Rodolfo Lesica

Rodolfo Oscar Aiello was born on 12 November 1928 in the Parque Chacabuco neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, at Zubiría 432, and grew up there with his older brother Oscar and sister María.^[1][4] His father, Carmelo Aiello, was a bandoneonist and composer whose polka El viejito del acordeón received numerous recordings; he also wrote the milonga Florcita porteña (later recorded by Argentino Ledesma) and the tango Criollo de ley (recorded by Juan D’Arienzo).^[1] The elder brother studied piano and played in the father’s orchestra. At the age of twelve, under the stage name Rodolfo Alberti, the boy made his debut at the 1940 carnival dances of the Hurlingham club with his father’s ensemble, sharing the vocal role with Guillermo Coral (later a Canaro singer and, as Guillermo Rico, a comic actor).^[1][2] The orchestra obtained a contract with Radio Mitre. From about 1945 work diminished; the father disbanded the group and the fifteen-year-old Rodolfo turned to other employment. Friends at a café on Cachimayo and Asamblea offered him casual work as a taxi peon.^[1]

In 1948 he was called for military service. Because of his experience as a driver he was assigned to a general’s staff and became a regular entertainer at social gatherings inside the barracks.^[1] On discharge he returned to the taxi. One night the passenger who boarded after a performance at the Maipú Pigall was the bandoneonist and conductor Héctor Varela. The young driver sang a tango; Varela invited him to a rehearsal. The audition was successful and, on 6 June 1950, he made his official debut with Varela’s orchestra at the Chantecler cabaret (Paraná 400), singing alongside the already established Armando Laborde.^[1][2][5] Varela found neither Alberti nor Aiello satisfactory as a stage name. Passing Plaza Lezica (today Parque Rivadavia) in Caballito, he settled on Rodolfo Lesica, substituting an “s” for the “z.”^[1][2]

Varela’s orchestra of the early 1950s contained several former D’Arienzo musicians: pianist César Zagnoli, violinists Hugo Baralis, Mario Abramovich and Roberto Guisado, bandoneonists Alberto Marchese and Alberto San Miguel, with Jorge Fontana handling presentation.^[1] Success brought contracts with LR3 Radio Belgrano and with EMI-Odeon for its Pampa label. Early sides included the instrumental El flete, the Laborde–Lesica duets Un bailongo (the old milonga recorded by Gardel), Tal para cual and La carreta, and Lesica’s solo Paciencia.^[1] In 1952 he recorded Noches de cabaret (Antonio Fiasche and San Miguel).^[1] Midway through that year a romantic entanglement took him briefly to Rio de Janeiro; he returned soon afterwards and was reconciled with Varela.^[1][2]

The arrival of the young santiagueño Argentino Ledesma created the most commercially successful vocal pairing of the mid-1950s. Together they recorded the vals Trovador mazorquero on 29 March 1955.^[3][6] Lesica’s Canzoneta (music and lyrics by Erma Suárez, Varela’s wife), cut on 20 April 1954, became one of his best-selling titles.^[2][7] In 1956 the orchestra adapted the Mexican bolero Historia de un amor; Lesica’s recording, dated 13 March 1956 on tango.info, was a major popular success. The piece had been brought from Mexico for Libertad Lamarque; Lesica obtained it on the understanding that she would record first, but Varela and Lesica released it immediately. Lamarque later congratulated him despite the broken promise.^[1][8] Other notable titles of the period include El bulín de la calle Ayacucho (17 July 1951), Si supiera que la extraño (30 November 1956) and the duets with Ledesma of the vals Gota de lluvia and the milonga Tentadora.^[8]

At the beginning of 1957 Ledesma left and was replaced by Raúl Lavié; the two recorded the vals Señora princesa. A musicians’ strike led to their dismissal. With Marchese and San Miguel they formed the group Los Ases del Tango, which worked clubs, radio and tours and recorded Si te llegara a perder for RCA Victor in 1957.^[1][2] In 1958 Lesica joined Jorge Caldara’s orchestra and recorded a successful version of Pasional (Caldara–Soto).^[1] He married at the end of that year. In 1959 he returned to Varela for a third engagement, now sharing the vocal role with Laborde and Ernesto Herrera, and remained until 1961.^[1][2] His first daughter was born in 1960.

From late 1960 he worked as a soloist. After a short passage with Joaquín Do Reyes he signed with EMI-Odeon and recorded with Mario Demarco (Rondando tu esquina, Quiero verte una vez más) and with Carlos García (Corrientes y Esmeralda). He appeared on the television programmes Grandes valores del tango, Sábados circulares and Sábados continuados, and in shows with Alberto Nery.^[1] His final commercial recordings were made for the Embassy label between 1979 and 1980 with arrangements and direction by Alberto Di Paulo.^[1] He died in Buenos Aires on 19 July 1984, shortly before his fifty-sixth birthday.^[1][4]

Lesica possessed a powerful baritone with the characteristic phrasing and temperament of the porteño tango singer of his generation. Contemporary accounts note his striking appearance and the strong following he attracted among female listeners. Abel Palermo observes that a disordered private life associated with the nightlife of the profession prevented him from reaching the sustained artistic level attained by his frequent partner Argentino Ledesma, yet the recordings of the Varela years, especially Canzoneta and Historia de un amor, remain among the most widely circulated vocal sides of the 1950s.^[1]

Early life and first engagements

Born in Parque Chacabuco to a musical household, Lesica (then Alberti) appeared at twelve with his father’s orchestra at the 1940 Hurlingham carnival.^[1][2] After the orchestra disbanded he worked as a taxi peon. Military service in 1948 placed him on a general’s staff where his singing was already noticed. The decisive encounter occurred when Héctor Varela boarded his taxi after a performance at the Maipú Pigall; the subsequent audition led to the Chantecler debut of 6 June 1950 beside Armando Laborde and to the adoption of the name Lesica.^[1][2][5]

The Varela years and the Ledesma partnership

From 1950 to 1952 and again from 1953 to 1957 (with a brief Rio interlude) Lesica was one of Varela’s principal voices. Early Odeon/Pampa sides established the Laborde–Lesica duo; the later pairing with Argentino Ledesma produced the commercial peaks of the orchestra.^[1] Canzoneta (20 April 1954) and Historia de un amor (13 March 1956) became enduring sellers; the vals Trovador mazorquero (29 March 1955) is another documented collaboration.^[2][3][7][8] The period also included the radio cycle on El Mundo’s Glostora Tango Club and extensive dance and cabaret work.^[1]

Independent work and final recordings

After the 1957 formation of Los Ases del Tango with Raúl Lavié and the 1958 season with Jorge Caldara (Pasional), Lesica returned to Varela until 1961.^[1][2] His subsequent solo career included EMI-Odeon sessions with Mario Demarco and Carlos García, regular television appearances, and a final series for Embassy (1979–1980) directed by Alberto Di Paulo.^[1] He died on 19 July 1984.^[1][4]