Amelita Baltar (September 24, 1940) is an Argentine singer, one of the leading voices of

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 ...

, that appeared in the 60's to be considered, along with Susana Rinaldi, as a modern counterpart of older divas such as

Libertad Lamarque Libertad Lamarque Bouza (; 24 November 1908 – 12 December 2000) was a Mexican-Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as " ...

and

Tita Merello Laura Ana "Tita" Merello (11 October 1904 – 24 December 2002) was an Argentine film actress, tango dancer and singer of the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema (1940–1960). In her 6 decades in Argentine entertainment, at the time of her death, s ...

. She is mostly known for her collaboration with composer

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements from ...

and writer

Horacio Ferrer Horacio Ferrer (June 2, 1933 – December 21, 2014) was a Uruguayan-Argentine poet, broadcaster, reciter and tango lyricist. He is particularly well known for having composed the lyrics for tangos by Astor Piazzolla, such as ''Balada para un loc ...

, specially as first performer of their song “Balada para un loco”. She starred in places such as

Olympia (Paris) The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing La ...

De Kleine Komedie De Kleine Komedie is today the oldest theatre in Amsterdam, dating from 1788. Situated on the Amstel near the Halvemaansteeg, the building offers a stage for both upcoming and established Dutch talents. The theatre has 503 seats. History of the b ...

(Amsterdam), Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall (Istanbul, Turkey), Cocoanut Grove at

Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles) The Ambassador Hotel was a hotel in Los Angeles, California. Designed by architect Myron Hunt, the Ambassador Hotel formally opened to the public on January 1, 1921. Later renovations by architect Paul Williams were made to the hotel in the la ...

or Ginásio do Maracanãzinho (Rio de Janeiro) and shared the stage with celebrities such as

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later, ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

and

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Biography

Early life and career

Unlike most tango artists she was born in the upper-class neighbourhood of

Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires Barrio Norte ( en, link=no, Northern neighborhood) is the informal name given to a part of Buenos Aires centering on Santa Fe Avenue and the district of Recoleta. Characteristics To the east, the area forms a certain architectural unit that ...

and was raised at the countryside in Junín, Buenos Aires Province. She studied to become a school teacher and started her musical career as a singer of Argentine folk music with the band “Sombras”.

The Piazzolla years

Piazzolla discovered her by chance and offered her to star in his opera

María de Buenos Aires ''María de Buenos Aires'' is a tango opera (''tango operita'') with music by Ástor PiazzollaSCP 2005. and libretto by Horacio Ferrer that premiered at the Sala Planeta in Buenos Aires on 8 May 1968. The first part of the surreal plot centers o ...

. He also started to write along with Ferrer songs for her to sing, among which “Balada para un loco” is the most famous one. Its first performance at

Estadio Luna Park Estadio Luna Park (commonly known as Luna Park) is a multi-purpose arena in Buenos Aires. Located at the corner of Avenida Corrientes and Avenida Bouchard; in the San Nicolás neighborhood. Initially, the arena primarily hosted boxing and other ...

in 1969 aroused a scandal reminiscent of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

's “

The rite of spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

” riot in 1913. Immediately released as a single by

CBS Records International CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture an ...

, it sold 200.000 copies in just a few weeks, thing that could only be achieved at the time in Argentina by foreigner stars such as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

or local pop singers such as

Palito Ortega Ramón Bautista Ortega (; born February 28, 1941) is an Argentine singer and actor, better known as Palito Ortega (). Ortega is an icon of Argentine popular music, and is considered one of the main representatives of the musical style called N ...

and

Sandro de América Roberto Sánchez-Ocampo (August 19, 1945 – January 4, 2010), better known by his stage names Sandro or Sandro de América, was an Argentine singer and actor. He is considered a pioneer of Argentine rock for being one of the first rock artist ...

. International success followed with performances all around the world, including a half-Italian version which was broadcast on

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

TV. Back in Argentina, she performed “El gordo triste”, Piazzolla and Ferrer's tribute to

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular with ...

, in the presence of the honoree.

After Piazzolla

After the split with Piazzolla in 1975 she started singing traditional tangos such as “El día que me quieras”, “Volver” and “Soledad” by

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 ...

, “Uno”and “Grisel” by

Mariano Mores Mariano Alberto Martínez (18 February 1918 13 April 2016), known professionally as Mariano Mores, was an Argentine tango composer and pianist. Biography Mariano Martínez was born in the San Telmo section of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1918. ...

, “Cambalache” and “Yira yira” by

Enrique Santos Discépolo Enrique Santos Discépolo (''Discepolín'') (27 March 1901 – 23 December 1951) was an Argentine tango and milonga musician and composer, author of famous tangos like ''Cambalache'' and many others performed by several of the most important s ...

or “La última copa” by

Francisco Canaro Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader. Canaro was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 y ...

. But, just as Piazzolla kept performing the Ferrer songs with Italian singer

Milva Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; 17 July 1939 – 23 April 2021), known as Milva (), was an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She was also known as ''La Rossa'' (Italian for "The Redhead"), due to the characteristic co ...

, so did Amelita, and in 2002 she returned to the Estadio Luna Park to perform again “Balada para un loco”, this time for international ballet star

Julio Bocca Julio Adrián Lojo Bocca (born March 6, 1967) is an Argentine ballet dancer. Bocca spent twenty years as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, administe ...

to dance to.

Present

In 2010 she appeared in the “Buenos Aires by night: The ultimate electronic tango voyage” DVD with the song “Frío Intenso”. In 2012 she released the CD “El nuevo rumbo” featuring the famous rock singers

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; ...

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...

, Fernando Ruiz Díaz from

Catupecu Machu Catupecu Machu is an Argentine rock band, usually classified as within Rock en Español. Its current band members are Fernando Ruiz Díaz on vocals and guitar; Sebastián Cáceres on bass guitar; Agustín Rocino on drums; and Macabre González o ...

and specially

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential Rock music, rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded ...

in one of his last recordings before passing away. In her CD “Amelita Baltar canta Vinicius y Piazzolla – Bossa & Tango” released in July 2015 beside the Piazzolla classics she performs

Bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

songs by their friend

Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...

. A symphonic tribute to Horacio Ferrer recorded at the

Solís Theatre Solís Theatre (''Spanish'': Teatro Solís) is Uruguay's most important and renowned theatre. It opened in 1856 and the building was designed by the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi. It is located in Montevideo's Old Town, right next to the Plaza ...

(Montevideo) in June 2015 is due to be released.

Discography

*''Para usted...'' (1968) *''

'' (1969) *''Amelita Baltar con Piazzolla y Ferrer'' (1970) *''La bicicleta blanca'' (1971) *''Piazzolla, Baltar, Ferrer'' (1972) *''Cantándole a mi tierra'' (1973) *''Nostalgias'' (1978) *''Como nunca'' (1989) *''Tangamente'' (1993) *''Amelita Baltar'' (1994) *''Baltar com Piazzolla'' (1995 ed. Brasil) *''Astor Piazzolla Colección'' (1998 Ed. Germany) *''Leyendas'' (1999) *''Referencias'' (1999) *''Amelita de todos los tangos'' (2001) *''El nuevo rumbo'' (2012) *''Amelita Baltar canta Vinicius y Piazzolla – Bossa & Tango'' (2015)

External links

*José Pedro Aresi
Amelita Baltar
Todo Tango. Detailed biography. *Fundación Kone

*www.biografias.e

*IMD

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltar, Amelita 1940 births Living people 20th-century Argentine women singers Singers from Buenos Aires Tango singers 21st-century Argentine women singers