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1943, February 11 – Beron Records “ME LLAMAN EL ZORRO”

Performing with the Lucio Demare Orchestra, this was another great hit for singer Raul Beron who in the eyes of some cognoscenti, was the greatest orchestra singer of all time…the lyrics are the boasting of a young man, born in La Boca, who is a dashing and debonair rogue who thrives on adversity and loves his life of adventure...”I am a tanguero from the old school and I carry tango in my soul…they call me Zorro”, he says…lyricist Roberto Lambertucci was inspired by the legend of Zorro which was created by New York pulp writer Johnston McCulley in 1919 and which has inspired books, films and other media…it in turn may have been inspired by the real life character Joaquim Carillo Murrieta who was a legendary figure in California during the gold rush who became a robin hood type hero to Mexicans battling racism and discrimination…a reward was offered by the California legislature to capture and kill Murrieta…when he was finally apprehended and executed without due process, his head was severed and placed in a jar of  alcohol as proof of his death to collect the reward

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The severed head in a jar toured California and could be seen for the price of one dollar…among Zorro’s many manifestations is the 1925 film “Don Q Son of Zorro” starring Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Astor in which Zorro dances a Valentino style tango..in the 1998 film “The Mark of Zorro” starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, there is a scene in which Catherine Zeta-Jones dances a passionate dance which is a hodge podge of tango and passo doble…Raul Beron, born March 30, 1920 (Aries) in the town of Zarate, Argentina, began performing in duet with his brother Jose in the local cafes and bars for spare change…it was during one of his non remunerated performances on radio, that orchestra leader Miguel Calò heard him and invited him for an audition; he hire him immediately…his first recording with Calo on April 29, 1942, “Al Compas Del Corazon”, became an instant  great hit and launched Raul on the road to legendary status.

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  • CLICK HERE– http://www.youtube.com/
  • watch?v=rckflM7IV6k to hear Raul Beron sing his hit “Me Llaman El Zorro” with the Lucio Demare orchestra…music is by Mario Perini and lyrics by Roberto Lambertucci
2012
02/11
CATEGORY
Aries
Films
Male
Orchestras
Recordings
Singers
Tango In Film
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1905, February 10 – BIRTH OF CARMENCITA CALDERON

Dancer (Aquarius) – in 2005, at the age 100, she did her last public performance at the famous milonga La Baldosa with dance partner Jorge Dispari…her fans, many in tears, were ecstatic; just two months later she would pass away feeling fulfilled and content in her life…poet Jose Gabello was to say of her, “you are a girl without age…you are eternal like the tango that drives you”...Carmencita Calderon was born into a poor italian immigrant family in the neighborhood of Villa Urquiza in Buenos Aires…her mother would sing tango and dance by herself as she was doing the laundry and she began passing on this passion to her daughter when Carmencita when was thirteen years old …a tragedy soon befell the family when her mother died leaving behind young children; it fell upon Carmencita to fill the role of the caring and the upbringing of her younger siblings and although she loved to dance, girls in her station did not dare to dream…one day her two younger sisters expressed the wish to attend a neighborhood dance at the  club “Sin Rumbo” and so she went along as a chaperone…

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Renown dancer “Tarila”, happened to be present and someone suggested that Carmencita dance with him; she was terrified but finally accepted his invitation…the following day Tarila took her to meet the legendary El Cachafaz at the Bar Corrientes where he assiduously met a close group of friends including Carlos Gardel…El Cachafaz was so impressed with Carmencita’s dancing that from that day on, he made her his exclusive dance partner; they made their debut with the Pedro Maffia orchestra at the Teatro San Fernando to enthusiastic applause …their ten years long collaboration would take them many places…but in 1942 disaster struck;  at a performance at Mar De Plata, at the club “El Rancho Grande”, after having danced to the milonga “Don Juan“, El Cachafaz died suddenly of a massive heart attack…she would never forget the shock of suddenly seeing her dance partner’s body lying lifeless on the floor…with tremendous personal resolve, she continued….she would in time perform with the best dancers of the time El Tarila, El Cachafaz and El Negro Alfredo and Juan Carlos Copes…reflecting on her success she was to comment “I adorned the tango when I danced it; this was my secret”

