Eladia Blázquez (February 24, 1931 – August 31, 2005) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

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 from a combination of Arge ...

singer and composer. Born in

Gerli Gerli is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It lies in the partidos of Avellaneda and Lanús and forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban agglomeration. History *30 March 1909: The settlement was officially established on territory ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, ''El corazón al sur'' is considered her most popular tango.

Biography

Born to a poor family of Spanish immigrants (mother from Granada, Andalucia, and father from Salamanca) to Argentina, Eladia was born in

, (

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) on 24 February 1931. In 1970, she recorded her first tango record and fought against the macho spirit that dominated tango. In addition to being a singer, composer and lyricist, Blasquez was also a pianist and guitar player. She moved to Buenos Aires in 1975. She wrote two books: ''Mi ciudad y mi gente'' and ''Buenos Aires cotidiana'', and also various works for the Argentine folkloric musicians Ramona Galarza and

Los Fronterizos Los Fronterizos is an Argentine musical band consisting of four men. The group was established in 1953 in the northern province of Salta -- bordering on Bolivia -- from which "Los Fronterizos" ("men of the frontier") is derived. Los Fronterizos ar ...

. She was named ''Hija dilecta de la ciudad de Avellaneda'' in 1988 and ''Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires'' in 1992. Her writing was awarded prizes, but she was also criticised by tango "purists" for her "irregularity" in her tango compositions. Blasquez composed in a variety of styles: Spanish traditional music, South American melodic music, folkloric music, and of course the tango and ballad for which she is best known. Her most famous works are: ''El corazón al sur'', ''Sueño de barrilete'', ''Mi ciudad y mi gente'', ''Honrar la vida'', ''Que vengan los bomberos'', ''Bien nosotros'', ''A un semejante'', ''Viejo Tortoni'', ''Con las alas del alma'', ''Si Buenos Aires no fuera así'', ''Somos como somos'', ''Sin piel'', ''Prohibido prohibir'', ''Si somos gente'' y ''Convencernos''. Blasquez received the

Premio Konex Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pu ...

Award in 1995 and 2005, both for being the best lyricist and composer of tango for the preceding decade in Argentina. Blasquez died on August 31, 2005, in the Clínica Bazterrica in Buenos Aires, age 74, from cancer.

Discography

*Buenos Aires y yo *Eladia *Somos o no somos *Yo la escribo y yo la vendo *Si te viera Garay *Retratos sonoros *Mercado *La mirada *Clásicos populares *Con las alas del alma

References

External links

Eladia Blázquez
at todotango.com
Eladia Blázquez
at tango.info

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blazquez, Eladia Argentine women writers 20th-century Argentine women singers Tango singers Argentine people of Spanish descent Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery People from Avellaneda 1931 births 2005 deaths Tango lyricists