Azucena Maizani

Azucena Maizani around 1940

Azucena Josefa Maizani , also known as Ñata Gaucha and Azabache, (born November 17, 1902 in Buenos Aires , † January 15, 1970 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango singer, composer and actress . She was discovered by Francisco Canaro in 1920 and became an international star. Horacio Salas describes her as "the most important tango singer" of the 1920s. Her frequent appearances on stage and on the radio made her the female counterpart of Carlos Gardel . For many years, she appeared in men's or Criollo - Gaucho on -Clothes why you Libertad Lamarque in 1935 were the nickname "Funny-face Cowgirl".

Early years

Maizani lived in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires until she was five . Since she apparently had health problems and her parents were very poor, some family members took her to the island of Martín García. On this island in the middle of the Río de la Plata , halfway between Argentina and Uruguay , she graduated from middle school and returned to Buenos Aires at the age of 17, where she began working as a seamstress in a shirt factory and in a fashion house. She loved to sing, and according to Canaro, she went to Pigall one evening, where he performed, and convinced him to let her sing two tangos in public with his orchestra. Even if that didn't mean the big breakthrough for was, it encouraged her to pursue an artistic career. She took the first steps in this direction in 1922 as a choir girl in the ensemble of the brothers César and Pepe Ratti, who performed the play El bailarín del cabaret (The Cabaret Dancer ) in the Teatro Apolo with the singer Ignacio Corsini in the lead role.

Singing career

(1941)

At a family celebration that she went to with Delia Rodríguez, who was a well-known singer at the time, she met Enrique Pedro Delfino, who accompanied everyone who wanted to sing on the piano. Maizani sang and made such an impression on him that the pianist introduced her to the theater entrepreneur Pascual Carcavallo, who hired her. On July 27, 1923, she made her debut at the National Theater with the pantomime sketch A mí no me hablen de penas (Don't tell me about your problems) by Alberto Vacarezza. In it she sang the tango Padre nuestro (Our Father), which Delfino and Vacarezza had composed especially for her, accompanied by the Salvador Merino Orchestra. Her performance was so successful that she showed five more performances.

She continued her theater career and at the same time began working for the radio and recording records. Her growing popularity can be measured by the fact that she made 200 pesos a month for her theater debut, but now received the same amount for every radio recording. In the summer she joined the ensemble of the brothers Leopoldo y Tomás Simari at the Teatro Smart Palace on Avenida Corrientes with the piece Ma-chi-fu by César Bourell , and in 1924 she worked with Florencio Parravicini on Cristóbal Colón en la Facultad de Medicina (Christopher Columbus in the medical faculty), who was famous for his improvisations (“morcillas” (blood sausage) in the theater jargon of the time), which he introduced and varied at every performance. This season Maizani made her debut with pieces by José Bohr, Pero hay una melena and Cascabel cascabelito , and began recording with the Francisco Canaro Orchestra.

In 1925 she worked at the San Martín Theater under the direction of Héctor and Camila Quiroga and premiered two tangos that later became very popular: Silbando (pipes) and Organito de la tarde (small organ in the afternoon). She continued her career in 1926 in the same theater with Elías Alippi and in the Hipodrome Theater, also located on Avenida Corrientes. In 1927 she performed at the Porteño Theater, and her appearances on the plays Pato (Duck), Amigazo (Buddy) and Esta noche me emborracho (I'm getting drunk tonight) were hits. The tango poet Celedonio Flores dedicated a poem to her in which he described her as "the greatest tanguera that God created".

In 1928 she was hired by Radio Prieto, an important radio station in Buenos Aires. She spent this season in the Maipo Theater. The following year she appeared in Montevideo and made her film debut as an actress in the silent film La modelo de la calle Florida (The Florida Street Model), directed by Julio Irigoyen.

Tour through Spain and Portugal

(1933)

Maizani toured Argentina in 1931 with the violinist Roberto Zerrillo and founded the Compañía Argentina de Arte Menor with him , which traveled to Spain under the artistic direction of Mario J. Bellini and made its debut on September 11th at the Alcázar de Madrid . Theatre. The ensemble has performed in Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Burgos, Santiago de Compostela, Teruel and Valladolid, Santander (Cantabria), San Sebastián, Huesca, Gijón, Zamora, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca and Saragossa. On April 14, 1932, a tour of Portugal began, which began at the María Victoria Theater in Lisbon. The tour then continued in Porto , Braga and Coímbra . They subsequently also appeared in Biarritz in France.

