Alfredo Le Pera (4 June 1900 – 24 June 1935) was an Argentine

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

, best known for his brief but fruitful collaboration with the renowned

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

singer

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

. He died in a plane accident with Gardel when he was at the height of his career.

Biography

Le Pera was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the son of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrants who moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina in 1902. At the beginning of his career, he worked for several Argentinian periodicals as a journalist and theatre critic and in 1928 became involved in the film industry. He worked for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

while living in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and in 1932 the studio arranged for him to work with Carlos Gardel, at a time when the company was looking for ways to increase Gardel's international appeal. Le Pera wrote the scripts for a series of films, including ''Melodía de Arrabal'' (1933), ''Cuesta abajo'' (1934), ''El Tango en Broadway'' (1934), '' El día que me quieras'' (1935) and ''Tango Bar'' (1935), and also wrote the lyrics for tangos composed and performed by Gardel in these films. These tangos would become classics of the genre across the Spanish-speaking world. Gardel and Le Pera were coming to the end of a promotional tour for the film ''El dia que me quieras'' when, on Monday, 24 June 1935, the plane in which they were taking off from the airport in Medellin,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

crashed into another plane on the runway, killing them both and most of the other passengers on board, including the other musicians travelling with them. Le Pera is credited with elevating the literary quality of tango lyrics while respecting the popular character of the musical form.

Lyrics

Le Pera wrote the lyrics and Gardel the music for the following compositions: *''Amargura'' (tango) *''Amores de Estudiante'' (waltz) *''Apure, delantero buey'' (song) *''Arrabal amargo'' (tango) *''Caminito soleado'' (song) *''Cheating muchachita'' *''Criollita, deci que si'' (song) *''Cuesta abajo'' (tango) *'' El día que me quieras'' (song) *''Golondrinas'' (tango) *''Guitarra, guitarra mia'' *''La criolla'' *''La vida en un trago'' *''Lejana tierra mia'' (song) *''Melodia de arrabal'' (tango) *'' Mi Buenos Aires querido'' (tango) *''Olvido'' *''Por tu boca roja'' *'' Por una cabeza'' (tango) *''Quiereme'' *''Recuerdo malevo'' (tango) *''Rubias de New York'' (foxtrot) *''Soledad'' (tango) *''Suerte negra'' (waltz) *''Sus ojos se cerraron'' (tango) *''Viejos tiempos'' (tango) *''

Volver ''Volver'' (, meaning "to go back") is a 2006 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, and Chu ...

'' (tango) *''Volvio una noche'' (tango)

Selected filmography

* ''

Suburban Melody ''Suburban Melody'' (Spanish: ''Melodía de arrabal'') is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Imperio Argentina, Carlos Gardel and Vicente Padula. The film was made at the Joinville Studios in Pari ...

'' (1933) *'' The Tango on Broadway'' (1934) * ''

Downward Slope ''Downward Slope'' (Spanish:''Cuesta abajo'') is a 1934 American-Argentine musical film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Carlos Gardel, Mona Maris and Vicente Padula.Creekmur & Mokdad p.3 Cast * Carlos Gardel as Carlos Acosta * Mona ...

'' (1934)

External links

Tango.info profile of Alfredo Le Pera
* * Argentine journalists Male journalists Argentine dramatists and playwrights Argentine lyricists Argentine people of Italian descent Brazilian emigrants to Argentina Brazilian people of Italian descent People of Calabrian descent Tango poets 1900 births 1935 deaths Writers from São Paulo Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Colombia 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Tango lyricists 20th-century journalists {{Argentina-journalist-stub