroyed. Quoted by Gustavo Laterza in his book Historias del Municipio de Asunción (Histories of the City of Asuncion) published in 1995, Héctor Decoud says that in 1866 the population of Paraguay stood at 768,833, whereas after the war only 200,000 Paraguayans and 31,196 foreigners remained. Of the other 200,000, some 162,817 were women and only 68,379 men, with half of the latter under the age of 14. Gustavo Laterza says: “The victors of this war call it the ‘Paraguayan War’; we call it and know it as the ‘War of the Triple Alliance’, or the ‘War of the Seventies’ or the
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Great War.’ Reports refer to battles among armies, statistics call for the use of the word genocide, and the results, a debacle; for Paraguayans it was the largest and most heroic war, for the Argentineans and Brazilians it was but a plundering and destructive incursion. Even though indignation is no longer reasonable at this juncture, it is enlightening that a large part of the population still harbors the memory of those events that so marked our existence.” (Pg. 189) The process of reconstruction began in Asuncion, the capital, and took even longer to reach rural areas such as San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, the small town where Agustín Barrios was born 15 years after the end of the war. At that time, immigrants began to arrive in Paraguay, attracted by the prospect of rebuilding the nation. In fact, by the end of the 19th century, 30% of the Paraguayan population was from elsewhere. The immigrants resided mainly in Asunción, where at that time, as now, the majority of the nation’s economic, political and cultural activities were concentrated. During reconstruction, it was as if two different countries co-existed in Paraguay with two completely different lifestyles: one in the capital itself, where socio-economic conditions were better; and the other in the rural areas, where poverty reigned. Historian Jorge Rodríguez Alcalá, quoted by Rubiani in his book, Postales de Asunción de Antaño, (Asuncion, Postcards of Yesteryear) 1999, describes these so very significant times: “The monied aristocracy triumphs and prevails in Asuncion, as in all the capitals of Latin America, and the glorious names of traditional Paraguayan society disappear completely in the maelstrom of those imported through immigration or mix with them in a marriage of distinction with money.” (Pg. 58). Rubiani continues, explaining that: “…the misery that still persisted 30 years after the end of the War of the Seventies, as well as the widespread abject poverty it engendered, impeded their complete isolation from the rest of the community.” (Pg. 58) Agustín Barrios' father, Doroteo, was Vice Consul of Argentina in Paraguay, and in moments of leisure enjoyed playing folk melodies, strumming the strings of his guitar. His mother Martina was a school teacher who loved literature and theater. Agustin and his six siblings grew up in a home surrounded by culture. He became a musician and his brother Francisco Martín a poet, who also deserves to be remembered as one of the first theatrographs of the vernacular language1. According to Richard Stover, Barrios' father had an ample library, a prized 1
He acted in his own works, such as Mborayjú ja Tesay, Caraí Octubre, Caacupé. Unfortunately however, they were all lost in the turmoil of his tumultuous life, according to Jorge Báez Roa (1998).
