Julio Martel

Julio Pedro Harispe, who performed under the artistic name Julio Martel, was born on 14 May 1923 in the small town of Baigorrita, near Junín in the northwest of Buenos Aires province. Sources consistently place his birth there, though one local account notes that the civil registry entry was made on 6 August; the May date is the one he and the principal biographical sources used. He was the third of six brothers. Only one other sibling, Raúl Oscar Harispe (known as Lalo Martel), also became a professional tango singer. In 1928 the family moved to Caseros, on the edge of Buenos Aires. His father managed the local market; before dawn Julio helped pull a small cart loaded with lambs destined for the San Martín slaughterhouse. In 1936 the Harispes relocated to Munro, where the boy began to sing in public.^[1][3][5][8]

By August 1939 he was already appearing under his real name as a “cantor nacional” with the guitarists Hernández and Vega at the old Teatro Magazine in Munro. He also performed at the Cine Atalaya, the Salón Azul, and other neighborhood venues. In 1941, still under age, his mother signed the contract that made him the vocalist of Juan Giordano’s orchestra. The group worked the summer season at the Hotel Hurlingham in Mar del Plata and the winter season at the City Hotel in Buenos Aires, offering an international repertoire in which the pasodoble “El sombrero” was the audience favorite. He turned eighteen while already working these stages.^[1][3][5]

The decisive opportunity arrived at the beginning of 1943. Double-bassist Roberto Vivas, a colleague from the Giordano orchestra, told him that Radio El Mundo was holding an audition for a singer for Alfredo De Angelis’s orchestra. Martel presented himself, accompanied on piano by Juan Larenza, and was chosen from several hundred applicants. While the group celebrated at a table in the bar Mi Refugio next to the station, the announcer and orchestra secretary Néstor Rodi ordered a cognac. The waiter brought a bottle of Martell; Rodi turned to the new singer and said, “Así te vas a llamar desde ahora.” From that moment he was Julio Martel. He debuted on the small stage of the Café Marzzotto alongside Floreal Ruiz, singing the tango “No creas.” On 23 September 1943 he made his first recording, the tango “Qué buena es,” for Odeon. Between that date and his last session with De Angelis on 12 December 1950 (“Tus palabras y la noche”) he left 63 solo sides and 17 duets with Carlos Dante.^[1][3][4]

The orchestra’s popularity grew rapidly. They appeared at the Federación de Box on Castro Barros, debuted at the Dancing Tibidabo in May 1944, and inaugurated the Tango Bar. In 1945, at Club Argentinos Juniors, they premiered “Pregonera,” with music by De Angelis and lyrics by José Rótulo. The definitive consecration came in 1946 when Oscar Luis Mazza, director of Radio El Mundo, offered the orchestra an exclusive contract for the Glostora Tango Club. The program occupied fifteen minutes, Monday to Friday from 20:00 to 20:15, immediately before the popular comedy Los Pérez García. Sponsored by the hair-fixative company, it became one of the most listened-to tango programs in Argentine radio history and ran for twenty-two years. Martel and Dante were its fixed voices until Martel left in 1951. Songs premiered on the Glostora were often being sung or whistled on the streets the following day. Among the many pieces Martel performed live but never recorded were “Qué viejo estoy,” “Sufra,” “Yira yira,” “Guapo y varón,” and “Violetita.” A special case was “Por qué te habré conocido” (Rodolfo Scasidi–Carlos Cubría), which he sang with tears in his eyes as his farewell number during the 1951 carnival season at Club Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata.^[1][3][4][6]

Martel’s voice was a baritone, described as masculine, warm, and slightly gutural, with delicate phrasing. It complemented Dante’s register; together they formed one of the most celebrated vocal duos of the golden age. Their recorded duets of “Pregonera,” “Pastora,” and “Remolino” remain among the most requested pieces in the dance repertoire. Martel’s stage presence reinforced the impression: he was tall (sources give 1.85 m), well-dressed, often with a carnation in the lapel, and possessed the bearing of a leading man. This combination led to film work. In El cantor del pueblo (1948) he sang “Pregonera” in duo with Dante accompanied by the De Angelis orchestra. Later that year he took the leading male role in El ídolo del tango (premiered 17 March 1949), opposite Graciela Lecube. In that film he interpreted three tangos by Rodolfo Sciammarella: “De igual a igual,” “Comencé jugando,” and “No tiene importancia.”^[1][2][3][9]

