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Carlos Gardel

Carlos Gardel, born Charles Romuald Gardès on 11 December 1890 in Toulouse, France, was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer, and actor who transformed tango from primarily instrumental dance music into a vocal song form known as tango-canción. [1][2] He died on 24 June 1935 in a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia, at the height of his international career, becoming an enduring icon of Argentine popular culture. [3][4]

Carlos Gardel stands as the central figure in the history of tango as a popular song. Born Charles Romuald Gardès at the Hôpital de La Grave in Toulouse, France, on 11 December 1890, to the unmarried laundress Berthe Gardès, he arrived in Buenos Aires with his mother in March 1893 at about two years of age. [1][2] He grew up in the Abasto neighborhood near the market, earning the nickname “El Morocho del Abasto,” and began singing as a boy in local cafés and political gatherings. [1]

By 1911 he had formed a duo with the Uruguayan singer José Razzano. Early recordings for Columbia featured folk songs rather than tangos. On 8 January 1914 the duo debuted at the Teatro Nacional in Buenos Aires. In late 1915 Gardel was shot in the lung during a quarrel; the bullet remained in his body for the rest of his life. [1][5]

The decisive moment arrived in 1917 when Gardel premiered “Mi noche triste” (music by Samuel Castriota, lyrics by Pascual Contursi) at the Teatro Empire. This recording is widely regarded as the birth of the tango-canción, shifting the genre from pure dance music toward narrative song. [1][2][6] Between 1917 and 1923 his recorded output of tangos rose sharply. In 1925 the duo dissolved and Gardel continued as a soloist, making his first electric recordings that year in Barcelona and Buenos Aires. [1]

From the late 1920s he toured extensively in Europe and Latin America. In Paris in 1928 he sold tens of thousands of records and appeared at major theaters. He began collaborating with lyricist Alfredo Le Pera, producing classics such as “Mi Buenos Aires querido,” “Por una cabeza,” “Volver,” and “El día que me quieras.” Paramount filmed several of his vehicles in France and the United States, including Luces de Buenos Aires (1931), Cuesta abajo (1934), and El día que me quieras (1935). [3][4]

On 24 June 1935, while on a South American tour, the plane carrying Gardel, Le Pera, and several guitarists crashed on takeoff at Medellín airport. The news produced public mourning across Latin America. His body was returned to Buenos Aires and interred at La Chacarita Cemetery, which remains a site of pilgrimage. [2][3][4]

Gardel’s recorded voice, preserved on hundreds of sides and in sound films, continues to define the classic tango song. Scholars and official Argentine sources accept the Toulouse birth records as definitive, although Gardel himself once declared a Uruguayan birthplace for administrative reasons. [1][2][7]

Early life and the Gardel-Razzano duo

Raised in the Abasto district after arriving from France in 1893, Gardel left school early and sang in neighborhood cafés. Encouraged by the payador José Betinotti, who called him “El Zorzal Criollo,” he formed the long-running duo with José Razzano in 1911. Their early repertoire was criollo folk rather than tango. The pair toured Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil and recorded for Columbia before Gardel’s 1915 shooting incident. Recovery was rapid; by 1916 they were performing again. [1][5]

Creation of the tango-canción

The 1917 premiere and recording of “Mi noche triste” marked the moment when lyrics of romantic abandonment entered the tango repertoire in a sustained way. Gardel’s baritone delivery and phrasing gave the new form immediate popularity. Subsequent recordings with guitarists José Ricardo and Guillermo Barbieri established the solo-singer-plus-guitars model that dominated the 1920s. [1][6]

International career and films

After the duo ended in 1925, Gardel toured Spain and France repeatedly. Electric recordings began in 1925. From 1928 onward he worked with Alfredo Le Pera on original songs that became standards. Paramount’s Spanish-language films of the early 1930s extended his audience throughout the Americas and Europe. His last Buenos Aires recording session occurred on 6 November 1933. [1][3][4]

Death and legacy

The Medellín crash of 24 June 1935 ended a career at its commercial peak. Funeral processions in Buenos Aires drew enormous crowds. Subsequent generations of singers have measured themselves against his recorded interpretations, and his image remains central to Argentine national identity. Official commemorations continue to the present day. [2][3][7]

References

How Tangopedia works

  1. 1.Biography of Carlos Gardel by Pablo Taboada · todotango.com“Carlos Gardel was born in the city of Toulouse, France, on 11 December 1890.”
  2. 2.Carlos Gardel · en.wikipedia.org“Gardel was born at the Hôpital de La Grave in Toulouse, France, to unmarried 25-year-old laundress Berthe Gardès.”
  3. 3.Carlos Gardel: memoria y vigencia del Zorzal Criollo · argentina.gob.ar“la documentación oficial más aceptada señala que nació como Charles Romuald Gardès, el 11 de diciembre de 1890 en Toulouse, Francia.”
  4. 4.Carlos Gardel · britannica.com“Carlos Gardel (born December 11, 1890, Toulouse, France—died June 24, 1935, Medellín, Colombia)”
  5. 5.Carlos Gardel, his encounter with tango · todotango.com
  6. 6.Carlos Gardel · allmusic.com“the first singer to adopt the tango as a form of popular song.”
  7. 7.Gardel, the twenty-three pillars of his identity · todotango.com

