Antonia Ramírez
Antonia Ramírez | |
|---|---|
| Died | 11 June 2024 Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Dominican Republic |
| Occupations | Singer, composer, writer and indigenous language activist |
Antonia Ramírez (died 11 June 2024) was a Pipil Salvadoran singer, composer, writer and indigenous language activist as a native speaker of the endangered Uto-Aztecan Nawat language of El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Biography
Ramírez was born in Santo Domingo de Guzmán; her birthdate is unknown. She spoke the Nawat and Spanish languages,[1] learning Nawat from her grandmother Juana.[2] She was a Catholic.[2]
Ramírez composed the Nawat language song "Ne nawat shuchikisa" (Nahaut blossoms),[1][3] which followed a classical structure and featured easily remembered melody and chorus.[3] The song became known as the "anthem of Nahua," was used by language teachers with their students and was sung at cultural events. Ramírez was filmed singing the song for documentaries[3] and in 2014 she was invited to sing in front of an audience at the Mexican Embassy in San Salvador.[1]
Ramírez coordinated the Casa de la Cultura de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.[4] She also published the choral songbook Ne nawat shuchikisa (Nahaut blossoms), which compiled musical creations of the Pipil people of El Salvador.[5]
Ramírez died on 11 June 2024 in Santo Domingo de Guzmán.[6] At the time of her death, there were 48 native Nawat speakers.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Nikolai, Juliane (2019). "Entrevista con Antonia Ramírez" (PDF). Discriminaciones Pueblos Indígenas (in Spanish). Fundación Heinrich Böll para Centroamérica oficina de El Salvador: 68–69. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ a b Gil, Elias Antonio Córdova (2020). "Persistencia cultural, patrimonio lingüístico y cofradías. La cultura náhuat pipil en Witzapan, El Salvador" (PDF). Masters thesis (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ a b c Prieto, Covadonga Lamar; Alba, Álvaro González (22 April 2024). Digital Flux, Linguistic Justice and Minoritized Languages. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 66. ISBN 978-3-11-079946-0.
- ^ Núñez, Salvador (14 December 2020). El Salvador: Verdades Ocultas. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-6641-0227-9.
- ^ Castro, Leyda (22 February 2023). "Ministerio de Cultura lanzó el libro "Nechilwiat katka ka seujti (Me contaban que una vez)…"". Ministerio de Cultura (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Esta noche se a dado a conocer sobre el fallecimiento de Nantzin Antonia Ramírez". Radio Sensunat (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2025.