Gabino Coria Peñaloza (February 19, 1881 – October 31, 1975) was an Argentine poet and lyricist. Gabino Coria Peñaloza was born in La Paz, Mendoza, in 1881. His family relocated to

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 ...

, and Coria eventually settled into a post as a tax collector for the city. His artistic inclinations stoked an interest in literature, poetry and narration - particularly a form of narration known in the Argentine countryside as ''coplas'', ten-line verses rich in metaphor and aphorisms. His knowledge of the mountainous La Rioja Province by way of his mother helped secure him a post as

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

inspector. His friendships with a number of rising figures in

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...

, especially composer

Juan de Dios Filiberto Juan de Dios Filiberto (8 March 1885 11 November 1964) was an Argentine violinist, conductor, poet and composer who became prominent in the Argentine tango genre. Life and work He was born Óscar Juan de Dios Filiberti in 1885 to Josefa Roballo, ...

and vocalist

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 inter ...

, later prompted him to write his first tango, ''El Pañuelito'' ("The Handkerchief") in 1920. Made into music by Filiberto, this began one of the genre's best-known collaborations over the years. He named and created lyrics for a number of tangos, including ''El besito'' ("Little Kiss"), ''La cartita'' ("The Letter"), ''La Vuelta de Rocha'' ("Rocha's Bend", a corner in

La Boca La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Its location near the Port of Buenos Aires meant the neighbourhood became a melting pot of ...

) and ''El ramito'' ("The Bouquet"), among others. His most celebrated creation, however, became a reminiscence of his days in La Rioja, and of a torrid love affair with a pretty young pianist who was forced to leave him after she became pregnant: ''

Caminito Caminito ("little walkway" or "little path" in Spanish) is a street museum and a traditional alley, located in La Boca, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The place acquired cultural significance because it inspired the music for the fam ...

'' - the "Little Path." Coria Peñaloza later wrote two tangos with Juan Carlos Moreno González: ''Margaritas'' ("Daisies"), recorded by

in 1929 and ''Mi casita'' ("My Little House"), with no recordings. Following this disappointment, he relocated to

Chilecito Chilecito (lit. Little Chile) is a city in the Argentina, Argentine provinces of Argentina, province of La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, and head of the departments of Argentina, department of Chilecito Department, Chilecito. Overview an ...

, a valley town situated high in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

mountains in La Rioja Province. There, he published three books of poetry in subsequent years: ''El Profeta Indio'' ("The Indian Prophet"), ''Cantares'' ("Ballads"), and ''La canción de mis canciones'' ("Song of My Songs"). ''Caminito'', for its part, helped inspire

Benito Quinquela Martín Benito Quinquela Martín (March 1, 1890 – January 28, 1977) was an Argentine painter. Quinquela Martín is considered the port painter-par-excellence and one of the most popular Argentine painters. His paintings of port scenes show the activity, ...

's restoration of a derelict

shortcut by the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

during the mid-1950s. The restored, pedestrian street's designation by that name by Mayor

Hernán Giralt Hernán is a Spanish masculine given name, originating from Germanic Hernan in the Visigoth culture in Spain. It is the Latinized version of the compound name ''Fard-nanth'', which seems to mean "gentle traveler" or "spiritual traveler". The House ...

in 1959 was not attended by Coria, however, who disapproved on the grounds that his lyrics referred to the La Rioja Province road, instead. He remained in Chilecito with his wife, though unable to locate the son or daughter he was told to have fathered from his youthful fling. Gabino Coria Peñaloza died in Chilecito in 1975, at age 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coria Penaloza, Gabino 1881 births 1975 deaths People from Mendoza Province Argentine people of Spanish descent 20th-century Argentine poets 20th-century Argentine male writers Argentine male poets Argentine lyricists