Corina del Parral

Corina del Parral Durán (25 January 1905, Bahía Blanca – 8 February 1979, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine writer, poet, singer, and composer. Married to President José María Velasco Ibarra, she served four terms as the First Lady of Ecuador.

Corina del Parral Durán was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina to Ernesto del Parral López and Corina Eulogia Durán Peña on 25 January 1905. She began basic studies at the French Institute of Jeanne d'Arc and music at the Williams Conservatory, both in Bahía Blanca. She graduated from the latter with high marks, then went to Buenos Aires to continue her music studies. Using her musical education, del Parral composed classical pieces for the piano and orchestra, and Argentine and Ecuadorian folk music. As part of the group Los Brillantes, for whom she provided female vocals, her music was recorded on acetate discs. Parral's works as a writer have been collected by the House of Ecuadorian culture and the Central Bank of Ecuador.

In 1934, Parral and her mother attended a reception for an Ecuadorian plenipotentiary in Buenos Aires, where she met the newly elected President of Ecuador, José María Velasco Ibarra. When he was deposed, del Parral began corresponding with Velasco to encourage him during his exile to Colombia. The couple's epistolary relationship resulted in their marriage in Buenos Aires on 24 August 1938.

First Lady of Ecuador

When José María Velasco Ibarra was elected for the second time in 1944, Parral became First Lady of Ecuador. In this capacity, she founded the National Institute for Children and the Family, a position that henceforth would be held by all Ecuadorian First Ladies.