Horacio Adolfo Salgán (June 15, 1916 – August 19, 2016) was an Argentine

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 ...

musician. He was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

to an established

Afro-Argentine Afro-Argentines are people in Argentina of primarily Sub-Saharan African descent. The Afro-Argentine population is the result of people being brought over during the transatlantic slave trade during the centuries of Spanish domination in the re ...

family. Some of Salgán's most well-known compositions include ''Del 1 al 5 (Días de pago)'' (1944), ''Don Agustín Bardi'' (1947), ''Entre tango y tango'' (1953), ''Grillito'', ''La llamo silbando'', ''Cortada de San Ignacio'', and ''A fuego lento''. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

in June 2016 and died two months later on August 19, 2016. Salgán began studying piano at age six. At age 18 he joined the cast of Radio Belgrano as a soloist and back-up musician. At 20 he was discovered by orchestra leader

Roberto Firpo Roberto Firpo (May 10, 1884June 14, 1969) was an Argentine tango pianist, composer, and leader. Firpo was among the first innovators of the classic tango music genre. He was the establisher of the piano in the tango orchestra. Firpo was born i ...

, who hired Salgán for his orchestra. In late 1942 he made his first recording, and in 1944 put together his own orchestra, which lasted until 1947. Salgán then devoted himself to composing and teaching and in 1950 returned with a new orchestra. 1960 saw the formation of the Quinteto Real, with Salgán on piano, Enrique Mario Francini on violin and

Pedro Laurenz Pedro Laurenz (born Pedro Blanco Acosta) was a bandoneon player, director and composer of Argentine tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentin ...

on bandoneón. The goal of the group was to create instrumental tangos designed for listening rather than dancing. In 1998 he appeared as himself in the Oscar-nominated Best Foreign Language Film '' Tango, no me dejes nunca'' as part of El Nuevo Quinteto Real, an incarnation of the original group. In 2005

Konex Foundation Konex Foundation (''Fundación Konex'')is an Argentina, Argentine cultural non-profit organization created in 1980 ''to promote, stimulate, help, and participate in any form of cultural, educational, intellectual, artistic, social, philanthropic, ...

from Argentina granted him the Diamond

Konex Award 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 ...

, one of the most prestigious awards in Argentina, as the most important personality in the popular music of his country in the last decade.

References

External links

Horacio Salgan discography and recordings

Video recordings

* Played by

Pasquale Stafano Pasquale Stafano (born 2 December 1972) is an Italian jazz pianist, composer and arranger who performs internationally. Biography Stafano was born in Stornarella and studied at the Music Conservatory in Foggia where he took two degrees in class ...

and Gianni Iorio * Played by Horacio Salgán and Ubaldo de Lío {{DEFAULTSORT:Salgan, Horacio 1916 births 2016 deaths Afro-Argentine musicians Argentine centenarians Argentine tango musicians Musicians from Buenos Aires Men centenarians