Latin

Singer María José Mentana performs "Desencuentro", a traditional tango.

Pepito Avellaneda (1930-1996) Dancer and teacher, particularly admired for his talent for milonga, creating a great number of new steps. He was raised among the club regulars in his neighborhood and although he was a pizza maker by inheritance, he began to perform tango professionally when he was very young. He started at age 15 with a show at Teatro Roma in the neighborhood of Avellaneda and he later landed contracts to work in the rest of the country. He also began to work as a curtain raiser in between cinema performances and it was then when a representative gave him the pseudonym Pepito Avellaneda (first he was Pepito “from” Avellaneda, making reference to his home neighborhood). In the mid-80s, he began traveling abroad to give courses on tango and milonga. He was accompanied by his second wife and dancing partner, Suzuki. Many of the most outstanding professional dancers in the mid-90’s were his students. He is commemorated in “Milonga para Pepe Avellaneda”, composed by Domingo Federico and Fabián Russo. We are paying tribute to the great milonga maestro through his colleagues’ comments and a display of his notable style.

This documentary covers one century in the evolution of tango, the whole spectrum of its major figures, the greatest pieces of this musical genre, and the stages that have witnessed its birth and growth. It also features musical clips.

Juan D’Arienzo (1900-1976). Violinist composer and director was at the helm of one of the most popular tango orchestras in the history of tango. His orchestra’s simple style of nervous rhythm was the key to the popular revival of tango dancing as of 1937. He was the most successful conductor of his time, nicknamed “the King of the Beat” without any apparent rivals. An old object of reservations and criticism by other musicians, identified with the Decarean school, today his orchestra, which performed until the mid 70’s, is renowned for its personality and its unquestionable ascendancy over milongueros. In 1928, he created his own ensemble, with which he made presentations at the Chantecler cabaret and started recording with Electra. In 1937, his orchestra raged. So he changed the violin for the baton, started recording for Victor and signed a contract with the brand new LR1 Radio El Mundo. His popularity remained huge until his death. In the definition of his orchestra’s style – very danceable, with an accelerated beat and the key participation of the piano – Rodolfo Biagi’s contribution was decisive. Juan Polito and Fulvio Salamanca were his followers. The orchestra had popular singers too, like Héctor Mauré, Alberto Echagüe, Armando labored, Mario Bustos and Jorge Valdez. Among the most successful works by D’Arienzo are "Cartón junao", "Chirusa", "Dos guitas", "El vino triste", "Nada más" y "Paciencia". He left close to a thousand recordings, including the successful versions of milonga "La puñalada" and tango "La cumparsita". This documentary walks through his invaluable contribution to the genre.

Chayanne is one of the most successful latin pop singers. He was born in Puerto Rico and spent his professional life in both Mexico and the United States. Seductive, professional and talented, his career forced him to display great motivation. This documentary covers his story as a singer, actor and person in a face to face interview in which he will reveal his thoughts and history.

Both the professional and personal history of Robbie Williams is very attractive, owing to the star’s charisma, success and eccentric personality, all of which he reveals in an entertaining and personal interview which we conducted with him in the city of Mexico. This documentary covers his story, from his early days with Take That and his house in Stoke on Trent, England, to the more difficult moments he faced in his fight to overcome drug addiction. Such moments, together with his successes and most intimate desires are explored in an exclusive interview.

Ricardo Montaner is one of the most recognised pop singers. He is romantic and charismatic, as well as being a professional musician and one of the most successful and romantic composers that the pop world has seen in recent years. He is a very important artist who has participated in, has been nominated for and/or has won several important music competitions: Billboard, Grammy and Viña del Mar festival. He was even awarded the Guiness prize. We interviewed him in Angertina and we travelled to the city of Miami to get to know his home and studio where he composes. There his wife met us and confessed their intimate secrets.

Two romantic acts feature in this 1TPop programme. First we travelled to England to interview “Il Divo”, a group which enjoyed world wide success with one of the most important songs in the history of pop opera. Created by Simon Cowell this group was successful firstly in Great Britain and then in the rest of Europe, before later conquering the Latin American market with impressive versions of songs such as “My Way”, by Frank Sinatra and “Unbreak My Heart” by Toni Braxton. These versions were recorded in spanish and english. The group consists of three tenors: David Miller from North America, Carlos Marín from Spain and Urs Buhlr from Switzerland. The final member of the group is Sebastien Izambard from France. Together they successfully combine pop and opera, to produce a mix that wins over the hearts of women worldwide. The second act is Axel, an Argentine singer-songwriter who, thanks to his music and lyrics, more melodic than rhythmic, was successful throughout the world.

