Sofía Cancino de Cuevas first quartet for strings, catalogued as Op. 1. In 1940, she received an honorable mention for her symphonic poem "El gallo en Pátzcuaro" for orchestra and male choir, in a contest organized by UNAM. In 1941 she directed the presentation of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Arbeu theater, with the participation of singers (baritone), Carlos Mejía (tenor), and Margarita Cueto (soprano), among others. This made her Mexico's first female conductor. In 1944 she founded the Opera School, with which she conducted "La serva padrona" by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, "Bastien und Bastienne" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and "Il matrimonio segreto" by
Ramón Iriarte doors opened to him in the opera world. As Claudio in Montero's "Virginia," and roles in "L'amico Fritz", "Carmen", "Aida", "Pagliacci", "Madama Butterfly", and "Bastien und Bastienne" had become part of Iriarte's wide music repertoire full of success. One of the main places where Iriarte got to show his talent in a national way was in the Teatro Municipal de Caracas. In 1967 was the first time he performed internationally in New York City where he gained fame and reputation. His baritone's life kept blooming as the years passed. For over twenty–five years he dedicated his life to opera and