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possession in the relatively isolated area of Misiones. The family had an abundance of that which all others in rural areas lacked. As there were no guitar teachers or music schools where Agustin lived, the serenades, social gatherings and his father’s renditions of waltzes and polkas, as well as other folk styles and rhythms in vogue, were probably the only music lessons of his youth. Barrios quickly became a refined folk musician, retaining the perceptiveness of his childhood, a quality that later helped him capture the different nuances of Latin American music. When he was young, musical romanticism invaded Paraguay and consequently Barrios, as a guitarist, was imbibed with the style. In fact, romanticism was to become his trademark, reflected in his compositions – the ones we all know today. Since access to classical music was not, unfortunately, a constant at that time in Paraguay --as it was in Montevideo or Buenos Aires—Barrios composed pieces that were the result of his musical and cultural ambience. Gustavo Sosa Escalada (1877-1943), Barrios’ only guitar teacher, was an Argentine guitarist who lived in Paraguay. He had been trained in Buenos Aires by some of the most outstanding guitarists living in the capital of Argentina at that time, such as Carlos García Tolsa (1858-1905) and Juan Alais (1844-1914), among others. Sosa Escalada was a friend of Héctor, Agustin´s other brother, who visited the Barrios family in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones in 1898. Impressed by the talent of the young Agustín, he gave him his first guitar lessons and convinced the family to send the boy to Asunción to continue his studies. A year later, in 1899, he entered the Colegio Nacional de la Capital, a national school in the capital. Sosa Escalada taught Agustín his first pieces for classical guitar and showed him the study methods in vogue at the time with performers such as Sor, Aguado and Sagreras heading the list. It is not known how long the relationship with Sosa lasted; all we do know is that he was his only guitar teacher. A program from a concert held in 1903, when Barrios was 18, shows him playing as a member of a guitar duo and might well be his first public appearance. Barrios left school and looked for work. As it was absolutely impossible to make a living playing the guitar in those days, he found a job at a bank, Banco Agrícola, as a scribe or calligrapher, putting his beautiful penmanship to good use. Later on he worked as an illustrator in the Paraguayan Navy’s National Department of Engineering and also as a reporter for a newspaper. He wasn’t able to hold down any of these jobs, because evidently, the only thing that really interested him was playing the guitar. In the early 1900s, Barrios began another short period of formal training when he connected with Niccolo Pellegrini, a director from Italy, who at the time was the most important personality on Paraguay’s music scene. Pellegrini was an active musician who, in addition to playing the violin, was always acting, directing, producing, or performing in concerts. He was the director of the
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Instituto Paraguayo, the only music school in Paraguay at the time, and also established and directed the Police Corps Band (which still exists today). Pellegrini loved Barrios' music, which is why he became his patron and helped the young man hold his first presentations as a concert performer and also included him as a participant in some of the concerts he organized. One of the pieces Barrios then played was Londón Carapé, with his own arrangement to music that Elisa Alicia Lynch (1835 -1886) had brought to the country some decades before.2 This title is derived from the English word, London (which in addition to being the name of the capital of England is probably the name of an Anglo-Saxon dance of that time). The word Londón, with an accent on the final syllable, is Guaraní, the native language of Paraguay. The literal meaning of Carapé is short, specifically in stature, as were the majority of Paraguayans then. Additionally, however, anything foreign that Paraguayans adapted to their culture was dubbed carapé. Therefore, the translation of Londón Carapé is “Little London” or “London, Paraguayan Style.” The spirit of the composer had not yet sprung forth in Barrios; he was just a performer who played works by Sor, Arcas, Coste, Alais, Parga, Sagreras, and Jiménez Manjón, which he had learned from Sosa Escalada. The scores to these pieces were not available in Paraguay, but Barrios played what Sosa Escalada had brought with him from Argentina years before (the music of Tárrega was still unknown in South America). Barrios also played his own arrangements based on popular pieces, works audiences applauded more enthusiastically than the classical compositions he played which were not as familiar to them. Barrios made his first recordings between 1910 and 1913, released by Atlanta Records, headquartered in Uruguay. Barrios practiced incessantly in those years, from 10 to 12 hours a day. He was part of a group of intellectuals who met every day at Farmacia París, a pharmacy-coffee shop in the very heart of downtown Asuncion. These gatherings, which eventually became known as artistic-literary peñas, attracted a large crowd. Peña participants engaged in lively discussions on issues of art, philosophy and politics. Moreover, people had the opportunity to see musicians perform, among them, Barrios himself. These activities, as well as the sporadic concerts he gave under the patronage of Maestro Pellegrini, were the only venues where this sanjuanino could share his immense talent with others and receive in exchange, encouragement and support. Barrios performed outside the capital in such cities as Villarrica, Paraguarí and San Bernardino. At the same time he began to teach, but this was not his 2
Madame Lynch, as she became known in Paraguayan history, was born in Ireland and was the companion of Marshall Lopez who governed the country and the Paraguayan army during the period of the War of the Triple Alliance, and was assassinated by Brazilian troops in 1870. When she came to Paraguay in 1854, she introduced some ballroom dances that were in fashion in Europe and which rapidly gained acceptance in the local milieu.
