Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel , actually Charles Romuald Gardes (* 11. December 1890 Toulouse , France (according to other sources: 11. December 1887 in Tacuarembó , Uruguay ); † 24. June 1935 in a plane crash in Medellin , Colombia ), was a tango - singer and - composer . Gardel is considered one of the most important figures in tango in the first half of the 20th century.
Life
Carlos Gardel came to Argentina with his mother in 1893 and from then on lived in Buenos Aires . He grew up there in Abasto (a district of Balvanera ), in which the central fruit and vegetable market was located, and the Carlos Gardel Museum is also located there today. Unobserved by the single mother, the boy passed his time on the streets of the Argentine metropolis. His voice was noticed at a very young age, and he became known in the area under the name El Morocho del Abasto (roughly: 'The dark-skinned one of Abasto').
In 1902, he helped as a set shifter in the Teatro Victoria, heard him the well-known Italian singer Titta Ruffo , who now supported him in training his voice. His voice developed its sensuality and its great dramatic expressiveness.
In 1906 he left school and concentrated only on singing. He performed in the cafes and restaurants in the immediate vicinity. In 1912 he gave up his French name and was now called Carlos Gardel. At the same time he denied the French origin and claimed to have come to Argentina from Uruguay .
In 1912 a “tango duel” with the singer José Razzano took place in the Calle Guardia Vieja in Abasto . There was no winner in this duel, but since then there has been the Gardel-Razzano duo, which were to make music together for the following fifteen years.
By 1915, the two singers became so popular that they performed not only in the best theaters and clubs in Buenos Aires, but also throughout Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil . On these tours Gardel met his great idol, the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso . On December 11, 1915, Gardel was struck down in a club by a shot in the lung. He would suffer the consequences of this life-threatening injury for the rest of his life.
After a year-long hiatus, he returned with even greater enthusiasm. From 1917 he specialized exclusively in tango singing . After separating from Razzano, who did not agree with this one-sidedness, he became the first and to this day most famous tango singer in Argentina and the world.
Together with his lifelong companion, the poet and journalist Alfredo Le Pera, Gardel composed numerous classical tangos such as Mi Buenos Aires querido , Soledad , Golondrinas , Volver and El día que me quieras . He didn't just write tangos; as well as folk music milongas , zambas , rancheras , Tonadas , Tristes , Estilos , etc. He composed and wrote some foxtrot in English as well as some songs traditional style in French.
After taking Argentinian citizenship in 1923, he returned to Europe in late 1925 and became as big a star in Spain as he was in Latin America. He made his debut in Paris in 1928. Carlos Gardel was the first and perhaps only Argentine world star in show business. Its importance for the tango was only achieved later by Astor Piazzolla . With the beginning of the Paramount sound film , he also saw a future for himself in film and subsequently appeared in numerous music films.
On June 24, 1935 Gardel, Alfredo Le Pera and several of their companions as occupants of at the airport of the city died Medellin in Colombia starting SACO - Ford Tri-Motor , the abrupt and unexplained changed direction and with a second, waiting on the ground SCADTA AIRPLANE of the same type collided. Gardel died at the height of his career during a tour that should have taken him across Latin America. Millions of his fans cried for him, several took their own lives.
In Argentina today the saying goes: "Gardel sings better every day". A verse from his Tango Volver became a catchphrase throughout Latin America: Veinte años no es nada ('Twenty years is nothing'). Gardel is buried in the La Chacarita cemetery in Buenos Aires.
The "father of the Argentine tango", who was revered during his lifetime, especially by the poor population, was posthumously a victim of media censorship. Reporting on him was prohibited during the time of the junta in Argentina.
On 1 September 2003 Gardels original recordings were by UNESCO for the World Soundtrack Awards explained.
Secret about his place of birth
The question of Gardel's birthplace has been highly controversial in the past and has repeatedly led to controversy in Uruguay and Argentina.
The prevailing opinion today is that Gardel was born in Toulouse, France. In a handwritten will that Gardel's estate administrator Armando Defino presented to the public after his death, Gardel himself is said to have declared that he was born in Toulouse as Charles Romuald Gardès. Indeed, in a birth register in Toulouse, the name "Charles Romuald Gardès ... son of an unknown father and of Berthe Gardès" can be found . However, apart from the mention in the will, there is no evidence that Gardel is actually identical to Charles Romuald Gardès. In 1936, following a dispute, the Uruguayan government ratified a document recognizing France as the country of birth.
