Lalo Martel

Lalo Martel, born Raúl Oscar Harispe in San Justo, Buenos Aires Province, was the younger brother of the better-known singer Julio Martel (Julio Pedro Harispe). Sources differ on his birth year: Todo Tango lists 26 August 1930, while tango.info and other reference works give 26 August 1932. ^[13][15][21] He was the fifth of seven siblings born to Martín Harispe and María Encina Nogueira. ^[19] Strongly influenced by his brother’s style, he began singing as a teenager. In 1945 he entered a singers’ contest and was immediately taken into the orchestra of Víctor Braña. He later moved to the orchestra of Graciano Gómez before joining Alfredo De Angelis. ^[13][14]

His most documented period was with De Angelis on the Odeon label between 1959 and early 1963. The first side attributed to him is the vals “Anoche estuve llorando,” recorded 6 April 1959. ^[16][17] On 4 May 1959 he recorded the tango “Amor de resero” in duo with Juan Carlos Godoy. Other notable titles include “Al mundo le falta un tornillo” (20 July 1959), “Muñeca brava” (5 June 1959), “Yira yira” (21 December 1961), and the final De Angelis coupling “Tropero soy” with Godoy on 3 January 1963. ^[16][17] In total he cut roughly twenty-eight solo sides and seven duets with Godoy under De Angelis, covering tangos, milongas, and valses. ^[15][17] The orchestra’s traditional, richly orchestrated sound suited Martel’s clear, emotive delivery, which continued the line established by his brother. ^[13]

Outside the studio, Martel’s career developed largely abroad. He spent extended periods in South and Central America and maintained a long season in Chile, where he continued to perform into later decades. A 1976 television appearance on Chile’s Televisión Nacional program Dingolondango preserved a medley that included “Yira yira.” ^[13][18] In 1965 he became the male vocalist, alongside Olga Delgrossi, of the group Los Siete del Tango. The ensemble, which included bandoneonist Luis Stazo, pianist Orlando Trípodi, and violinist Fernando Suárez Paz among others, recorded for Odeon and performed on Argentine television. ^[13][20] Later he recorded for the Microfón label with Los Reyes del Tango, directed from the piano by Osvaldo Requena. ^[13]

Martel also appeared in film and on television. In 1953 he acted in Una ventana a la vida. He performed “Salud, dinero y amor” on the soundtrack of the 1976 Spanish film Songs for After a War and appeared as a musician on the Argentine television series El tango del millón in 1973. ^[19] These credits document a career that extended beyond the dance-orchestra circuit into cinema and broadcast media.

He died on 18 June 2016. One source places the death in Santiago, Chile, of natural causes. ^[19] Although never as widely celebrated as his brother Julio, Lalo Martel left a substantial discography with De Angelis that remains available to listeners, and his long association with Chilean stages illustrates the international reach of mid-century Argentine tango singers. ^[13][15][17] His work stands as a continuation of the vocal tradition associated with the De Angelis orchestra during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a period of transition for the genre. ^[13]

Early career and family

Born in San Justo (birth year given as 1930 or 1932), Martel grew up in a large family that included the singer Julio Martel. ^[13][19] At fourteen or fifteen he entered a singing contest and was hired by Víctor Braña’s orchestra; he subsequently worked with Graciano Gómez. ^[13] The influence of his older brother’s style is noted by every biographical source. ^[13][14]

Recordings with Alfredo De Angelis

Between April 1959 and January 1963 Martel was a regular vocalist for Alfredo De Angelis on Odeon. His first released side was the vals “Anoche estuve llorando” (6 April 1959); duets with Juan Carlos Godoy began the following month with “Amor de resero.” ^[16][17] The catalog includes both classic repertoire (“Yira yira,” “Muñeca brava”) and contemporary pieces. The final De Angelis recording, “Tropero soy” with Godoy, was made on 3 January 1963. ^[16][17] These sides form the core of his surviving discography. ^[15]

Los Siete del Tango and later activity

In 1965 Martel joined Olga Delgrossi as vocalist of Los Siete del Tango, an ensemble that included Luis Stazo, Orlando Trípodi, and Fernando Suárez Paz and that recorded for Odeon. ^[13][20] He later worked with Los Reyes del Tango under Osvaldo Requena for Microfón. ^[13] A substantial part of his career took place outside Argentina, with a particularly long association with Chilean stages and television. ^[13][18]

Legacy

Martel’s recordings with De Angelis preserve a clear, emotionally direct vocal approach within a traditional orchestral framework. Although secondary in fame to his brother, he maintained a professional career spanning more than five decades and left both studio and broadcast documentation of his work. ^[13][19] His death in 2016 closed a life spent largely on the international tango circuit. ^[19]