José Gervasio Viera Rodríguez (27 February 1948 – 28 October 1990), also simply known as Gervasio, was an Uruguayan singer who achieved popularity in Chile in 1983, when he won the international competition of the

Viña del Mar International Song Festival The Viña del Mar International Song Festival () is an annual international music festival held every third week of February in Viña del Mar, Chile. Started in 1960 it is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America, and one of the long ...

, with the song " Alma, Corazón y Pan". One of Gervasio's most famous compositions is "

Con Una Pala y Un Sombrero Con or CON may refer to: Places * Commonwealth of Nations, or CON, an association of primarily former British colonies * Concord Municipal Airport (IATA airport code CON), a public-use airport in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States * ...

", which he wrote in honour of his father, who died of lung cancer.

Life

José Gervasio was born in Cerro Largo, Uruguay, on 27 February 1948. During his first years of life, he stayed in a children's home, and left school at 9 years old. His first public appearance as singer was in 1965, and "he did not leave music anymore, because through it he could interact with people from the upper class of Uruguay," '' Canal 13'' reported. Gervasio emigrated to

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

in 1967, participating in

Mario Kreutzberger Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld (; born 28 December 1940), better known by his stage name as Don Francisco (), is a Chilean television host, and a popular personality on the Univision network reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United ...

's TV show '' Sábados Gigantes''. Shortly afterwards, he already had some radio hits in Chile: "La Mujer Esdrújula" (which he performed in ''Sábados Gigantes''), and "La Azafata". Gervasio left Chile for some time, and in Argentina he formed the band

Los Náufragos ''The Shipwrecked'' () is a 1994 Chilean drama film directed by Miguel Littín. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Aron is an exiled Chilean whose father has died during his years of absenc ...

, with which he had hits such as "Linda Chiquilina." He married for the first time 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 ...

, Argentina, in the mid-1970s, and left music temporarily. He shortly broke up, and formed a duet with

Helda Rozas Helda is a village in Rapla Parish, Rapla County, Estonia. It's located about 8 km northeast of the town of Rapla. It has an area of 545 ha and a population of 43 (as of 1 February 2010). Between 1991–2017 (until the administrative reform ...

, with whom he had his second children, and worked for about a year. Gervasio broke up with Rozas, and then returned to Chile, in 1982. In February 1983, he participated in the

, representing Uruguay in the international competition, with his song " Alma, Corazón y Pan." Gervasio eventually won. Gervasio got engaged with the Chilean model Mónica Aguirre, with whom he had four children: Yanara, Nahuel, Millaray, and Lincoyán. In May 1984, Gervasio was accused of attempted rape by a twenty-year-old woman. The case was dismissed ten months later for lack of merit. In September 1988, he was accused for the third time of the same crime, but he was dismissed on every occasion for lack of evidence. Due to a sexual abuse allegation against him, in early 1990, Gervasio had to perform himself a psychological examination that revealed abnormal characteristics in his personality. He was arrested on 5 March of that year, and stayed fifty-two days in the Penitenciaría de Santiago prison, until he was released on bail. His economic problems, and lack of employment, forced him to begin working in a Maipú restaurant.

Death

Gervasio was due to appear before the

Appeals Court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate ...

on 28 October 1990 in order to confront the woman who had accused him of sexual abuse; however, two days before, his body was found hanging, in an abandoned house of

Talagante Talagante () is a commune and the capital city of the province of the same name in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The word ''Talagante'' in Quechua comes from ''talacanta'', meaning "Lazo de Hechicero", which was the prope ...

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...

. It was reported he had committed suicide, but Gervasio's sister, Blanca Viera, managed to prompt an investigation on the matter. In 1996, a case was opened, but it was dismissed two years later because evidence could not be found to prove the involvement of third parties. At the day, the actual cause of death remains unknown. In 2013, another investigation claimed that Gervasio did not take his own life but might have been murdered.

Discography

;As solo artist *''Gervasio'' (1968 – RCA Victor / Arci Music) *''Alma, corazón y pan'' (1983 – RCA Argentina / BMG Chile) *''Tiempo de muñecas'' (1985 – BMG) *''Gervasio'' (1989 – Alerce) ;Compilation albums (with other artists) *''Voces sin fronteras'' (1987 – EMI Odeon) *'' La Nueva Ola en 30 grandes éxitos'' (1997 – Warner Music)

References

External links

''Gervasio: el enigma y la leyenda'' (''Gervasio: the mystery and the legend'')
report by '' Contacto'' ( Canal 13) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gervasio 1948 births 1990 deaths People from Cerro Largo Department 20th-century Chilean male singers 20th-century Uruguayan male singers Uruguayan singer-songwriters Uruguayan male singer-songwriters Uruguayan expatriates in Chile Naturalized citizens of Chile Uruguayan emigrants to Chile 20th-century Chilean male artists Deaths by hanging Unsolved deaths