Corina del Parral Durán (Bahía Blanca, Argentina, January 25, 1905 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 8, 1979) was a celebrated Argentine composer, pianist, poet, and social advocate who served as the First Lady of Ecuador during her marriage to President José María Velasco Ibarra. Known for her profound contributions to Ecuadorian society, she founded the Patronato Nacional del Niño, a pioneering child welfare organization that set a standard for future social programs. Del Parral also created popular Ecuadorian musical compositions and wrote poetry under the pseudonym “Alma Helios,” leaving a legacy in the arts and social welfare that continues to be honored in Ecuador and Argentina.
Early Life and Education
Corina del Parral Durán was born on January 25, 1905, in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. She was the daughter of Ernesto del Parral López, an emigrant from Gibraltar who established an English enclave called Villa Harding Green in Bahía Blanca, and Corina Eulogia Durán Peña. Raised in a culturally rich environment, Corina displayed a deep affinity for the arts from a young age. She completed her primary education at the French Institute Jean D’Arc and studied piano at the Williams Conservatory, excelling in her studies. Later, in Buenos Aires, she pursued advanced music studies in harmony, composition, fugue, and counterpoint, forming the foundation for her later work as a composer and pianist.
Marriage and Role as First Lady of Ecuador
In 1934, Corina met José María Velasco Ibarra, a charismatic philosopher and the newly elected President of Ecuador, at a reception in Buenos Aires. Their bond grew through correspondence during Velasco’s first exile in Colombia following his ouster in 1935. In 1938, Velasco divorced his first wife, and the two were married in Buenos Aires. Corina’s marriage to Velasco would make her Ecuador’s First Lady on four separate occasions: 1944–1947, 1952–1956, 1960–1961, and 1968–1972, periods marked by frequent political upheaval.
As First Lady, Corina took a non-traditional and proactive role. She advocated for Ecuador’s vulnerable populations, founding the Patronato Nacional del Niño (later the Instituto Nacional del Niño y la Familia, INNFA) to address child welfare. She also established the Patronato Provincial del Niño in Guayaquil and the Club Femenino de Cultura in Quito. Her initiatives in social welfare became a standard for future First Ladies of Ecuador.
Artistic Career and Literary Works
Corina del Parral was an accomplished artist in her own right. She composed both classical and popular music, incorporating Argentine and Ecuadorian folk elements. Her songs, which included “pasillos,” “albazos,” and “pasacalles,” were recorded by Los Brillantes and performed by the singer Olga Gutiérrez. Proceeds from these recordings supported her charitable initiatives. She also published poetry, often under the pseudonym “Alma Helios,” and wrote allegorical and romantic works inspired by her life experiences and political environment. Her notable works include Estrellas perdidas, La rosa blanca, Faro de la eternidad, and Banda presidencial, which offers a narrative of her time as First Lady.
Legacy and Final Years
The enduring story of Corina and José María Velasco Ibarra, often viewed as a tale of love and loyalty, resonated deeply with the Ecuadorian public. Corina’s work in social reform laid the groundwork for lasting institutions in Ecuador’s child and family welfare systems. Her cultural contributions have been preserved in Ecuadorian literary collections, and her influence on Ecuadorian music and social programs endures.
On February 7, 1979, Corina suffered a tragic accident in Buenos Aires when she fell while boarding a bus, leading to her death the following day. Velasco returned to Quito with her remains, declaring that he came “only to meditate and die.” He passed away just 45 days after her, on March 30, 1979. They are buried together in the San Diego Cemetery in Quito, where they are remembered for their shared legacy of dedication, cultural contribution, and public service.
Five Poems
From the poetry collection Soledad en la altura (1946).
SOLITUDE IN THE HEIGHTS
To defend just a few minutes of solitude each day, I wrestle with the thousand demands of life—a brief escape from the world to rediscover myself.
I envy and am drawn to the great mountains, so high and so solitary.
Silence at the summit, the beauty of snow and cold, the mystery of the páramo: solitude in the heights.
So are you, like the mountain; alone with your ideals, alone with your dreams. There, at the summit, in the peace of its air, in the lofty silence—there is your solitude.
SOLEDAD EN LA ALTURA
Por defender unos minutos de soledad al día, brego con las mil ocupaciones de la vida. Una pequeña fuga del mundo para encontrarse una misma.
Envidio y me atraen las grandes montañas que están tan altas y tan solas.
