Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a

Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

violinist and

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 ...

orchestra leader. Canaro was born in

San José de Mayo San José de Mayo () is the capital city of the San José Department in southern Uruguay. Location and geography The city is located at the centre of the state, on the intersection of Route 3 with Route 11, from the centre of Montevideo. The r ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 years old, they emigrated to

Buenos Aires, Argentina 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 ...

in the late nineteenth century. As a young man he found work in a factory, where an empty

oil can An oil can (oilcan or oiler)orquesta típica Orquesta típica, or simply a típica, is a Latin American term for a band which plays popular music. The details vary from country to country. The term tends to be used for groups of medium size (about 8 to 12 musicians) in some well-defined in ...

leader

Vicente Greco Vicente Greco (February 3, 1888 – October 5, 1924) was an Argentinian composer, conductor, and bandoneon player of tango music. He had a significant role in the spread of tango music from the suburbs into the cities, where it became very popular ...

in 1908, and in 1912 he composed "Pinta brava" ("Fierce Look"). Canaro composed the music for the 1915

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

classic film '' Nobleza gaucha''. He later was romantically attached to Argentine actress and tango vocalist

Ada Falcón Ada Falcón (born Aída Elsa Ada Falcone; 17 August 1905 – 4 January 2002) was an Argentina, Argentine Tango (dance), tango dancer, singer and film actress of the 1920s and 1930s. She starred in the film ''Ídolos de la radio'' in 1934. She w ...

, but the relationship, which began in the early 1920s, grew apart a decade later. In 1920 Canaro discovered Azucena Maizani, who rapidly developed into a major tango star.Karush p.102 Canaro was active in the cause of

intellectual property right Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

s from 1918 onwards, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Argentine Society of Composers and Songwriters (SADAIC), in 1935, purchasing the downtown Buenos Aires lot where its headquarters were built. He performed in Paris with his orchestra in 1925, and a success among local audiences, he remained in Europe for a decade. Becoming a naturalized Argentine citizen in 1940, much of his recorded music is in the classic salon style of that decade, but he is also considered a member of the old guard, and some of his later recordings contributed to the transition to concert tango. Canaro's orchestra became a fixture on Argentine radio during the 1940s and early 1950s, though for many contemporary dancers and listeners, his early golden age recordings remained the best in their genre. Canaro authored his memoirs, ''Mis 50 años con el tango'' (''My Fifty Years with the Tango'') in 1956, but later developed Paget's disease, and was forced to retire. He died in Buenos Aires in 1964.

Selected filmography

* '' New Port'' (1936) * ''

The Song of the Suburbs ''The Song of the Suburbs'' (Spanish:''La canción de los barrios'') is a 1941 Argentine musical film directed by Luis César Amadori and starring Aída Alberti, Alicia Vignoli and Hugo del Carril.Rist p.202 Cast * Aída Alberti * Alicia Vigno ...

'' (1941)

References

Bibliography

*Karush, Matthew B. ''Culture of Class: Radio and Cinema in the Making of a Divided Argentina, 1920–1946''. Duke University Press, 2012.

External links

Francisco Canaro
on todotango.com
Francisco Canaro
on tango.info *
Discography of ''Francisco Canaro'' (english)

Discografía de ''Francisco Canaro'' (spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canaro, Francisco 1888 births 1964 deaths Naturalized citizens of Argentina People from San José de Mayo Uruguayan tango musicians Uruguayan emigrants to Argentina Uruguayan film producers Uruguayan film score composers Uruguayan musicians Uruguayan people of Italian descent Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery Uruguayan violinists Uruguayan male musicians Male violinists Male film score composers 20th-century violinists 20th-century male musicians