Ezequiel Huerta Gutiérrez

About Ezequiel Huerta Gutiérrez

Ezequiel Huerta Gutiérrez was a church singer and organist from Magdalena, Jalisco. He was born on January 7, 1876, and received his early education in the parish school before continuing at a state institution. In 1904 he married María Eugenia García; they had ten children. He joined the Franciscan Third Order in 1923.

Music became his livelihood as well as his service to the Church. He studied composition, singing and musical notation with private teachers. He played organ, harmonium and piano, directed a choir and sang in Guadalajara’s cathedral. Private lessons in singing and piano also formed part of his work.

The University of Guadalajara’s biographical account describes how his brothers helped him secure church engagements to support his family. He worked at the Capuchinas and Santa Teresa churches.

The suspension of public Catholic worship in 1926 disrupted that livelihood. He nevertheless became custodian of the church of San Felipe Neri. Two of his sons joined the Cristero resistance, while two of his brothers were priests.

After visiting the wakes of Anacleto González Flores and his companions, Ezequiel was arrested at home. His brother Salvador was also detained.

Both brothers were killed on April 3, 1927.

They were beatified in Guadalajara on November 20, 2005.

His musical work also remains part of local remembrance. In November 2012, Guadalajara’s church of Santa Teresa inaugurated an organ festival bearing his name. A contemporary report by Juan Palomar described four concerts organized by the church’s chaplain, Tomás de Híjar. The opening concert featured organist Antonio Manuel Esteireiro. This musical remembrance linked Ezequiel’s name to the church where he had worked.