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Silvestre Revueltas
Santiago Papasquiaro (Durango), Mexico
Archival Overview
Mexican composer and violinist celebrated for Sensemaya and La noche de los mayas, whose rhythmically ferocious, anti-romantic orchestral scores captured modern Mexican street energy and indigenous ritual.
Biographical Record
Silvestre Revueltas (1899–1940) studied violin in Mexico City and Chicago before serving as assistant conductor of the Mexico Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Chavez. His compositions rejected sugary nationalism in favor of jagged polyrhythms, biting dissonance, and exuberant Mexican brass band colors.
In 1938, he composed 'Sensemaya', an orchestral masterpiece based on Nicolas Guillen's poem describing the ritual killing of a water snake, featuring hypnotic 7/8 time signatures. Revueltas traveled to Spain in 1937 to support the Republic before dying tragically destitute in Mexico City at age forty.
Key Life Milestones
Composition of 'Sensemaya'
Premiered his orchestral tour de force of Afro-Caribbean ritual polyrhythms and percussion.
Film Score 'La noche de los mayas'
Composed the monumental cinematic orchestral suite capturing ancient Mayan mythology.
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialMexico City, Mexico