Tita Merello

Laura Ana Merello was born on 11 October 1904 in a conventillo at Defensa 715 in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires.^[1][2] Her father, Santiago Merello, a coachman or mateo driver, died of tuberculosis when she was only a few months old; sources differ slightly on the exact interval, with some stating six or seven months and others noting that the mother's name was absent from the initial birth registry and that a Uruguayan woman named Ana Gianelli (or Ganelli) later acknowledged maternity when the child was about four years old.^[1][2][4] Raised in poverty, she spent time in an orphanage around age five because her mother worked as a planchadora and could not care for her; she never attended school and remained illiterate until about age 20, when she learned to read and write.^[2][4][5] Merello later described her childhood with the words “Tuve una infancia muy breve. La infancia del pobre siempre es más corta que la del rico,” and she spoke of knowing hunger, fear, and shame.^[4][5]

She entered the theater around 1917 as a chorus girl in a zarzuela at the Teatro Avenida when she was about 13, later appearing at El Bataclán in Bajo Flores in 1922 and then at the Teatro Maipo, where she sang her first tango, “Trago amargo.”^[2][4][5] Billed as “la vedette rea,” she performed humorous, ironic, or sarcastic tangos and gained notice for her strong character and stage presence; a contemporary critic described her as one of the most temperamental and fiery actresses on the national scene, quick with replies and able to treat each tango as a small theatrical piece.^[1][2] In 1925 she premiered “Leguisamo Solo” by Modesto Papavero, written as a homage to the Uruguayan jockey Irineo Leguisamo, in a revue at the Bataclán.^[6] Her early recordings came in 1927 for Odeon (“Te acordás reo” by Emilio Fresedo and “Volvé mi negra”) and in 1929 for Victor, where she cut about 20 sides including “Tata, llévame pal centro,” “Che pepinito,” and “Te has comprado un automóvil.”^[1][7]

Merello’s film career began with the first recognized Argentine sound film, ¡Tango! (1933), directed by Luis Moglia Barth, in which she appeared alongside Libertad Lamarque and others.^[1][2][4] She played supporting roles in comedies before revealing herself as a dramatic actress in La fuga (1937), directed by Luis Saslavsky; her naturalness and assurance surprised producers.^[1][2] Key later films included Filomena Marturano (1950, adapted from Eduardo De Filippo), Los isleros (1951), Arrabalera (1950), Pasó en mi barrio, Guacho (1954, one of her favorites), Mercado de Abasto (1955, in which she performed “Se dice de mí”), Para vestir santos, and La Madre María (1974); she appeared in more than 30 films overall and received Cóndor de Plata awards for Best Actress for several 1950s pictures.^[1][2][4][8] On stage she starred in El conventillo de la Paloma (over a thousand performances) and Filomena Marturano (reaching 500 performances in 1949).^[2][4]

Her personal life included a long relationship with actor Luis Sandrini; they met during the filming of ¡Tango! and lived together for about a decade until 1948, when she chose to continue with Filomena Marturano while he filmed in Spain and he issued an ultimatum she refused.^[1][4][9] In 1960 she recorded “Llamarada pasional,” whose lyrics she wrote and Héctor Stamponi set to music, dedicated to Sandrini.^[1][4] She continued on radio and television into old age, including the program Todo Tita, and was named Ciudadana Ilustre of Buenos Aires in 1990.^[8] Merello died of natural causes on 24 December 2002 at the Fundación Favaloro in Buenos Aires, aged 98, and was buried in the SADAIC pantheon at Chacarita Cemetery.^[1][2][4]

As a singer she preferred tangos that allowed her to project character rather than pure vocal beauty; she was not always in tune when sustaining notes yet possessed “ángel” that made certain interpretations definitive.^[1] “Se dice de mí” (music by Francisco Canaro, lyrics by Ivo Pelay), originally written for a male singer and first recorded by Carlos Roldán in 1943, became inseparable from her after she recorded it with Canaro’s orchestra on 23 July 1954; her version, featured in Mercado de Abasto, transformed the piece into an anthem of a strong, unconventional woman.^[3][4][10] Other signature numbers include “Arrabalera,” “El choclo,” “Pipistrela,” and “La milonga y yo” (composed for her by Leopoldo Díaz Vélez).^[1][7] She belonged to the generation of 1920s female singers—alongside Azucena Maizani, Libertad Lamarque, Ada Falcón, and Rosita Quiroga—who established a lasting female presence in a male-dominated genre.^[2][8]

Early life and theater debut

Merello’s early years in San Telmo were marked by the early death of her father and periods in an orphanage; she worked at various jobs before entering the theater as a chorus girl around age 13.^[1][2][4] By 1922–1923 she was a vedette at the Maipo, singing “Trago amargo,” and she earned the label “la vedette rea” for her irreverent style.^[2][4][5] A pre-1930s critic noted her temperament, quickness, and ability to turn each tango into a short dramatic scene.^[1]

Cinema and dramatic roles

Her verified screen debut was in the 1933 talkie ¡Tango!.^[1][2] The 1937 film La fuga established her as a dramatic actress.^[1][2] In the 1950s she starred in a series of Lucas Demare and other productions that cemented her reputation, including Los isleros, Guacho, and Mercado de Abasto; she received multiple Cóndor de Plata awards.^[1][2][8]

Recordings and signature songs

After early sides in 1927–1929 she returned to the studio in 1954 with Canaro, cutting the definitive versions of “Se dice de mí,” “Arrabalera,” and others.^[1][3][7] She recorded more than forty additional numbers in the 1960s and 1970s with Carlos Figari and Héctor Varela, and a late version of “Se dice de mí” appeared in 1991.^[7][11]

Personal life and later years

The decade-long relationship with Luis Sandrini ended in 1948 over her commitment to the stage play Filomena Marturano.^[4][9] She continued working into the 1980s on radio and television and published the autobiographical La calle y yo in 1972.^[8][9] She died on Christmas Eve 2002.^[1][2]