Paloma Efron, also known as Blackie, (born 6 December 1912, died 3 September 1977) was an Argentine radio and television journalist and the country's first professional jazz singer.

Biography

Efron was born in Entre Ríos Province,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, the child of an

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

father, the educator Jedidio Efron. The family 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 ...

, and there, at age 5, Efron began to study music. When Efron was fourteen, her mother fell ill, and for two years Efron looked after her. After her mother got better, Efron got a job as a librarian at the ''Instituto Cultural Argentino Norteamericano''. There, she started listening to and learning about

Black spirituals Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

, at the time an unknown genre in Argentina. Early praise 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 ...

(the "king of tango") led her to enter a radio contest in 1934, in which she won first prize with her rendition of " Stormy Weather". In the same contest, listeners gave her the nickname "Blackie".

References

1912 births 1977 deaths Argentine jazz singers Argentine Jews Argentine journalists Argentine librarians Jewish Argentine musicians 20th-century Argentine women singers Women librarians Jewish jazz musicians 20th-century journalists {{Argentina-singer-stub