Alfredo Zitarrosa

Alfredo Zitarrosa (born March 10, 1936 in Montevideo , † January 17, 1989 ibid) was a Uruguayan singer, poet and journalist. He is considered to be one of the outstanding figures in Uruguayan and Latin American music of the 20th century .

biography

In 1954 Zitarrosa's artistic biography began as a radio announcer and presenter as well as in the theater scene in his home country. In the following years he worked as a writer and journalist, most recently at the weekly Marcha , before starting his career as a singer in 1964, now in Peru , initially in television programs, for which a friend of his from an advertising agency placed him. Back in Montevideo, he made his debut in 1965 as a singer with the influential SODRE (Servicio Oficial de Difusión Radioeléctrica). Through this appearance, he received an invitation to the Festival de Cosquín in Argentina in 1966 . In the 1970s he became one of the most popular musicians in Latin America.

Of political commitment to the Left , which is currently in his songs, and his commitment to the leftist Frente Amplio he looked after the 1973 military coup forced against the dictatorship into exile to escape. He lived in Argentina , Spain and, since 1976, in Mexico . At the same time, his music was banned in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay during the dictatorships in these countries. The relaxation of political persecution in Argentina after the Falklands War in 1982 enabled him to move to Buenos Aires , where he gave three concerts at the Estadio Obras Sanitarias in early 1983 . In 1984, a year before the country's return to democracy, he returned to Uruguay, where he gave his important first concert after exile.

plant

From the beginning of his career, Alfredo Zitarrosa established himself as one of the great voices of popular music in Latin America. His roots lay in folk music , whereby he developed his own distinctive style, supported by his powerful voice and hearty guitar playing. As a poet, he received the Premio Municipal de Poesía for his book Explicaciones in Montevideo as early as 1959 . In 1988 his collection of short stories Por si el recuerdo was published.

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