Silvestre Revueltas House

One of Mexico's most celebrated musicians and composers of the early 20th century, Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940), lived in this house from 1926 to 1928. Revueltas came to San Antonio to serve as concertmaster at the Aztec Theater and returned to Mexico in 1928 to become associate director and featured soloist with the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra in Mexico City. A historical marker describing his life is located in front of the house. Revueltas was a talented violinist and composed a variety of works including film scores. One of his most famous works is "Sensemayá," which he composted in 1938. The home continues to be a private residence.

Silvestre Revueltas was born on December 31, 1899 in the town of Santiago Papasquiaro in the state of Durango. His parents recognized his musical talents at a young age and gave him a violin when he was seven years old. In his teen years, he attended the National Conservatory in Mexico City from 1913-1916 and was sent to live in Austin in 1916 to escape the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1921). In Austin he continued his musical studies at St. Edward College. In 1918, he left for Chicago where he attended the Chicago Musical College and graduated in 1920.

Over the next decade, Revueltas worked as a violinist, orchestra directory, and professor in the South, mostly in Texas and Alabama. He also traveled back to Mexico and on one of those trips met another musician, Carlos Chávez, who in 1928 founded the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra, which is now the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. Chávez invited Revueltas to join the orchestra as assistant conductor and soloist. Revueltas left that position in 1935, apparently due to differences with Chávez, and began working at the National Conservatory of Mexico. Revueltas also started to compose film scores around this time. In 1937, he joined the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios), which was a leftist organization of Mexican writers and artists that supported the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), and sailed to Spain.

After returning to Mexico after the war, he wrote reviews for newspapers, composed for a wide range of clients and for movies, and taught at the Conservatory. For most of his adult life he struggled with alcoholism and it is what cut his life short. He contracted pneumonia as a result of his alcoholism and died on October 5, 1940. His remains were reinterred in the largest cemetery in Mexico, the Panteón de Dolores, and are located in a site within the cemetery called the "Rotunda of Illustrious Persons."

Some of his siblings are also famous for their talents. His brother, Fermín (1901-1935), was a leading muralist painter, and his sister, Rosaura (c.1909-1996), was a noted dancer and actress.

"Silvestre Revueltas." Britannica. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Silvestre-Revueltas.

"Silvestre Revueltas, brilliant and tenacious musician." Mexico Ideas, History & Culture. August 29, 2020. https://mexicoideas.com/silvestre-revueltas-brilliant-and-tenacious-musician.

"Silvestre Revueltas." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=213306.