An "international man of mystery", Carlos Gardel was born on this date in 1890 in Toulouse, France (or 1887 in Tacuarembó, Uruguay - if one were to believe the myths the man himself created around his nationality and age). Who? I hear you say...
Señor Gardel, after settling with his mother first in Uruguay then in Buenos Aires, became well-known as a cabaret/folk singer on the circuit of payadores that were all the rage in South America in the early 20th century, before turning his hand to an even newer (and even more popular) style known as Tango.
Being in the centre of such a "craze" he soon gained international fame, both for his inventiveness in creating vocal versions of popular Uruguayan and Argentine instrumentals and for his matinee idol looks, and especially for his own compositions - such as this one [which was my "new fave thing" back in April]; here with a rather stylish scene from a film I have never seen, Easy Virtue starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth and Kristen Scott-Thomas:
El Zorzal ("The Song Thrush"), as he was nicknamed, mysterious to the end (he hid his domestic relationships from the public for fear it might affect his adulation amongst his female fans), was on a whirlwind tour of North and South America when, sadly, he and his band died in a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia. He was only in his 40s - and the hysteria was immense.
His funeral was spectacular; his body was taken on a posthumous tour that included New York, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Aires, where he was interred in a grand tomb, complete with statue, that is adorned with flowers by mourners to this day.
Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès, 11th December 1890 – 24th June 1935)
Gosh what a story and what a looker he was.
ReplyDeleteI swoon with the romance of it.
With a rose between your teeth, of course. Jx
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