Source
Volver Tango: Francisco Canaro
"Francisco Canaro" is an episode of the Volver Tango documentary series about the bandleader and composer Francisco Canaro. It combines narration, interviews and archival footage. The film calls him the father of the orquesta típica and a self-taught musician. It follows his story from a poor childhood and a homemade tin violin to a career it describes as more than fifty years at the top of tango.
Video 00:01:55 · Video 00:03:29 · Video 00:47:58
The orchestra
The documentary credits Canaro with adding the double bass to the típica around 1917. It links the standard seating of bandoneons, violins, piano and bass to his way of directing. It shows archival interview footage of Canaro and Roberto Firpo together. It then covers a 1921 appearance at the Teatro de la Ópera with a greatly enlarged ensemble, records that paired a típica tango with a jazz-band number on the other side, and his early use of vocalists.
Video 00:00:53 · Video 00:05:38 · Video 00:06:27 · Video 00:09:06 · Video 00:01:30 · Video 00:09:54
Gardel and the stage
The film covers Canaro's recordings accompanying Carlos Gardel and includes a filmed exchange between the two. It then turns to the musical comedies he made with Ivo Pelay from 1932, starting with La muchachada del centro. An interviewee discusses that show's song "Donde hay un mango" against the unemployment crisis of the time. The film also tells how Mariano Mores joined the orchestra and how Canaro's film company failed.
Video 00:11:02 · Video 00:11:55 · Video 00:21:12 · Video 00:29:02 · Video 00:21:41 · Video 00:30:29
Composers' rights and Japan
The last part presents Canaro as a founder of the composers' society SADAIC. It shows footage of his 1961 tour of Tokyo, after his brother Juan's 1954 visit, recalled by María de la Fuente, who sang on Juan's tour. The episode ends with his death in 1964 and the Quinteto Francisco Canaro, founded in 1995.
Video 00:33:49 · Video 00:36:29 · Video 00:37:42 · Video 00:43:41 · Video 00:45:04 · Video 00:35:53
About this source
- Kind
- Video
- Language
- es
Volver Tango
Visit the sourceWhat it informed
Orchestras 2
Data: recordings, facts and sources
No published facts yet. Facts appear here, each with its source, as they are collected.
Listen
No recordings to play yet.
Ask Tangopedia
Answers only from cited facts, each with its source.