Tito Reyes

Tito Reyes, born Tito Cosme Sconza on 28 February 1928 in Puente Alsina (then part of Avellaneda), was the youngest of seven children of the Neapolitan Rosario Lardaro and the Argentine Luis Sconza. The family lived in a wooden-and-tin house raised a metre and a half above ground level because the area flooded frequently. He grew up close to his mother and older siblings. From childhood he absorbed tango by listening to Radio Colonia broadcasts devoted to Carlos Gardel; he later described each Gardel tango as a 'terrible class of vocalization' and taught himself by singing along. At fifteen, a café opened two blocks from home; he began frequenting it and the local club Resplandor (which the family had helped found). One evening a dancer challenged him to sing; after initial laughter the audience applauded, and he was soon called for serenades. He continued working—as a shoemaker's assistant, materials-yard employee, welder at the Tamet metallurgical firm, and construction helper with a brother—regarding the café as entertainment rather than a replacement for labor.^[1][2]

In the early 1950s, on the advice of a patron at a Munich on Boedo Street, he adopted the stage name Tito Reyes on 6 January. He toured the interior with the guitarist Héctor Arbelo, 'tirando la manga' (passing the hat) after performances at social clubs. Back in Buenos Aires he worked in variety shows and at the Confitería El Olmo in Once, where he learned from Azucena Maizani. He then sang at the Caló brothers' cantina El Vinacho on Talcahuano between Corrientes and Lavalle. Roberto Caló engaged him for his orchestra. Reyes's first professional recording, the tango 'Frente al espejo', was made on 19 June 1957; it was followed by 'Tango argentino' and 'Nápoles de mi amor'. He subsequently worked with Joaquín Do Reyes, recording 'Cuatro pasos en las nubes' and, in duo with Héctor Darío, a tango medley.^[1][2][4]

By 1963 Reyes was known in the milieu. Through the bandoneonist Julio Ahumada he was contacted by Roberto Grela, who arranged a meeting at Grela's home with Aníbal Troilo. Troilo hired him for the Teatro Odeón. Reyes later recalled that this was 'my big jump'. He remained with Troilo until 1975 and recorded 23 sides. Troilo repeatedly told him he should have been born thirty years earlier. The first RCA-Victor sessions took place on 3 February 1964 ('Las carretas' and 'Mi vieja viola'). Among the later titles are 'Un tango para el recuerdo' (23 December 1965), 'El conventillo' (milonga, 12 November 1965) and 'Milonga de corralón' (14 April 1970). The last recording with Troilo was 'El último farol' (30 July 1969). Reyes described Troilo's orchestra as one that never struck the instruments for effect but used exaggerated dynamics—pianissimo passages followed by forceful climaxes—to serve the poetry. He felt the orchestra's climate gradually overcame his self-consciousness as a 'cantante de esquinas' standing in the shadow of Fiorentino, Rivero, Marino and Goyeneche.^[1][2][5]

The Troilo years included tours to Brazil and, in May 1971, a United States tour with a company led by Troilo that also featured Armando Pontier, Violeta Rivas and others; Reyes sang at Hunter Hall in New York and in Washington. After leaving Troilo he appeared at the Caño 14 tanguería. From 1987 he worked regularly at El Viejo Almacén with the Baffa–De Lío quartet (Ernesto Baffa, bandoneon; Ubaldo De Lío, guitar; Ado Falasca, piano; Sergio Paolo, electric bass) and recorded an album with Baffa. He also recorded for Litto Nebbia's Melopea label, sometimes reciting as well as singing. In 2004 he was interviewed for the documentary Los guardianes del ángel and appeared in the theatrical production La Fama es puro Cuento at the Homero Manzi corner.^[2][3][6]

Reyes died on 9 May 2007 at the Hospital Pirovano in Buenos Aires from a pulmonary infection, aged 79. His career embodies the continuity of the neighborhood, oral tradition of tango into the later twentieth century: a singer formed on street corners and radio who closed the long vocal chapter of Troilo's orchestra and continued performing into the 2000s. The 23 Troilo sides remain a primary document of the leader's late style, in which poetry and dynamic shading took precedence over dance-floor drive.^[1][2][5]

Formation as a street-corner singer

Raised in flood-prone Puente Alsina, Reyes learned by singing along with Gardel on Radio Colonia. From age fifteen he performed in local cafés and serenades while holding ordinary jobs. In the early 1950s he adopted the name Tito Reyes and toured the interior with Héctor Arbelo before working with Maizani at El Olmo and at the Caló brothers' El Vinacho.^[1][2]

Early orchestral work

With Roberto Caló he made his first professional recording, 'Frente al espejo' (19 June 1957), followed by two further titles. He then recorded with Joaquín Do Reyes before the decisive engagement with Troilo in 1963.^[1][2][4]

The Troilo years

From 1963 to 1975 Reyes was Troilo's principal vocalist, recording 23 sides for RCA-Victor. Key dates include the first sessions (3 February 1964), 'Un tango para el recuerdo' (23 December 1965) and the final title 'Milonga de corralón' (14 April 1970). Tours included the United States in May 1971. Troilo valued his porteño style and shaped the orchestra around the poetry.^[1][2][5]

Later career and legacy

After Troilo, Reyes appeared at Caño 14 and from 1987 at El Viejo Almacén with the Baffa–De Lío quartet. He recorded for Melopea and was interviewed for the 2004 documentary Los guardianes del ángel. He died in 2007, remembered as the last of Troilo's great vocalists and a living link to the street tradition of the genre.^[2][3][6]