Manuel de Zumaya

Manuel de Zumaya (c. 1678 – 1755) was perhaps the most famous Mexican composer of the colonial period of New Spain. His music was the culmination of the Baroque style in the New World; of Spanish, French, Dutch, British, and Portuguese colonial composers, none stand out as much as Zumaya did. He was the first person in the western hemisphere to compose an Italian-texted opera, entitled Partenope (now lost). Life Manuel de Zumaya was born in Mexico and was a mestizo (of mixed Native American and European descent).