Eduardo Arolas (February 24, 1892 – September 29, 1924) was an Argentine

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 ...

bandoneon The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held be ...

player, leader and composer. Arolas first learned to play the guitar before learning the bandoneon which became his instrument of choice. His nickname was ''El Tigre del bandoneón'' (the tiger of the bandoneon). Arolas composed his first tango in 1909 before he could even read or write music. He went on to play with such early masters as Agustín Bardi and Roberto Firpo. In 1917 Arolas moved to Montevideo where he settled, he played a number of times at the Teatro Casino. From 1920 he resided mainly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

where he died alone and alcoholic in 1924.

Legacy

Arolas is regarded as one of the early masters that helped to define the future of tango music in Argentina. He was avant-garde in his composition and often utilised unconventional instruments such as the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

and the banjo. His most famous works include Lágrimas, La cachila, El Marne and Viborita.

External links

Eduardo Arolas
on todotango.com
Eduardo Arolas
on tango.info

References

1892 births 1924 deaths Musicians from Buenos Aires Argentine emigrants to Uruguay Argentine tango musicians Place of birth missing Musicians from Montevideo Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery {{Argentina-musician-stub