Netherlands Antillean composer, violinist, pianist, teacher and music writer.

Son of Paul de Lima. Born on 25 January 1890, in the island of Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles). He received his first music lessons from his father, and he studied piano with Rudolf Theodorus Palm. He joined Carl Fensohn's orchestra, and gave his first violin recital at the age twenty-two. After settling in Barranquilla (Colombia), he founded a music school there, teaching piano and devoting much of his time to musical research. His work "Folklore colombiano" (1942) was a great contribution to the knowledge of the named Colombian pasillo, a waltz-like dance.

He collaborated with Francisco Curt Lange, and wrote articles for the Brazilian journal "Resenha musical", "Boletín de la Unión Panamericana" and "Anuario de la Sociedad Folklórica de México". He wrote to Manuel de Falla twice, on 22 September 1934, and on 10 May 1946. In that correspondence, he identified himself as a disciple of Felipe Pedrell and said that he had studied under Vincent d'Indy at the Parisian Schola Cantorum. He also claimed to have received a total of twenty-one distinctions and honours, including the titles of Consul of the Republic of Honduras and the Republic of Liberia and Commander of the Liberian Humane Order of African Redemption, as well as the Grand Cross of the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, Grand Cross of the French Society of Inventors and Scholars, and Grand Cross of the Polish Volhynian Legion. He hoped to convince Falla to collaborate on a project with him, but we do not know if Falla ever replied. As a composer, De Lima wrote religious music like "Antífona a Santa Cecilia" or "Ave María"; music for the stage, like the 1931 zarzuela "El club de los solteros"; "Canciones" for voice and piano; "Capricho colombiano" and "Valses brillantes" for piano; an instrumental music, like "Cuarteto en Re menor" or the pasillo "Trovas para ti". He passed away on 14 August 1972 in Barranquilla (Colombia).

La Biblioteca Nacional Digital de Chile conserva alguna de sus cartas.