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true calling. Again, he realized he could not survive financially based on occasional concerts. Under the influence of Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spanish intellectual, literary critic and maestro who introduced him to theosophy, Barrios ventured forth from Paraguay. He began to take short trips to perform in cities in Argentina, such as Corrientes, Resistencia and Posadas and --once back in Paraguay--in the southern city of Encarnación. He finally made it to Buenos Aires, the land of opportunity, the capital of the music business and the greatest cultural center of South America at the time. Barrios had no choice but to leave Paraguay and did not return for another 12 years, after conquering the halls of Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Río de Janeiro and becoming the composer we all know today. The Second Period: Barrios, the Composer Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city with a secret dream: it wants to be Paris. The porteños, as the dwellers of this port city call themselves, view European culture with a touch of nostalgia. Buenos Aires is all glamour: its locales, streets, and people show signs of that touch of distinction imported from France and its effervescence is inherited as well from the massive migratory currents of Italians and Spaniards that had been arriving at the River Plate port since the 19th century. The Teatro Colón3 was definitively established in 1908 and became the main cultural center of the Southern Cone, offering the best of classical music. Since its creation, the great figures of the opera, from Caruso, to Pavarotti and Domingo, as well as other prestigious concert performers, have taken this stage or been part of its theater season. By 1910, Barrios was living in Buenos Aires, discovering the best of European music and the classical guitar. He heard Jiménez Manjón, Sagreras, Domingo Pratt, and Miguel Llobet play (the latter declared Barrios was the best guitarist he had ever heard). His first guitar, a José Ramírez4, was a gift from his current patron, Sáenz Valiente, the owner of the newspaper La Nación. With this guitar, the musician made his first recordings, setting the benchmark as they also went on to be the first recordings in the history of the classical guitar. According to Richard Stover, Barrios made a living playing in movie theaters where he accompanied the silent movies and also in cafés or offering private shows (he did not begin his career as a concert performer immediately upon arrival in Buenos Aires). Barrios also travelled on occasion to Chile and Peru with the assistance of his friend Pérez Freire, a well known Chilean composer, to whom Barrios dedicated his tango, “Don Pérez Freire.” 3
The original building of the Teatro Colón, opposite the Plaza de Mayo, had been inaugurated in Buenos Aires in 1857 with the work “La Traviata”, but had to close its doors in 1888. 4 In 2004, that same guitar was auctioned off in the US, and sold to an American collector for tens of thousands of dollars. The value was not in the instrument itself, but rather the meaning it has for the history of the classical guitar.
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Barrios went through very tough times as he sought to earn a name for himself as a guitarist in Buenos Aires. He was rejected because his repertoire was based mainly on popular music and even though it was pleasant, it was not what the critics expected from a concert. He did not, however, let the negative criticism intimidate him and continued on friendly terms with popular musicians such as Pérez Freire. Nonetheless, the classical maestros kept their distance, encapsulated in their very special world. Some observers have theorized that Barrios, as a guitarist and from Paraguay, was unable to break into that closed circle of maestros from the old aristocracy who made every effort not to see and somehow to not accept a different reality. The fact that he played with steel strings also worked against him, as they had been strongly rejected by the purists of the time. Buenos Aires and Montevideo: Two Different Shores Around 1912, Barrios finally found a friend in Montevideo, Martín Borda Pagola, who understood the immense value of his talent. Though not rich, he lived a comfortable life. He was an amateur guitarist who played and arranged a bit of music. He had several instruments, among them a guitar made by Domingo Esteso, collected scores and had access to strings, so his house was very likely a paradise for Barrios. Borda was Barrios' patron for a period of 15 years. His help brought the turbulence of financial constraints to an end and Barrios now had time to dedicate himself to composing. In this story, what is essential is to understanding the full dimension of Borda in Barrios' life, is the fact that this patron of the arts did not need anyone to tell him what an extraordinary talent he had before him. Throughout all those years Borda5 looked after him, received him at his home, welcomed his family as his own and provided the necessary support to guide his career until he achieved levels of artistic expression he had not even dreamed of. Immersed in himself, Barrios concentrated on creating new music. Some of the most beautiful pieces were composed during this period. Little by little his facet as composer gained stature and he began to distance himself from his timid first pieces. Borda urged Barrios to write down his compositions, something he was not used to doing, despite being fully capable of such efforts (not to mention his excellent calligraphy). Barrios was also characterized by his gift for improvisation, so frequently seen among popular musicians; therefore, writing music down was probably an exercise in discipline that took up a large part of his days and according to certain opinions, passed on by word of mouth, “it was time which he could have used to compose more music.” Among several stories in this regard, according to Aída Borda, her father once went so far as to lock 5
I had the pleasure of meeting Borda’s daughter, Aída Borda de Piovano. She was around 80 years old the first time we met and I remember that she could talk for hours about her father’s friendship with Barrios. She always referred to Barrios with respect, admiration and love.
