María Luisa Escobar

María Luisa González Gragirena de Escobar (née María Luisa González Gragirena; known artistically by her married name María Luisa Escobar; also credited as Maritza Graxirena; 5 December 1903 – 14 May 1985) was a Venezuelan musicologist, pianist, composer, and caricaturist. She founded the Caracas Athenaeum in 1931. She also served as president of the Venezuelan Red Cross (Valencia, 1921; Caracas, 1922–23). Early life and education María Luisa González Gragirena was born in Valencia in 5 December 1903, the daughter of Henrique A. González and Maria Gragirena y Mijarez de González. At the age of five, she entered the Colegio de Lourdes where she began to study piano. A year later, she composed her first piece titled “Blanca, la niña Angélica” (Blanca, the girl Angélica). At the age of eight, she travelled with her parents to Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, and entered the Welgelegen Habaai School where she studied French and English in addition to piano, violin, and musical composition, concluding with a Baccalaureate in 1917. With this union, she had another son, Toney Escobar González. With Saluzzo, and the musician/composer Pedro Antonio Ríos Reyna, in addition to other artists, sh