The Singer

Carlos Gardel was born on December 11, 1887 and was perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of the tango. Although his birthplace is in doubt, Argentina was his home from childhood, and he acquired Argentine citizenship in 1923. He died in an airplane crash at the height of his career, creating the image of a tragic hero throughout Latin America. For many, Gardel embodies the soul of the tango style that sprang from the barrios of Buenos Aires and Montevideo at the end of the 19th century. He is commonly referred to as Carlitos.

The unerring musicality and dramatic phrasing of Gardel's baritone voice 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, notably: Mi Buenos Aires querido, Cuesta abajo, Amores de estudiante, Soledad, Volver, Por una cabeza and El día que me quieras.

Correos de Argentina issued this stamp on June 15, 1985 to commemorate Gardel's birth anniversary. It is a painting by Carlos Alonso of Buenos Aires (b. 1929 .)

Gardel began his singing career in bars and at private parties, and sang a wide repertory with Francisco Martino and later in trio with Martino and José Razzano. Gardel created the tango-canción in 1917 with his rendition of Pascual Contursi and Samuel Castriota's Mi Noche Triste. The recording sold 100,000 copies and was a hit throughout Latin America. Gardel went on to tour through Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Puerto Rico,Venezuela, Colombia, and also appeared in the Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and New York. He sold 70,000 records in the first three months of a 1928 visit to Paris. As his popularity grew, he made a number of films for Paramount in France and the U.S. While sentimental films such as El día que me quieras and Cuesta abajo lack lasting dramatic value, they were outstanding showcases for his tremendous singing talents and matinée-idol looks.

In 1915 Carlos Gardel was supposedly wounded after being shot by Che Guevara's father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch, as a result of a bar room brawl in the belle epoque Palais de Glace in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires. Different accounts assert that he was shot in the chest or in the leg, and yet another variation holds that it was not Che's father but rather Roberto Guevara, a high-class boy often involved in quarrels.

The interior of "El Chanta Cuatro" restaurant that Carlitos and his friends frequented regularly. It was located at the intersection of Corrientes Avenue and Anchorena Street but has regretfully long disappeared.

Gardel died on June 24, 1935 in an airplane crash in Medellín, Colombia. Le Pera, Guillermo Desiderio Barbieri and Ángel Domingo Riverol (two of their guitarists) and several business associates and friends died in the crash as well. Some hold that a third guitarist, José María Aguilar, died a few days after the crash, while other believe that he lived until 1951, although he never regained full use of his hands and sight.

Millions of his fans throughout Latin America went into mourning. Hordes thronged to pay their respects as his body was taken from Colombia through New York and Rio de Janeiro. Thousands rendered homage during the two days he lay in state in Montevideo, the city in which his mother lived at the time. Gardel's body was laid to rest in La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires. In the neighborhood of Abasto, Buenos Aires, (Gardel was known as El Morocho del Abasto) in the house where Gardel lived with his mother, the Carlos Gardel Museum opened in 2003. It is strange to realize that there are still friends and acquaintances who will invariably point out the house where Carlitos lived with his mother and the theatres where he performed.

Gardel is still revered from Tokyo to Buenos Aires. A popular saying in Latin America, which serves as a testimony to his long-lived popularity, claims that "Gardel sings better every day". Another commonly used phrase in Latin America is "Veinte años no es nada" (Twenty years is nothing) - a direct quotation from his Volver.

This picture was reputedly taken just before the tragic flight out of Medellín. There are many however who hold that it was taken in Europe a couple of years earlier.

The place of Gardel's birth is a matter of considerable controversy that still provokes passionate debate in Uruguay, Argentina and France. Some theorize that Gardel was born in a small town called Valle Edén in the Uruguayan department of Tacuarembó. This theory is supported by his application for Argentinian citizenship, in which he claims to be Uruguayan, and the half-burnt passport recovered from his body, which gives Tacuarembó as place of birth. There is speculation, however, that Gardel stated Tacuarembó as his birthplace to evade military service during World War I for his native France. Written evidence, however, tends to point out that Gardel was born Charles Romuald Gardès in Toulouse, France by an illegitimate father to Berthe Gardès (1865-1943), who brought him, first to Venezuela (from where she apparently returned to France after finding little demand for the hats she handcrafted), and later to Argentina, when Gardel was 27 months-old. An original French birth certificate is owned by the estate of Gilbert Mamery, Puerto Rican radio personality and Gardel scholar. In addition, Gardel’s apparent holographic will asserts that he was born in Toulouse, France.

When asked about his nationality, Gardel would answer "I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the age of 2 years and a half".