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2012
02/10
CATEGORY
Aquarius
Dancers
Female Dancers
Male
Orchestras
Singers
Villa Urquiza
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1927, February 9 – J.YANKELEVICH BUYS RADIO BELGRANO

Legendary singer Rosita Quiroga was to say, “In the beginning we were paid with cups of coffee”…in fact in radio’s nascent days, musicians performed for free; they were paid by copious amounts of food and wine which, for struggling, starving musicians, was very appreciated …it is believed that Rosita Quiroga was probably the first soloist on radio but she became equally famous with her fellow musicians for the ravioli she cooked in Radio Belgrano’s kitchens…Radio Belgrano was a failing enterprise when Jaime Yankelevich bought it from its frustrated owner Manuel Penella …but Jaime was an astute business man and he quickly imposed a new business model; he went to an all live, all night broadcasting  format where musicians were paid a salary and in return they gave an exclusive to Radio Belgrano...the station flourished and quickly became the station with the highest ratings in Argentina…it was considered a symbol of “having arrived” to be a Radio Belgrano musician; renown bandoneonist Luciano Leocata, for example, launched his career when debuted on Radio Belgrano in March of 1959… in later innovations, Jaime created the Argentine Broadcasting Chain which made viable, small low watage stations throughout Argentina which otherwise would have closed down…

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Indeed through Radio Belgrano passed the greatest tango musicians in history….there is no renown musician whose career was not touched or launched by Radio Belgrano; through its popular “new talent contests” many stars were discovered….Jaime Yankelevich was born in Bulgaria in 1896 to a struggling jewish family; when he was 3 years old his parents emigrated to Buenos Aires…as a teenager, Jaime found work in a  theater as an electrician’s apprentice; he eventually opened his own electrical supply shop…at a time when radio was beginning to boom, the shop specialized in radio valves and other equipment; Jaime even learned to manufacture his own parts….in the 40s, he opposed the election of Juan Peron which created problems for him when Peron came into power…when Peron moved to nationalized all media, Jaime finally sold his chain for 1.5 millom dollars in 1947 but astutely continued to manage the station and keep most of the earnings but relinquishing to the government the right of programming…in 1952 Radio Belgrano launched the first television station which became the mythical Channel 7

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2012
02/09
CATEGORY
Orchestras
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1950, February 8 – BIRTH OF MIMI CHO

Singer (Aquarius) – the final diagnosis was in, he had accepted his fate; he was at peace even as his days were diminishing…he asked his beloved wife to record a CD of her inspirational music for him, “in this way I can hear your voice in heaven”, he said to her…these were immensely trying times for Mimi Cho; she would be left with the care and upbringing of her three daughters and one son; her deep faith would help carry her through…the same faith that helped the whole family move from South Korea to Argentina in 1988…it was her deep faith which she expressed singing in the choir of the Evangelist church…it had been her husband, in his supportive and loving way, to encouraged Mimi to enroll in the Franz Liszt Musical Studies Center to study opera with Aldo Moroni…one day while walking in her neighborhood of Villa Crespo (birth place of the legendary Osvaldo Pugliese), she heard Carlos Gardel singing “Mi Buenso Aires Querido” and it made her heart bleed, something had changed; tango was to be her destiny…

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With typical determination and discipline, she immersed herself into a serious study of its history, the dance, the orchestras, the music…she began taking lessons with the legendary Maestro Jose Colangelo who time later would say about Mimi “she was born to sing tango, she has the voice of an angel”…she then rounded off her preparation with Maria Eugenia Darrè, with whom she studied for 5 years…after years of study and dedication, the fateful day in 2005  had finally arrived; she did her first tango concert at the mythical Cafe Tortoni where she shared the stage with legendary poet Horacio Ferrer; the reception from its demanding audience was enthusiastic..“Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that one day I would be singing tango at Cafe Tortoni“ she commented afterwards…the next year she was invited to sing at the Bar Illustre de Buenos Aires; other venues were to follow…she is inspired by Susana Rinaldi, Luis Salinas and especially maestro Mariano Mores…with customary humility and gentleness in her voice she says “my ultimate dream is to sing at Carnegie Hall in New  York”