Silencio en la cima, belleza de nieve y frío, misterio de páramo: soledad en la altura.
Así tú, como la montaña; solo con tu ideal, solo con tus sueños. Allí, en la cumbre, en la paz de su clima, en alto silencio; allí tu soledad.
IF IT WEREN’T
If it weren’t for the blue sky, the flowers, the music, for a star shining in the night and gazing at us with tenderness, how difficult it would be to live in this world!
Thank you, oh my God, for these gifts, savored with passion, with sorrow, and with a strange melancholy.
SI NO FUERA
Si no fuera por el cielo azul, por las flores, por la música, por alguna estrella que brilla en la noche y nos mira con ternura, ¡qué difícil sería vivir en el mundo!
Gracias ¡oh mi Dios! por estos dones, gozados con vehemencia, con tristeza y con rara melancolía.
IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC
Like a fervent longing, vehemence turned to sweetness, an authoritative murmur that torments, an eternally burning flame—this is how music always lives within me.
Down my arms descends an electric tremor that overflows into my hands, bursting forth on the white and black keys of the piano.
And they are like waves that reflect the anguish of other souls; they are all the harmonies that, vibrating, take hold of my nerves and unmake them, reaching the paroxysm of light or resting in the shadows of memory, mystery, and distance.
It is all of life suspended, the self vanished and transformed into an ethereal, celestial, infinite vibration—this is what it means to live in the world of music.
EN EL MUNDO DE LA MÚSICA
Como deseo vibrante, vehemencia hecha dulzura, rumor autoritario que martiriza, llama eternamente encendida: así en mi ser vive siempre la música.
Por mis brazos baja el eléctrico temblor que se desborda en las manos, que estalla en el teclado blanco y negro del piano.
Y son como ondas que reflejan el tormento de otras almas, y son todas las armonías que vibrando toman mis nervios y los deshacen, llegan al paroxismo de la luz o descansan en las sombras del recuerdo, del misterio y la distancia.
Es la vida toda detenida, el ser desaparecido y hecho vibración aérea, celeste, infinita: esto es vivir en el mundo de la música.
WILD YEARNING
I have run through the fields. My soul, filled with primal yearnings, craved the roughness of exhaustion, the caress of the sun, the murmur of the river...
The mountains and the sky watched me, and in solitude with them, I savored with wild joy all their mysteries.
I was like a bit of wind, or a wildflower, or a shrub—I was part of the violent landscape of light, of life, and of color.
How I wished that moment could last forever, when my entire being was the fields!
ANSIA SALVAJE
He corrido por el campo. Mi alma llena de urgencias selváticas ansiaba cansancio rudo, caricias de sol, rumor de río...
Me miraban las montañas y el cielo y en soledad con ellos he gozado con alegría salvaje de todos sus misterios.
Era yo como un poco de viento, o como una flor silvestre, o como un arbusto: era yo parte del paisaje violento de luz, de vida y de color.
¡Cuánto hubiera querido que se eternizase ese instante en que toda yo era campo!
I THIRST
Though my hair remains dark and my complexion fresh, I feel my very existence ebbing away.
The constant sorrow of the world sinks into my flesh, and my heart bleeds from many wounds.
My soul is parched, I thirst—a feverish, frantic thirst for infinite things.
I fear dying thirsty, burning like a flame. I fear not living long enough to quench this thirst that turns my soul into a sharp lament, a torn longing for tenderness.
TENGO SED
Tengo todavía los cabellos oscuros y la tez fresca y sin embargo siento que se me va la existencia.
Y la constante tristeza del mundo se me hunde en la carne y el corazón me sangra por muchas heridas.
Tengo el alma reseca, tengo sed, una sed febril y loca de cosas infinitas.
Temo morir sedienta, ardiendo como una llama. Temo no vivir bastante para apagar esta sed que convierte mi alma en agudo lamento y en desgarrada ansia de ternura.
Selected Works
- Estrellas perdidas – A collection of poetry.
- La rosa blanca – A poetic work.
- Faro de la eternidad – Another notable poetry collection.
- Banda presidencial – A semi-autobiographical book that narrates her experiences as First Lady.
- Soledad en la altura – a poetry collection published in 1946. Read for free here.
- De la lágrima a la sonrisa – A posthumous work published by the Banco Central del Ecuador, reflecting on her life and experiences.
- Más allá del amor – A book published in 1967, touching on themes of love and loyalty, often reflecting her personal life and partnership with Velasco Ibarra.