Some Tango? Carlos Gardel: Bio, Pics, Videos.

Well, moving a little bit of what have been my posts (Indie, Blues, folk, pop, metal...) Now i'm sharing some Tango. Who will be better to represent tango than Carlos Gardel? NOBODY! So, i hope you enjoy the music of this "signore". Enjoy tango! Boiling Passion!

C a r l o s G a r d e l

Carlos Gardel (11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was born in Toulouse, France, although he never acknowledged his birthplace publicly, and there are still claims of his birth in Uruguay. He lived in Argentina from the age of two and acquired Argentine citizenship in 1923. He grew up in the Abasto neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He attended Pio IX Industrial high-school located in the Almagro neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He died in an airplane crash at the height of his career, becoming an archetypal tragic hero mourned throughout Latin America. For many, Gardel embodies the soul of the tango style. He is commonly referred to as "Carlitos", "El Zorzal" (The Song Thrush), "The King of Tango", "El Mago" (The Magician) and "El Mudo" (The Mute).

Carlos Gardel was born at just the right time. The recording and motion picture industries were just starting to make their impact on the world. Gardel had movie star good looks and a sonorous baritone voice. His death occured at the peak of his career and popularity, at the age of 44 in a tragic accident. The world in general mourned; in Argentina and Uruguay he attained a cult status that exists to this day.

Gardel was probably born in France, as there is a French birth certificate in his name and the French birth has the most evidence supporting the claim. When he died, he had a Uruguayan passport that stated his birthplace as Tacuarembo, Uruguay; his Uruguayan papers may have been falsified in order to avoid the French military draft. And finally, Argentina. It was in Argentina that he was raised and rose to stardom; it is with Argentina and its long tradition of tango music and dance that his name is most often associated.

When asked, Gardel would only say that he was born at age 2½ in Buenos Aires.

Gardel’s mother, Berthe, was unmarried and his father did not recognize him. Berthe and Carlos immigrated to Buenos Aires in 1893. They lived in a poor part of town and Gardel spent his time in the streets; he dropped out of school in 1906 at the age of 15 and started singing in bars, festivals and private parties. ‘Carlos’ is the Spanish version of ‘Charles’ and around this time he changed his name from Gardes to Gardel.

The unerring musicality of Gardel's baritone voice and the dramatic phrasing of his lyrics made miniature masterpieces of his hundreds of three-minute tango recordings. Together with lyricist and long-time collaborator Alfredo Le Pera, Gardel wrote several classic tangos, most notably: Mi Buenos Aires querido, Cuesta abajo, Amores de estudiante, Soledad, Volver, Por una cabeza and El día que me quieras.

Pictures (Really Classy)