Back in Buenos Aires

Movie poster ¡Tango! (1933)

On her return to Buenos Aires at the end of 1932, Maizani discovered that during her two-year absence there had been considerable competition from new tango singers, in many cases made famous through talent competitions organized by radio stations. They included: Libertad Lamarque, Ada Falcón , Adhelma Falcón , Tania, Mercedes Simone and Dorita Davis . However, she quickly regained her popularity and starred in Tango (1933), the first Argentinian sound film. Maizani did not sing directly, but she could be heard singing La canción de Buenos Aires , while the opening credits were highlighted with a picture of her face. Apart from that, there is a scene in which she sings milonga sentimentally in a suit .

In 1935 she appeared in the film Monte criollo , in which she was seen on stage in a cabaret. There she sang the Tango del mismo nombre composed by Francisco Pracánico , with a text by Homero Manzi . Arturo S. Mom directed it and Nedda Francy and Francisco Petrone also played.

In 1937 Maizani went on an extensive tour of the United States, which included Mexico and New York . In New York, she starred in radio tracks, recorded albums and played a supporting role in the film Di que me quieres , directed by William Rowland, in which a select group of dancers and Latin American singers appeared. In 1940 the film Nativa followed , again with singing and an acting role without much depth.

Cover of Cantando magazine No. 158 (1960)

She made less public appearances in the 1940s. However, she made some recordings, appeared at benefit concerts for the victims of the San Juan earthquake in 1944, was present on Radio Argentina and toured Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, the high point of her fame was at that time however already exceeded. Together with Ivo Pelay she performed in the famous Uruguayan theater 18 de Julio in Montevideo and in the El Nacional theater in Buenos Aires. Azucena played in cafes and went to Brazil in 1961 to record records. In November 1962, on the initiative of Dorita Davis, she was at a festival at the Astral Theater, where she sang in front of a crowd that applauded enthusiastically. In the following years she was still active as a singer, but little noticed, until shortly before her death in 1970. She died, almost forgotten by the public, after suffering paralysis on one side. Pope Francis , by his own admission a great fan of tango, gave her the final unction because he was her neighbor.

Private life

In 1928, Azucena Maizani married Juan Scarpino, but the couple separated shortly after the death of their only son. The following year she lived with the violinist Roberto Zerrillo, who accompanied her on tours. Azucena later had a relationship with Rodolfo José María Caffaro, who began his career as a singer under the pseudonym Ricardo Colombres. However, she found out that he was cheating on her. In 1936 he committed suicide.

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Compositions

Azucena does not have a particularly extensive compositional oeuvre, but has written some successful tangos. Her first piece in 1924, the Tango Volvé Negro . Her most famous work is Pero yo sé in 1928, which was recorded by numerous other interpreters, the version by Ángel Vargas with the orchestra by Ángel D'Agostino being particularly noteworthy. She also composed, in collaboration with Oreste Cúfaro and Manuel Romero, the tango La canción de Buenos Aires , which was recorded by Carlos Gardel, with whom she was friends.

Further works are the waltz Pensando en ti with texts by Celedonio Flores; Decí que sí , a famous ranchera that she wrote with Cúfaro and Alberto Pidemunt; the milongas Adonde están los varones; Por qué se fue? Dejáme entrar, hermano; En esta soledad, the Ranchera Remigio ; Lejos de mi tierra .

Record recordings

From 1923 to 1926 Azucena recorded with the Francisco Canaro Orchestra, with Enrique Pedro Delfino on piano and Manual Parada on guitar, both for the Orión label. From 1929 to 1931 she recorded for the Brunswick label, accompanied by Roberto Zerrillo, the pianist Oreste Cúfaro and Manual Parada, with guest appearances by the violinist Antonio Rodio. Azucena Maizani sang the tango Malena by Homero Manzi and Lucio Demare as the first interpreter in a record recording, and in 1942 she also took Ninguna (text by Homero Manzi and music by Raúl Fernandez Siro). Azucena Maizani can be heard in over 270 recordings.