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Barrios in room, refusing to open the door until the composition was finished and everything perfectly written down. At this stage of his life, Agustín Barrios still played short pieces and his repertoire lacked hierarchy, but as an artist, there was no doubt he could move an audience. Richard Stover, in his book “Six Silver Moonbeams” (1992) quotes Miguel Herrera Klinger who wrote about a Barrios concert, stating that he had presented: “...a program that musically was bad, with an interpretation that was beautiful, strangely moving. If musical interpretation that attracts and moves an audience is an art, then Agustin Barrios was an artist, and on this occasion he was doubly so, because he played only modest pieces that lacked hierarchy. The novelty was the metal string, from which he drew forth rare effects with sonorities that were unknown to us, due to his way of smoothing the harshness of the metal, making it appropriate for a concert.” (Pg. 53) Barrios did not attempt to study the guitar further with the well-established maestros of Buenos Aires or Montevideo. He was his own name, he relied on himself and studied only harmony using the text by Hugo Riemann. His repertoire was popular and his priorities centered on the world of popular music. He began to connect with the most prestigious figure of Uruguayan music, Eduardo Fabini, a violinist and composer with whom he toured Uruguay some years later. In view of the harsh critiques he got in the papers, he reviewed and restructured his programs. He began to include pieces by Bach, Verdi, Chopin, Grieg and Mendelssohn, as well as Aguado, Giuliani, Costa and Arcas. At the beginning of 1917, according to Stover: “At this time “something” started happening in this creative mind – the beginning of an intense period of activity spanning a decade in which he would compose 76 compositions, transcribe 39 pieces and incorporate 20 selections by other guitarists/composers into his repertoire (and probably a good deal more as these are minimal compilations).” (Pg. 50) In 1918, Barrios frequently left and came back to Uruguay to tour Brazil. After that he began to appear more as a composer and one of his masterpieces was performed at a concert: Souvenir d’un Reve or Un Sueño en la Floresta (A Dream in the Forest) was probably the composition with the most tremolos,6 the most demanding ever written. Un sueño en la floresta is written in G Major, with three sections preceded by an introduction. A novelty Barrios added to this work, that contrasted with other tremolo pieces written at the time and which used the 6
A tremolo is a technique that emulates sustained notes, rapidly repeating the notes with the right hand as the harmonic architecture of the piece is completed with notes played in arpeggio.