Horacio Ferrer & Juanjo Domínguez: Balada para mi muerte (Piazzolla-Ferrer)

Raúl Garello at Velma Café. After a decade as Anibal Troilo’s orchestra arranger, he focused his know-how as conductor, arranger, and performer on obtaining a very elaborate sound without having to split from the proper style of the genre, which is why his works are at all times recognizable as the expression of pure tango, elevated without artificial additives. Raúl Miguel Garello (as his full name states), studied music at the same time that he worked as bandoneonist in regional groups in Chacabuco, his home town. In Buenos Aires, he joined the full time orchestra at LR3 Radio Belgrano, to then move over to the quartet conducted by Roberto Firpo (Jr.), replacing Leopoldo Federico. He was in groups to accompany singers; among others, Carlos Dante and Alberto Moran. He was also bandoneonist for Roberto Pansera and Horacio Salgán; later on he joined Anibal Troilo’s orchestra, where he would have a brilliant career staying on until 1975. In 1966 (while playing bandoneon for Troilo) he wrote arrangements for the Baffa-Berlingieri orchestra, for which he was invited by Pichuco to do the same. In 1967 the orchestra records for the RCA Victor label the tango Los Mareados, first arrangement made by Garello for Troilo; from then on, he would be responsible for all instrumentation of that orchestra. One must point out that, simultaneously, Garello was already conducting the Orchetra Tipica Porteña, accompanying at different times singers of very diverse styles like Eladia Blazquez, Dyango, Roberto Goyeneche, Rubén Juárez, Susana Rinaldi, Edmundo Rivero, Roberto Rufino and Floreal Ruiz. After arranging for other orchestras (Enrique Mario Francini, Leopoldo Federico), in 1974 he starred with his own sextet, with whom he begins to record albums; soon after he would enlarge his association, until having a total of 26 first rate musicians in 1977. He co-conducts, along with pianist Carlos Garcia, the Buenos Aires Tango Orchestra, founded in 1980 through an initiative by the Municipality. He participated in the film Tango for Two (Dir. Hector Olivera, 1988). He collaborated on various occasions with Horacio Ferrer, writing and sharing thr stage on an international tour. He played the Colon Theater for the first time in 1990. In 2003 he was declared Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires. As a composer, the following works belong to him: Aves del mismo plumaje, Bandola triste, Bien al mango, Buenos Aires conoce, Con las pocas palabras, Che Buenos Aires, Che Pichín, Chumbicha, Dice una guitarra, Hace doscientos tangos, Lunonga, Llevo tu misterio, Margarita de agosto, Más allá bandoneón, Muñeca de marzo, Pasajeros del tiempo, Pequeña Martina, Serenata a mi guitarra, Tiempo de tranvías, Trasnoche de ilusión, Tristería, Vaciar la copa, Verdenuevo, etc. Enjoy Garello’s 2007 show at the Velma Café in the City of Buenos Aires. Leading his sextet, this bandoneon player performs a selection of his own pieces: Che, Buenos Aires, Entre Gallos y Medianoche, Tocata para Sexteto, Buenos Aires Conoce, Arlequín Porteño and La Guita (Lyrics by Horacio Ferrer).

The Tango Fiancées trio is one of the many bands made up of young musicians that are part of the instrumental tango scene. Featuring an unusual combination of instruments, the band includes Karina Presenza (cello), Laura Cestona (piano) and Silvana Turco (tranverse flute), who perform a varied repertoire.

Placed within the musical genre known as electronic tango, the band San Telmo Lounge started off as an individual project by Martín Delgado, who composed the band’s first pieces in Argentina, after completing his musical training in New York City. In 2002, Delgado met electronic music producer Juan Manuel Aguirre, who produced and remixed two pieces, and joined the project. In 2003, bandoneon player Julia Peralta became part of the band, and the EP McDougall Tango was released. In 2004, Peralta left the band and his place was filled by Pablo Gaitán, who joined the band to record its first album. The band is currently made up of Martín Delgado, Pablo Gaitán, Lucas Polichiso –keyboards-, and Maximiliano Natalutti –violin. The band’s discography includes: McDougall Tango (2003), Madrugada en Backcelonia (2004) and Electrocardiotango (2007). There follows the clip Sin Condiciones.

Great artists in the recording studio: Carlos García, Héctor Stamponi, Carlos Buono, Walter Ríos & Ricardo Domínguez, Roberto “Fats” Fernández, Quinteto Francisco Canaro, Mauricio Marcelli & Osvaldo Requena, Juan Carlos Cirigliano, Presencia Tanguera.