During his lifetime, however, Gardel himself never suggested a descent from France, and on the contrary spread his descent from the area of the Río La Plata. On October 8, 1920, he declared before the Uruguayan consulate in Buenos Aires that he was born on December 11, 1887 in Tacuarembó (Uruguay). He also stated that his father Carlos and his mother were Uruguayans. These entries about his origin were then also in the passport, which was found on June 24, 1935 after the plane crash in Medellín with his remains. Gardel also claimed in various interviews to come from Tacuarembó (Uruguay).
Selection of famous tangos sung by Gardel
- Mi noche triste (1917, new recording 1930)
- Mano a mano (1923, re-entry 1927)
- Si supieras (La cumparsita) (1924, re-entry 1927)
- Noche de reyes (1927)
- Tomo y obligo (1931)
- Melodía de arrabal (1933)
- Wed Buenos Aires querido (1934), a love song to his adopted home
- Amores de estudiante (1934)
- Golondrinas (1934)
- Volver (1935) - in a recording by Estrella Morente later the title song of the Almodóvar film Volver - Return (2006)
- Por una cabeza (1935)
- Volvió una noche (1935)
- El día que me quieras (1935)
- Lejana tierra mía (1935)
- Sus ojos se cerraron (1935)
- Guitarra mía (1935)
Filmography
Gardel acted in ten films (including one silent film ) that were shot in the United States, France and Argentina. The framework actions were mostly just a vehicle for his vocal performances. In the 1961 film Alias Gardelito ( aka "Little Gardel" ), the singer served as a model for the main character of the film.
Argentina
- Flor de durazno (1917) - directed by Francisco Filippis de Novoa.
- Encuadre de canciones-Diez cortometrajes (1930): First sound film in South America, realized with the Movietone system - director: Eduardo Morera
France
- Luces de Buenos Aires (1931) - Paramount - Director: Romero-Bayón Herrera
- Espérame (1932) - directed by Louis Gasnier
- La casa es seria (1931)
- Melodía de arrabal (1932)
United States
- Cuesta abajo (1934)
- El tango en Broadway (1934)
- The big broadcast of 1936
- El día que me quieras (1935)
- Tango Bar (1935)
literature
- Pedro Orgambide : A tango for Gardel. A novel biography. Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-8031-2640-5 .
- Rafael Flores: Carlos Cardel. Infinite tango. Butterfly / Abrazos, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-89657-612-7 .
- Julián Barsky, Osvaldo Barsky: Gardel. La biografía. Taurus, Buenos Aires 2004, ISBN 987-04-0013-2 .
- Nelson Bayardo: Tango. De la mala vida a Gardel. Fundación Bank Boston, Montevideo / Aguilar 2002, ISBN 9974-671-43-4 .
- Monique Ruffié de Sant-Bancat, Juan Carlos Esteban, Georges Galopa: Carlos Gardel - Sus antecedentes franceses . Corregidor, Buenos Aires 2006, ISBN 950-05-1634-9 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Carlos Gardel in the catalog of the German National Library
- Carlos Gardel in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- gardelbiografia (spanish)
- Carlos Gardel - The King of Tango (English / Spanish)
- Extensive discography
- Carlos Gardel. tango.info - recordings, record covers and more
- Entry in the Memory of the World register
Individual evidence
- ^ Simon Collier: The Life, Music, and Times of Carlos Gardel . University of Pittsburgh Press, 1986, pp. 73 ( google.de ).
- ↑ The junta doesn't want the Beatles . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna June 19, 1978, p. 8 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ UNESCO Memory of the World: Original records of Carlos Gardel - Horacio Loriente Collection (1913–1935)
- ↑ Por siempre… Gardel: Birth certificate of Charles Romuald Gardès and family tree (Spanish)
- ↑ This is described in detail in the book Carlos Gardel - sus antecedentes franceses (see under literature ).
- ↑ Documents about Carlos Gardel between 1882 and 1911 (Spanish)
- ^ Discography by Ana Turón and Héctor Ángel Benedetti. July 2005 ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 311 kB)
- ^ Julián y Osvaldo Barsky: Gardel - La Biografía . Taurus, Buenos Aires 2004
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gardel, Carlos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gardès, Charles Romuald (real name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Tango singer and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 11, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toulouse , France |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 24, 1935 |
| Place of death | Medellin , Colombia |