Filmography

Tango! (1933)
Monte Criollo (1935)
Nativa (1939)
Di que me quieres (1939)
Buenos Aires Canta (1947)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Horacio Salas and Lato: Tango: Wehmut that one can dance . Edition Elke Heidenreich at C. Bertelsmann, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-570-58021-9 , p. 79 ff .
^ Libertad Lamarque: Libertad Lamarque . Javier Vergara Editor, Buenos Aires 1987, ISBN 978-968-497-150-9 (Spanish).
^ Francisco Canaro: Mis memorias - Mis bodas de oro con el tango . Corregidor, Buenos Aires 1999, ISBN 978-950-05-1174-2 (Spanish).
↑ ^a ^b Néstor Pinson and Ricardo García Blaya: Azucena Maizani. In: todotango.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020 .
↑ Estela Dos Santos: Las cantantes . In: La historia del tango . tape 13 . Corregidor, Buenos Aires 1994, ISBN 978-950-05-0811-7 , pp. 2255 .
↑ ^a ^b José Gobello, Jorge Alberto Bossio: Tangos, letras y letristas . tape 5 . Plus Ultra, Buenos Aires 1995, ISBN 978-950-21-1126-1 , pp. 124 f . (Spanish).
↑ Jose Gobello: Mujeres Y Hombres Que Hicieron El Tango (The Men And Women That Made Tango) . Ed .: Centro Editor de Cultura Argentina. Librerias Libertador, Buenos Aires 2004, ISBN 978-950-898-081-6 , pp. 253 f . (Spanish).
↑ ^a ^b Domingo di Núbila: La época de oro . In: Historia del cino argentino . tape 1 . Ediciones del Jilguero, Buenos Aires 1998, ISBN 978-987-95786-5-0 (Spanish).
↑ Horacio Salas: Homero Manzi y Su Tiempo . Vergara, Buenos Aires 2001, ISBN 978-950-15-2244-0 , pp. 171 (Spanish).
↑ The Pope's Preferences. In: welt.de. Retrieved June 12, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Maizani, Azucena
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ñata Gaucha; Maizani, Azucena Josefa; Azabache
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Argentine tango singer, composer and actress
DATE OF BIRTH	17th November 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH	Buenos Aires
DATE OF DEATH	15th January 1970
Place of death	Buenos Aires

[:3-1] Horacio Salas and Lato: Tango: Wehmut that one can dance . Edition Elke Heidenreich at C. Bertelsmann, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-570-58021-9 , p. 79 ff .

[2] Libertad Lamarque: Libertad Lamarque . Javier Vergara Editor, Buenos Aires 1987, ISBN 978-968-497-150-9 (Spanish).

[3] Francisco Canaro: Mis memorias - Mis bodas de oro con el tango . Corregidor, Buenos Aires 1999, ISBN 978-950-05-1174-2 (Spanish).

[:0-4] Néstor Pinson and Ricardo García Blaya: Azucena Maizani. In: todotango.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020 .

[5] Estela Dos Santos: Las cantantes . In: La historia del tango . tape 13 . Corregidor, Buenos Aires 1994, ISBN 978-950-05-0811-7 , pp. 2255 .

[:2-6] José Gobello, Jorge Alberto Bossio: Tangos, letras y letristas . tape 5 . Plus Ultra, Buenos Aires 1995, ISBN 978-950-21-1126-1 , pp. 124 f . (Spanish).

[7] Jose Gobello: Mujeres Y Hombres Que Hicieron El Tango (The Men And Women That Made Tango) . Ed .: Centro Editor de Cultura Argentina. Librerias Libertador, Buenos Aires 2004, ISBN 978-950-898-081-6 , pp. 253 f . (Spanish).

[:1-8] Domingo di Núbila: La época de oro . In: Historia del cino argentino . tape 1 . Ediciones del Jilguero, Buenos Aires 1998, ISBN 978-987-95786-5-0 (Spanish).

[9] Horacio Salas: Homero Manzi y Su Tiempo . Vergara, Buenos Aires 2001, ISBN 978-950-15-2244-0 , pp. 171 (Spanish).

[10] The Pope's Preferences. In: welt.de. Retrieved June 12, 2020 .