Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) was the singer who created the “tango-song”. His performance of Mi noche triste, in 1917, laid the ground for the subsequent development of the genre, of which he is the emblematic figure. His own tangos Volver and Mi Buenos Aires Querido, and his song El día que me quieras are emblematic titles of his repertoire and pillars of the genre. As a star in the booming film industry of the 1930’s, he made films in France and the United States. He performed in Europe and the United States, where his continental stardom gave rise to the tour in which a fateful accident ended his life, right at the peak of his fame. The circumstances of his birth and his childhood have caused long debates among his biographers. His professional background dates back to the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, in the Abasto neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Initially devoted to folk songs, Gardel performed as solo singer and then in duets and quartets with other singers and guitar players. In 1913, he formed a solid duet with José Razzano. In 1917, his career changed tracks when he performed tango for the first time in public, Mi noche triste: from then on, his repertoire revolved mostly around that genre (even though he did not entirely set aside other rhythms) and even when his strong personality overshadowed Razzano, they continued working together until 1925. Gardel then split and struck out on his own as a solo singer, with a remarkable career in Argentina, his adoptive country, Europe – France and Spain – and the United States. The movies provided him with incredible international renown. His films include a silent feature (Flor de durazno, 1917) and other musical shorts made in Argentina by Eduardo Morera, ahead of the concept of video-clip by several decades (1930). Between 1931 and 1932 he made four movies in France (Luces de Buenos Aires, Espérame, La casa es seria and Melodía de arrabal) and just as many others in the United States, between 1934 and 1935 (El Tango en Brodway, Cuesta abajo, El día que me quieras and Tango Bar), in addition to a special performance in the American movie Cazadores de estrellas (1934). As a songwriter, he had a prolific production in which the most remarkable works are: "Mano a mano", "El día que me quieras", "Soledad", "Melodía de arrabal", "Arrabal amargo", "Volver", "Silencio", "Cuando tu no estás", "Mi Buenos Aires querido", "Cuesta abajo", "Amores de estudiante", among other titles. His songs for movies generally had lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera, with whom he formed a productive partnership. Great poets such as Enrique Santos Discépolo, Enrique Cadícamo and Celedonio Flores owe him the popularity of their poems. He usually sang accompanied by guitars: José María Aguilar, Guillermo Barbieri, José Ricardo and Angel Domingo Riverol were some of his musicians. On different occasions, he recorded with tango orchestras such as that of Roberto Firpo, Francisco Canaro and Osvaldo Fresedo. In his American movies, he sang with an orchestra conducted by Terig Tucci. On June 24, 1935, he was on a continental tour when he had a fatal accident at the airport of Medelín, Colombia. From the day of his death, his myth has been worshipped. His remains, repatriated, were accompanied by an anguished crowd to the Chacarita cemetery, and his films and records currently have a cult following that has withstood the passage of time. For all the subsequent generations of tango singers, Gardel has been an inevitable model and parameter. He has had his fair share of imitators proclaiming to be his heirs, but even though no tango singer has reached an artistic or celebrity dimension even close to that of Gardel, to a larger or lesser degree, every one of them may be considered to be the heir to his fundamental contribution to this genre. Enjoy a selection of clips from his movies: tracks "Soledad", "Rubias de New York", "Cuesta Abajo", "El Carretero", "Canchero", "Yira Yira", "Mano a Mano", "Viejo Smoking", "El Día que me Quieras", "Guitarra guitarra mía", "Por una Cabeza", "Lejana Tierra Mía", "Melodía de Arrabal" and "Silencio".