Tours

  1. 1923The duo debuts at the Teatro Apolo in Madrid during a tour of Spain.†

    Part of Gardel and Razzano's 1923 tour of Spain

    Places named: Madrid, Spain

  2. 1935Dies in an air crash in Medellín, Colombia, during a tour of the Caribbean and Latin America.†

    Part of Carlos Gardel's 1935 tour of the Caribbean and Latin America

    Places named: Medellín, Colombia

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Data: recordings, facts and sources

As an orchestra leader

As a composer

Composer34

Por una cabeza — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

El día que me quieras — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

Volver — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

Mi Buenos Aires querido — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

Me da pena confesarlo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

Volvió una noche — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

Tomo y obligo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Supported · 2

Cuesta abajo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Melodía de arrabal — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Arrabal amargo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Amores de estudiante — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Golondrinas — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Desdén — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Mi moro — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Ay Aurora — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Ay Elena — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Mano a mano — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Las cuerdas de mi guitarra — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

La criolla — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Medallita de la suerte — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Margot — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Soledad — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

El moro — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Rumores — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Recuerdo malevo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Silencio — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Caminito soleado — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Sus ojos se cerraron — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Amargura — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Lejana tierra mía — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Mi caballo bayo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Amor — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Viejos tiempos — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Calavera viejo — composed by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Born2

Born on December 11, 1890

Sources disagree · 2

Born on 18831883–1887

Sources disagree

Located in2

Located in Montevideo1891–1893

Sources disagree

Located in Buenos Aires1893

Sources disagree

Played in8

José Ricardo — played in Carlos GardelMay 5, 1927

Single source

Guillermo Barbieri — played in Carlos GardelMay 5, 1927

Single source

Played in Radio Splendid1924

Single source

Played in Radio Rivadavia1934

Single source

Played in Teatro BroadwayOct 19, 1931

Single source

Played in Teatro Nacional1933

Single source

Played in Teatro Astral

Single source

Horacio Pettorossi — played in Carlos GardelJan 1933

Single source

Performed at3

Performed at Spain1927

Single source

Performed at Teatro NacionalJan 8, 1914, Mar 24, 1933

Supported · 2

Performed at New YorkMar 15, 1935

Single source

Commented on1

Brauli Solsona — commented on Carlos Gardel1927

Single source

Sang with2

Sang with Francisco CanaroMar 27, 1933

Single source

Sang with Terig TucciJul 30, 1934

Single source

Filmed at1

Filmed at New York1934

Single source

In other catalogues5

TodoTango · creador/116

Single source

Wikidata · Q229613source

Single source

tango.info · CharlGarde

Single source

MusicBrainz · bb54817c-6829-4ccc-bc58-030abb85c583source

Single source

Discogs · 392779

Single source

Died1

Died on June 24, 1935

Single source

Birthplace3

Born in Toulouse (Alto Garona)

Sources disagree

Born in ToulouseDec 11, 1890

Sources disagree · 2

Born in Tacuarembó1883–1887

Sources disagree · 2

Notes14

Cantor y compositor

Single source

At a gig, asked to sing Mano a Mano, Gardel asked the crowd whether they wanted it 'with gomina or without' (code for censored or clean); the audience chose uncensored, and a different, surviving lyric exists on record.

Single source

Gardel died on 24 June 1935 in a plane crash in Colombia, an event that traumatised Argentina for a long time.

Single source

Gardel's body took until February 1936 to reach Argentina (by boat via New York, then overland through South America), and his statue wasn't built until 1937.

Single source

Gardel was famously afraid of flying and told D'Arienzo he feared dying in a plane crash; his mother initially refused to believe the news of his death because he wouldn't have flown.

Single source

Gardel's 1929 recordings were backed by guitars rather than orchestra, unlike his 1935 recordings; Lavocah prefers the guitar-backed sound for its exposed, direct feel.

Single source

In 1934 Gardel shot two feature films in New York (plus scenes for a third), putting him on the edge of global stardom - cut short by his death in a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia, in June 1935.

Single source

Gardel aims at global stardom in 1933 (Paramount films in Paris), so his sound becomes more romantic and lyrical, less tanguero and less Argentine; he recorded only about eight sides with Canaro that year, for the label.

Single source

Gardel was happy to sing superficial lyrics but also lyrics that would have been controversial from anyone else; Lavocah likens his universality to 'Everyman', capable of representing all feeling and not only the strand of the successful.

Single source

Gardel is a mega-star as 1928 opens, moving between Paris and Barcelona recording and partying with sophisticated people; Gardel and Canaro record the winning songs of the Odeon contest.

Single source

Lived with his mother in a house in the Abasto bought in 1927 (Jean Jaurés 735, now the Museo Casa Carlos Gardel); earlier lived in conventillos in San Nicolás (Uruguay 162, later Corrientes 1553).

Single source

Died 24 June 1935 in an air accident in Medellín, Colombia; buried in the Cementerio de la Chacarita, Buenos Aires.

Single source

Known as «El Morocho del Abasto»

Single source

Real name Carlos Romualdo Gardel

Single source

Lyricist7

Ay Elena — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Las cuerdas de mi guitarra — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

Single source

La criolla — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

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El moro — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Rumores — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Calavera viejo — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Ay Aurora — lyrics by Carlos Gardel

Single source

Place of death1

Died in Medellín

Single source

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