Spanish
On June 24, 1935, the world of tango and popular music was marked by a tragedy that shook several generations: the death of Carlos Gardel, “el Zorzal Criollo”, in a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia. Ninety years later, his voice still resonates with the same force, immortal in every tango he sings better with age.
Carlos Gardel was possibly born in Toulouse, France, on December 11, 1890, although he himself declared himself to be Argentinian by birth. He arrived in Buenos Aires as a child, and it was in the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires where he forged his artistic and cultural identity. At the beginning of the 20th century, he began his career as a singer of criolla music and gradually became the voice of tango. His interpretative style, his charisma, his elegance and his unmistakable tone made him the ultimate symbol of sung tango. He was a pioneer in recording tangos with guitar accompaniment, and later with an orchestra, at a time when this genre was still seeking its identity.International Fame
Gardel not only triumphed in Argentina: his career expanded to Uruguay, Spain, France, and the United States. In the 1930s, he signed a contract with Paramount and filmed movies in New York that gave him worldwide projection, such as Cuesta abajo, El día que me quieras, and Tango Bar.The person and image of Gardel have been the object of popular idolatry, especially in Argentina, Uruguay, and Colombia in a place of myth and cultural symbol that still maintains its validity.Carlos Gardel was the first great mass idol of Latin America and a cultural ambassador of the Spanish-speaking world. His figure was synonymous with elegance and sophistication, but also with closeness to the people.
Death and Legacy
On June 24, 1935, Gardel embarked on a tour of Latin America when his plane collided on the runway of Medellín airport. He died along with his guitarist Alfredo Le Pera and several members of his team. He was only 44 years old. His death provoked a continental mourning. In Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Bogota and other cities, crowds mourned his departure as if they were losing a brother, an idol, a symbol. In 2003, Gardel's voice was registered by UNESCO in the Memory of the World program, dedicated to the preservation of documents belonging to the historical heritage of the world's peoples. At the same time, his voice and memory are alluded to with the phrase "he sings better every day".You may be interested in: Carlos Gardel: Life, work and legacy of the immortal icon of tango
His most classic and immortal tangos are: Silencio, El día que me quieras, Mi Buenos Aires querido, Volver, Cuesta abajo, Por una cabeza, Soledad, Sus ojos se cerraron and Mano a mano, the latter being one of his most raw and popular tangos, written together with Celedonio Flores. Gardel's tangos marked a before and after in the history of popular music. He was the first to record tangos with an orchestra and give an international touch to the genre, and his work with Alfredo Le Pera elevated the tango to poetic and cinematographic levels. Today, 90 years later, Gardel remains alive in the collective memory. His voice, preserved in recordings of the time, continues to be a reference for generations of artists. His tomb in the Cementerio de la Chacarita, in Buenos Aires, is a place of pilgrimage, and his image with the indispensable hat and elegant smile is multiplied in murals, tributes and stages around the world. Carlos Gardel was not just a singer: he was a cultural phenomenon that united Latin America under the same melody. He was tango, he was the people, he was a legend. His singing was a caress made of nostalgia. Gardel died, yes. But his voice, his soul and his tango… live eternally.