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2012
02/08
CATEGORY
Composers
Female
Orchestras
Recordings
Singers
Villa Crespo
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1903 February 7 – BIRTH OF FELICIANO BRUNELLI

Leader, Composer, Pianist, Accordianist (Aquarius) – he was not one to get easily discouraged…his father had taught him to be persistent and there was certainly one area in which he had no lack of self-confident; his musical ability…and so having been refused an audition for having shown up without of an appointment, he stopped in, at the hall of RCA Victor Studios, took out his accordion and began playing his waltz “Illusion de Mi Vida”…everyone looked up immediately and soon he had an enthusiastic crowd surrounding him…hearing the commotion, a producer came out and was amazed at the scene before him…he was given a contract and the very next day, September 9, 1933, Feliciano Brunelli  recorded his waltz “Illusion de Mi Vida” which became a hit….his “Amor Gitano” would become the theme song for the celebrated Glostora Tango Club…Felicano Brunelli was certainly one of the most successful tango musicians in history; he recorded 763 numbers with RCA Victor and would remain popular for over 40  years…he was one of a select few musicians whose picture hung proudly on the “wall of honor” in the main offices in New York City

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He was born in Marseilles, France but his parent were italian immigrants…his father was an accordion tuner and maker of stringed musical instruments…this was however, a time when the racism against Italians was very strong in Mareseille  and when Feliciano was five years old, his father transferred the family to the city of  Rafaela, Argentina in search of a better life for his family…from his father he learned to play the accordion, in Rafaela he took piano lessons and it soon became evident that young Feli had special talent…he began to play with groups in the cafes and clubs in his town while he was still a young teenager and he soon developed a dedicated following…one of his fans recommended him to a producer at the Odeon Record label who promptly summoned the boy for an audition and hired him…Renown violinist Elvino Vardaro was passing through Rafaela and hear about Feliciano and he took him to Buenos Aires, providing lodging in his house and introducing him to the world…in time he would become famous and popular

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2012
02/07
CATEGORY
Bass
Clarinetist
Composers
Orchestras
Special Events
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2008, February 6 – “Tango Best Therapy For Parkinson’s Patients”

“Tango lessons were better than traditional movement therapies for Parkinson’s patients”…David Iverson in Frontline, reported on the conclusion of  a study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis by two researchers, Madeleine E. Hackney and Gammon E. Earhart…they took two groups of Parkinson’s patients; one was enrolled in 20, one hour sessions of tango argentino instruction and the other took the traditional strength and flexibility exercises designed for Parkinson’s patients…each patient was assessed prior to and after the regimen; all were similar in age and stage of Parkinson’s desease…while the participants in both groups showed significant improvement in movement, the tango argentino participants showed much better improvement on the Berg Balance Scale, which measures balance in a variety of positions..in addition, the participants in the tango group showed a trend toward improvement in the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, which measures ability to rise from a chair, walk a short distance, turn and return to the chair…

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Researchers concluded that while any dance is beneficial to Parkinson’s patients, there is something especially beneficial  in the specific movements in learning tango argentino …the results appeared in the December issue of 2007 in the “Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy”…Parkinson’s is a disease that affects nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls movement…the nerve cells that make dopamine die or don’t function properly resulting in trembling hands, arms, legs, jaws slowness of movement, poor balance and coordination…an Egyptian papyrus in 12 century BC mentions a disease which was probably Parkinson’s; the bible has several mentions of tremors which are also probably refering to Parkinsons…the most famous people with Parkinson’s disease are actor Michael J. Fox who developed symptoms at the age of 30 and who spoke about his ordeal with the disease in his best-selling book “Lucky Man”… the other famous case is that of legendary boxer Mohammed Ali

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  • CLICK HERE – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc2ZCbVfsvY to see a video with Michael J Fox talking about his battle with Parkinson’s desease…the video includes an appearance by “the greatest of all time”  Mohammed Ali
2012
02/06
CATEGORY
Special Events
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1929, February 5 – GARDEL SINGS AT PARIS OPERA HOUSE