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tremolo technique from the beginning to the end as in Recuerdos de la Alhambra, was the addition of complete sections that explore techniques such as scales, arpeggios, and chords revealing even more the expressive palette of the guitar. Another of his masterpieces, Mazurka Appasionata is also from this period; a romantic piece in the style of Chopin, fascinating in its harmonic structure, as it fully displays what Barrios could do best: his melodic vein and his extraordinary talent as a master of the infinite possibilities of the guitar. Other pieces of the same period are: Estudio de Concierto in A Mayor, Madrigal, Allegro Sinfónico, and Vals No. 3 Loreley –named for Borda´s oldest daughter. Extraordinary progress can be seen in Barrios' career at this time, seven years after having moved to Montevideo; the harmonic interest that his pieces achieved can be considered as outstanding for the guitar world and he is from that point on a fully-fledged composer. Barrios’ best years as a composer were from 1918 to 1928. At some time in 1920, both Segovia and Barrios were in Montevideo. Both presented solid programs for those days, performing pieces by Sor, Tárrega and Bach. There was a great difference however, as Barrios based his entire program on his own compositions at one of those concerts. Agustín Barrios came down with typhus in Montevideo. Resting at Borda’s home in the countryside, he composed a series of new pieces, among them, Vals de Primavera (Spring Waltz) and his masterpiece, La Catedral (The Cathedral). Blossoming as an exquisite composer, Barrios had moments of comfort and concerts that did well, but most of the time he led a simple life, without substantial financial resources. Martín Borda Pagola was the friend who was always there to lend him a hand. Sometimes Barrios had to travel for several days to continue giving concerts in the province of San Juan, in Argentina, in Chile, in Santana do Livramento on the border with Brazil. According to Stover, at that time he made good friends and met Julio Martínez Oyanguren --who became the best Uruguayan guitarist of the time: he had recorded in the United States and had even performed at the White House. One day, Barrios and Martínez Oyanguren were playing outside the Teatro Solís in Montevideo. They were sitting on the stairs to the entrance and since it was carnival were both wearing costumes with masks. Passersby moved nearer to hear them play; suddenly someone from the group of listeners said: “Look how great he is, he even plays like Barrios!” It was Martínez Oyanguren who planted the seed in Barrios' mind about travelling to the United States. In 1922, the Paraguayan musician again travelled to Chile, then to Brazil and later to Paraguay where he remained until the end of 1923. In Paraguay he gave
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a variety of concerts, premiering pieces such as Vals Op. 8 No. 4 and Jha che valle, the latter dedicated to his native town, San Juan Bautista de las Misiones. In 1924 he returned to Argentina, this time to Rosario. From there he went to Buenos Aires where he was not well received and gave only one of the three concerts he had planned. The classical guitar elite of Argentina did not care for his music, his performance, or his steel strings. Nonetheless, interestingly, although Barrios did not receive the support of the Argentine audience, he recorded approximately 40 records there from 1910 to 1928, the span of time when he recorded his entire collection. These contained two, sometimes three pieces of his from different periods, from his earliest compositions to his final recorded creations. He returned to Uruguay and went on tour with Eduardo Fabini, going to northern Paraguay for the last time. His home nation was in the throes of extensive political confrontation, unleashed by the main factions in power. Barrios felt that this climate of instability was not the best for him, which led him to depart his homeland. Before leaving, however, while in Asunción, Barrios attempted to give a farewell concert at the Municipal Theater, but was not permitted to do so. Stories from the era report that Barrios ended up playing in a park, the Plaza Uruguaya. It was to be his last concert in Paraguay: free of charge and open to whomever wanted to listen. Pieces like La Cueca, Aconquija, his arrangements of Ca'azapá and Danza Paraguaya are from those years. Barrios returned to Uruguay where he remained until 1926. From there he went to northern Argentina to record his last productions and in 1929 moved even farther north. In interviews and letters, Barrios was always talking about the United States. It was probably that dream that pulled him northwards. While engaged in getting there he traversed the cities of Pelotas and Sao Paulo, arriving finally in Río de Janeiro. In Brazil, Barrios played Choro da Saudade and Confesión for the first time. There he met Gloria Seban who would be his constant companion from then until his final days in El Salvador. Barrios went through a series of hardships and uncertainties that forced him to radically change his image and create a marketing strategy: he transformed himself into “Nitsuga Mangoré, the Paganini of the Guitar of the Jungles of Paraguay.” He appeared in concerts naked from the waist up, sporting feathers and using a complete theatrical costume. He acted throughout Brazil, from Recife, Bahía, Río, Manaus, to Sao Paulo. In 1931, he travelled north, heading toward Venezuela, where he remained for a short stay, later stopping in Martinique, a Spanish port. In 1932, he returned to Venezuela staying somewhat longer and enjoying the greatest success of his life. He had achieved the pinnacle of his artistic abilities. On no future stage would Barrios enjoy such success as in Caracas. He added some Venezuelan folk pieces, such as Joropos or the famous Alma Llanera to his repertoire; his act was accompanied