Rubén Juárez, bandoneon player, singer and composer, has been the most important figure in this type of musical genre since the end of the ‘60s, when he made his debut in the mythical Caño 14, sponsored by legendary Aníbal Troilo. An exquisite performer of the traditional repertoire, he is also a forerunner of the new porteño song book, which he constantly enriches as a composer. He started taking bandoneon classes at the age of six, and in 1956 he made his debut as a bandoneon player in orchestra Orquesta Típica at club Club Atlético Independiente. As a singer he won a contest in a restaurant called La huella del Tango; which enabled him to perform as a soloist for two months. Later he joined guitar player Héctor Arbello, who had toured the Argentine provinces with singer Julio Sosa. At the end of the ‘60s he started performing in Caño 14 and recorded his first song, a tango called Para vos canilla; which immediately became a success. He recorded his first long play under musical director Carlos García, and later went on a Latin American tour. Throughout his long career as a soloist, he took part in variety shows together with singers Raúl Lavié and Chico Novarro, shared the stage with singer Polaco Goyeneche and performed with rock stars Charly García, Fito Páez and Juan Carlos Baglietto, Catalonian singer Joan Manuel Serrat, Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa and dancer Julio Boca. He toured Europe, Japan and Latin America.

Marcelo Rodríguez Scilla created the Camerata Porteña in 1986. Its musical repertoire is based on contemporary tango music, performing pieces composed by Piazzolla and its own members Rodriguez Scilla & Borgo. Its musicians are soloist’s professors playing at the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Argentina and the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires. Here the ensemble is performing Piazzolla’s pieces “Invierno Porteño”, “La muerte del ángel”, “Verano porteño” and “Escualo”.

Part of the tango scene since the 1970s, a precocious and media-exposed child, Guillermo Fernández grew up surrounded by and under the wing of tango old-timers. In 1969, he made his first appearance on the TV program Grandes Valores del Tango. As a young singer, he performed in the mythical Caño 14. In 1986, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a producer and distanced himself from tango in order to take up pop and Latino music. Towards the end of the 1990s, he returned to Argentina and to his musical roots. Accompanied by Jose Colangelo, he went on a tour in Japan. In 2002, he performed Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer’s opera María de Buenos Aires several times in France. He also took part in theatrical productions such as Bocca Tango (2001) and El Romance de Romeo y Julieta (2002). Enjoy Guillermo Fernández’s 2007 show at Velma Café.

Singer María Graña toured the world and sang on the best international stages, starring in Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli’s musical revue, Tango Argentino. She inherited her passion for music from her father. She entered competitions at the José Mármol club in Villa Urquiza and, when she was 12 years old, she took classes with Elvira Aquilano. She became known through a record production called Los de siempre, in which she sang Y Nunca más tu Amor, and after winning a television contest in 1970, with a version of La Canción de Buenos Aires. She was 19 years old when she met Osvaldo Pugliese, who gave her the chance to sing in his orchestra for two years. In 1975 she traveled to Medellín, Colombia, as part of a “tango embassy”, with Argentino Ledesma and Mario Bustos. For the following five years her performance on television was intense. As of 1983, with the Paris premiere of the show Tango Argentino, her international projection took off. On Broadway, the U.S. media called her “the Argentine Judy Garland”. In 1992, the show Graña con Ferrer featured herself and the poet who wrote Balada para un loco. In 1996 she was chosen by Raúl Garello to perform as a soloist with the Orchestre du Capitol de Toulouse, conducted by Michel Plasson. Enjoy her versions of La Noche que te Fuiste and Rebeldía, in 1990.

La Chicana band was founded in 1995 by Acho Estol, Dolores Solá and Juan Valverde. They played their music in England, Canada, Brazil, Dakar, Senegal, Singapore, France, Spain, and Germany, among other places. They took part in the full-length documentary Tango, un Giro Extraño (Mercedes García Guevara, 2003), and in the short movie El Elegante (produced by 20th Century Fox). The band performs its own repertoire, which is almost entirely composed by Estol.

Works like Uno, Cafetín de Buenos Aires, Adiós, pampa mía, Gricel –to name but a few of his best known titles – place him among the most talented melodists in the history of the tango. He worked with the greatest poets and produced remarkable instrumental successes like Tanguera and the milonga Taquito Militar (seldom sung). His first big success, Cuartito Azul, has been current for seven decades, and he still has a hectic schedule as a conductor of his own orchestra. His career as a pianist, begun early in his life in the thirties as an interpreter of several genres of popular and academic music, was joined to that of sisters Myrna and Margot at the young Trio Mores. Cuartito Azul (lyrics by Mario Battistella) revealed his ability as a composer in 1938. During the next decade, conductor Francisco Canaro included him in his theater seasons. He wrote with the greatest lyric writers of the genre: Enrique Santos Discépolo (Uno, Cafetín de Buenos Aires, Sin palabras), José María Contursi (Gricel, Cristal, En esta tarde gris), Homero Manzi (Una lágrima tuya), among others. When he became independent as a conductor, he explored the possibilities of an international sound for successive orchestras, where arranger Martín Darré played a key role. Leading his shows, which invariably combine singers and dancers, he performed in Europe, the States and Japan, as well as regularly in Buenos Aires. Enjoy his version of Uno, sung by Alberto Bianco.

Jorge Retamoza & Tango XXX. During a show at porteño Tuñón café, saxophonist Jorge Retamoza presents his own compositions and versions of tango classics.