“Who would have thought back then, sixteen years ago that one day I would be singing here” wrote Carlos Gardel to his friend and manager Jose Razzano referring to their boyhood when the thought of performing at the mythical Paris Opera House was only a wildly unattainable dream for boys from poor immigrant families…indeed to have been invited to sing at the Paris Opera House for the “Bal de Petit Lits Blanc”, the most important social event of the year, was to have conquered Paris and therefore the world…he became the darling of a decadent aristocracy and it is they  who would catapult him to international fame; it is they who would export tango into a world sensation…on this particular night the well liked President of the Republic Gaston Doumergue was especially thrilled and he sent down a note to Gardel, would he please re-sing “El Cerretero”; with deep respect Gardel bowed to the president and did, to the enthusiastic applause of his excellency…

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Ten days later he opened at the Casino in Cannes for the unbelievable sum of 4000 francs a night; a famous magazine “La Rampe” in the luxurious end of the year edition, ran a full color photo of him….telegrams were personally delivered to him, a service reserved for only the most important people…he relished his success in paris, “I am living better than a millionaire in paris, in the best district in a comfortable house” he would write in letters to friends; much of his fortune would be squandered in his horse gambling habit…..150 years earlier, other Gardels were conquering an earlier version of the Paris Opera, Maximilien and Pierre Gardel ballet dancers and choreographers…Maximilien became the dance instructor of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI…he died young from an infection resulting from a small toe injury sustained while dancing…his brother Pierre became a renown choreographer and ballet master for 35 years surviving a number of political upheavals including the French Revolution…on the day that Louis XVI was beheaded, the Paris Opera was performing Pierre’s “The Trial of Paris”…Gardel would meet his own premateur demise just six years later in a fiery airplane crash .

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2012
02/05
CATEGORY
African Descent
Debuts
Female Dancers
Poet
Singers
Special Events
Uruguay
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1913, February 4 – BIRTH OF SABINA OLMOS

Singer (Aquarius) – another day was dawning, another sleepless night…she looked round the sparse, unkempt  room…on the night stand was the picture of her beloved Charlo…her thin, wrinkled hand was trembling as she slipped her wedding ring into her finger; the same  ring that her dear friend Eva Peron had given her so long ago…she opened the balcony door, walked to the edge, carefully climbed over the railing and jumped to her death…..many years had passed for Sabina Olmos since that young, happy girl full of dreams was working in the department store Casa San Juan and where in between attending customers she loved to sing…a customer had spoken about her to renown singer Amanda Ledesma who recommended her to radio station Radio Buenos Aires…the response from the public was enthusiastic; it was the beginning of a dazzling career…

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She was born in the Jewish neighborhood of Once (Balvanera), in Buenos Aires the birth place of  the great Juan D’arienzo…begining with a small part in“Canillita” at the age of 23, she would do 30 films in her career …perhaps her best film would be “Asi Es La Vida” which made her famous in all of Latin America and for which she won “Best Supporting Dramatic Actress” from the city of Buenos Aires…In the film “Carnaval de Antano” she sang with the legendary Charlo who would become the love of her life; they married in 1952…she never stopped loving him even after they divorced 17 years later and even after she accused him of having ruined her; she never had any children…she was a friend of Eva Peron and after the overthrow of Juan Peron she was blackballed….she and Charlo earned rave reviews singing in long tours abroad…she lived two years in Spain taking time to tour the US and Latin America always in grandest of opulence…but for the last 20 years of her life she endured one vicissitude after another; she was practically alone and forgotten living on the edge of poverty from a small pension…that fateful morning, the note she left on the table read, “please forgive me for my decision and please pardon me for the occasional bother  that I have been”.

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CLICK HERE – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dqQRl7dYeM to see Sabina Olmos sing “Muchachita Del Campo” composed by Francisco Lomuto with  lyrics by film director Manuel Romero

2012
02/04
CATEGORY
Aquarius
Argentinean
Balvanera
Female
Films
Jewish
Once
Recordings
Singers
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1955, February 3 – PREMIERE “MERCADO DE ABASTO”

In the film, Pauline rushes home to tell her beloved that she is pregnant; he is gone and has taken her money to feed his gambling vice…meanwhile in the market of Abasto where she works, a fruit vender who has been secretly in love with her for many years, helps her…later, believing himself to be on his death-bed, he offers to marry Pauline so that she and her child can inherit his modest wealth…still later the unscrupulous gambler returns hoping to reunite with Pauline; she decides to stay with the fruit vender…Tita Merello is Pauline…in reali life she was always Pauline and in fact she says, “My best character is the interpretation of my own self”…she had a tough childhood, abandoned early on to a series of orphanages…“my childhood was short, sad and ugly” ; she once admitted, without shame, to having had to resort to prostitution  to survive…Tita Merello was to be a woman of many men, but her true love was only one, actor Luis Sandrini whom she met on the set of her first film in 1933, “Tango”…after ten years of marrigae, he would leave her  for a younger actress..