After eight years with De Angelis he left the orchestra in 1951. He debuted as a soloist in Santiago de Chile, then worked in Montevideo on radio, television, and nightclub stages. In 1952 he recorded in Uruguay the tango “Nacional,” by José Puglia and Edgardo Pedroza, dedicated to the local football club. Back in Buenos Aires he joined the new orchestra of bandoneonist Oscar Castagniaro (recently departed from Osvaldo Pugliese), with Roberto Chanel as the second singer. They debuted at Confitería La Armonía, appeared on Radio Belgrano, and played many dances. In 1956 Martel formed his own orchestra under the sponsorship of the Colorín paint company; the violinist Américo Podestá directed. With this group he recorded four titles for Odeon: “Pobre colombina,” “Lechuza,” “Por qué no has venido,” and “Fueron tres años.” He then conducted a successful series of public auditions on Radio Argentina before embarking on a Latin-American tour intended to reach the United States. In Colombia the reception was so strong that he remained for an extended period. There he recorded twenty numbers for the Medellín label Sonolux, accompanied by bandoneonist Enrique Méndez (who had traveled with him), pianist Armando Lacava (temporarily in the country), and local musicians.^[1][3][4]

On his return to Argentina he decided to stop performing and devote himself to his small farm. His last public appearance took place on 20 December 1959 at Club Santa Elena in Luján, seventy kilometers west of Buenos Aires. In later years he lived on performing-rights royalties, evidence that the recordings continued to circulate. In Munro he remained a local hero. For the town’s eightieth anniversary in 1992 he was driven through the streets in an open car while neighbors threw flowers from balconies; a plaza was named after him and a festival was organized in his honor. He died on 19 February 2009 at the age of eighty-five. His catalog with De Angelis—especially the solo versions of “Qué buena es,” “De igual a igual,” “Chorra,” “La vida me engañó,” “Adiós, muchachos,” and the Dante–Martel duets—continues to define the sound of one of the most popular orchestras of the golden age.^[1][3][4][5]

Early life and first professional steps

The move from Baigorrita to the greater Buenos Aires area placed the young Harispe in the urban environment where tango was the everyday music of cafés and neighborhood theaters. The 1936 arrival in Munro coincided with the beginning of his public singing. The 18 August 1939 Teatro Magazine appearance under his real name, accompanied by two guitarists, is the earliest documented professional billing. The 1941 contract with Juan Giordano, signed by his mother because he was still a minor, gave him steady work on the Mar del Plata–Buenos Aires circuit and exposed him to a broader repertoire. These years supplied both stage experience and the contact that later led to the De Angelis audition.^[1][5][8]

The De Angelis years and Glostora Tango Club

The 1943 Radio El Mundo audition and the immediate adoption of the name Martel marked the start of the period that defined his career. The first recording on 23 September 1943 of “Qué buena es” initiated a seven-year collaboration that produced eighty sides in total. The 1946 exclusive contract for the Glostora Tango Club transformed daily fifteen-minute broadcasts into a national habit. Premieres at the program routinely entered popular circulation the next day. The Dante–Martel partnership, with its complementary registers and the visual appeal of Martel’s tall, elegant figure, became one of the most recognized vocal combinations of the decade. The 1951 farewell performance of “Por qué te habré conocido” at the Gimnasia y Esgrima carnival closed the chapter.^[1][4][6]

Style, key recordings, and film appearances

Martel’s baritone was characterized by warmth, a slightly gutural quality, and careful phrasing that suited both romantic tangos and the more rhythmic pieces favored by De Angelis’s danceable style. Notable solo recordings include “Qué buena es” (1943), “De igual a igual” (1944), “Campanita” (1944), “Pregonera” (duo, 1945), “Remolino” (duo, 1946), “Pastora” (duo, 1948), “Chorra” (1946), “La vida me engañó” (1946), “Adiós, muchachos” (1950), and “Tus palabras y la noche” (1950). In cinema he appeared in El cantor del pueblo (1948), singing “Pregonera,” and starred in El ídolo del tango (1949), in which he performed three Sciammarella tangos. The film role capitalized on the same galán image that had been cultivated on the Glostora stage.^[1][2][7][9]

Solo career, Colombia, and later years

After leaving De Angelis, Martel worked as a soloist in Chile and Uruguay, recorded “Nacional” in Montevideo in 1952, and joined Oscar Castagniaro’s orchestra alongside Roberto Chanel. His own 1956 formation under Américo Podestá produced four Odeon sides. The extended stay in Colombia yielded twenty Sonolux recordings with a mixed Argentine–Colombian ensemble. The decision to retire after the 20 December 1959 Luján performance ended a seventeen-year professional career. Royalties from the De Angelis catalog supported him thereafter, and local recognition in Munro continued into the 1990s.^[1][3][4]

Legacy

Martel’s recorded output with De Angelis remains a core part of the dance repertoire, particularly the Dante–Martel duets that continue to be programmed in milongas. The Glostora Tango Club association fixed his voice in the memory of a generation of radio listeners. In Munro the plaza that bears his name and the 1992 public tribute confirmed a local affection that outlasted his active career. He died in 2009 having lived long enough to see his recordings reissued and still requested.^[1][3][5]