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by a cuatro and the maracas. Many years later, Brazilian musician Carlos Barboza Lima performed with a cuatro player; how avant-garde of Barrios to have done the same in 1932. He completed a tour through Venezuela, going first to Maracaibo, then to San Cristóbal, Mérida and Carora. His next objective was Colombia where he performed not only in Bogota, but also in other cities beyond the metropolitan area, garnering widespread recognition. In 1933, he headed toward Panama, then to Costa Rica, giving 32 concerts in San José and surrounding towns. He then visited El Salvador for the first time, going later to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and culminating in Nicaragua where he performed for the President. Stover shows us his thoughts at the time in an interview published in the Nicaraguan newspaper La Crónica: “If I go to the United States I have my mind made up to make my entrance in the state of Arizona, there are my Indian brothers, and I want to visit them and play for them. I will charge nothing for my playing since I shall be going to them bringing greetings from my race to the brother races.” (Pg. 146) His dream was becoming ever more real as he headed north. He divided his time between El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Finally, he attempted to get a visa to enter the United States, but his application was denied. There are two theories that attempt to explain the refusal: one says that Gloria Seban was denied a visa because she was black or of mixed race; the other hypothesis is that neither Barrios nor Gloria had passports and therefore could not have initiated the visa application process. In 1934, Tomás Salomoni was the Paraguayan Ambassador to Mexico and convinced Barrios to set aside his costume as a native Indian considering it to be distracting and unnecessary in light of his real talent. The Paraguayan artist found in Salomoni another patron willing to help him. It was he who took them to Europe. Under his patronage he performed in Belgium and later in Madrid. At that time, the Civil War was about to erupt in Spain and everything seemed to indicate that an armed uprising was in the making. Concerned for his safety and seeing a lack of opportunities, Barrios found himself forced to return to Caracas. From there he once more went from place to place, beginning in Haiti, then Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and finally Cuba in 1938. In Havana he composed one of this most exquisite works: Preludio de Saudade. In poor health, he moved from Cuba to Costa Rica. In the peace he found in the Costa Rican capital of San José he composed Julia Florida, a piece he dedicated to Julia Martínez, the niece of Francisco Salazar, his friend and faithful follower. Once recovered, Barrios began to perform again. In 1939, he travelled to San Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala. He returned to El Salvador where he remained
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until his death in 1944. A question immediately arises: why did Barrios choose El Salvador? Perhaps because he found the admiration and love which in other places he had not. Perhaps it was because it was here that for the first time he had gotten work as a guitar teacher, a position offered to him by the President of the Republic himself. He lived those years dedicated to teaching and his students loved him; proof of this can be found in the testimony of affection and admiration for his music and for himself as a person, as a man and an artist which live on today. He died in San Salvador in 1944, surrounded by his students and Gloria Seban. When he departed this world he left behind no material wealth per say, but instead over 100 works and the legacy of a life that required tremendous courage to live. His remains are buried in the Cementerio de los Ilustres (Cemetery of the Illustrious) in San Salvador. The words of the celebrated guitarist John Williams seem appropriate for closing this article on the life of Agustín Barrios. “Barrios has been, obviously, the one seriously underrated composer for the modern guitar. He was overshadowed by Segovia and it is a pity that Segovia ignored him as a musician: Segovia was from such a completely different world and he had his own reasons for patronizing Barrios –and perhaps if he hadn’t felt as he did, he would not have done what he did. Nevertheless Barrios is increasingly appreciated today, as the outstanding guitarist/composer of his time- I would say of any time- for the qualities of inventiveness and the ability to make the guitar “speak” musically.” (pg. 179)
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Bibliography BÁEZ ROA, Jorge: “La vida y obra del hermano de Agustín Pío Barrios "Mangoré", poeta y dramaturgo en lengua guaraní”, in Última Hora, El Correo Semanal, March 21, 1998, Asunción. DUARTE PRADO, Bacon: Agustín Barrios. Un Genio Insular, Editorial Araverá, 1985, Paraguay. LATERZA RIVAROLA, Gustavo: Historia del Municipio de Asunción. Published by the author. 1995, Paraguay RUBIANI, Jorge: Postales de Asunción de Antaño. Published by the author. 1999, Paraguay. STOVER, Richard: Six Silver Moonbeams. GSP, 1992, United States of America. STOVER, Richard: Seis Rayos de Plata. Concultura, 2002, San Salvador, El Salvador.
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