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In the film Tita sings her hit milonga “Se Dice De Mi” which is one of the most viewed and instantly recognized scenes in all tango film history; it would be inserted in 1998 into Carlos Saura’s academy award nominated “Tango”...premiering at the Gran Rex Theater in Buenos Aires, Mercado De Abasto was directed by Lucas Demare, brother of legendary composer Lucio Demare..born July 14, 1910 (Cancer), Lucas was one of the pioneers of Argentine film history; he directed and wrote more than 40 films in his career…he was the son of an Italian immigrant father who was himself a violinist…the market of Abasto in Buenos Aires is one of the pivotal areas in tango history…at the turn of the century it was a beehive of human activity; of the kind where tango was born…brimming with cheap cafes and bars, pizza joints, itinerant musicians, prostitutes and frequent  knifefights, everything imaginable was bought and sold …Carlos Gardel grew up in the area, as did the director himself Lucas Demare as well as legendary musician and composer Horacio Salgan…the film “El Cantor del Pueblo” was also shot in the  market of Abasto…

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  • CLICK HERE –http://www.youtube.com/
  • watch?v=-sEUiCMLc0o to see a clip from the film “Mercado de Abasto” in which Tita Merello sing her great hit  “Se Dice De Mi“ composed by Francisco Lomuto and lyrics by Antonio Botta; the rendition is by the Francisco Canaro Orchestra
2012
02/03
CATEGORY
Argentinean
Female
Films
Recordings
Singers
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1898, February 1 – BIRTH OF JUAN BAUTISTA GUIDO

Leader, Composer, Bandoneonist (Aquarius) – he hated the interminable screeching of wood cutting and the smell of the wood dust which seemed to penetrate everything but his father had found him this job to help their destitute family survive…when he wasn’t a carpenter’s assistant he would help the neighborhood milkman deliver the clanging jars of milk; he became known as “lecherito”, the little milkman; it would stay with him for the rest of his life…he was born in the neighborhood of Parque Patricios in Buenos Aires to a struggling immigrant family….as a little boy he had once picked up an old bandoneon that an uncle had left behind and had played some notes; he was mesmerized by the sound…to the great ire of his father, he quit the carpenter’s shop and started  to devote himself to music…he started to take lessons from Arturo Severino, a renown teacher and composer; by the age of 13 he was so advanced that the maestro invited him to join his personal group…

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In 1913 at the age of 15 he put together his first group, a trio with a violin and guitar which debuted at the Cafe 43 “La Fonda” in Parque Patricios…on its small stage appeared many fledging composers and musicians some of which would reach stardom like Jose Real and Guillermo Barbieri authors of the great hit “Rosa de Otono” (Barbieri would die with Gardel in Medellin in the fiery airplane crash)…word of this “child prodigy” reached the legendary  Samuel Castriota, composer of “Mi Noche Triste” who promptly asked him to join his orchestra at the legendary Cafe Olimpico; he then moved to the famous Casa De Laura with another maestro, Vicente Greco…at the age of 18 he put together a quintet which played at the Cafe La Morocha earning rave reviews…by the age of 28 he had reached  the highest level of his profession and was making more money than he had ever dreamed of …he contracted a Rheumatoid like disease which gradually diminished his ability to work but he nevertheless accepted an offer to tour with the radio program “De Villoldo a Gardel”…in one of  the stops he collapsed right after the performance; the strain on his heart had been too much…among his greatest compositions are “Coquetita”, “Muneca de Carne” (Baby Doll) and “Tarde Gris”..

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2012
02/01
CATEGORY
Aquarius
Bandoneon
Composers
Orchestras
Parque Patricios
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