Carlos Gardel: The Name That Defined Classic Tango

An elegant fedora, impeccable suit and irresistible smile Carlos Gardels classy
gentleman image was everywhere on the tango music vinyl records and concert
posters of the 1920s and 30s. And it accompanied a voice that had the most
powerful influence on the evolution of tango.
The name of Carlos Gardel is nowadays iconic for the Golden Age of tango, when
the musician had a decisive role in making tango famous worldwide. Hit songs such
as Por una cabeza or Volver were sang by tango orchestras all over Europe and the
Americas, were featured in famous films, and continue to be widely popular in tango
clubs almost 80 years after Gardels death.
Tango singer, songwriter and dancer
Before Carlos Gardel, tango was mainly linked to the margins of Argentinian society.
It was the music played in immigrant bars, restaurants and brothels from the poor
neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, and it was more than often played by an orchestra
with no lead singer.
In 1917, Carlos Gardel recorded his first hit song, Mi Noche Triste, which included
sad and melancholic lyrics capturing the sentimental essence of tango. From that
point on, the tango quickly became more and more popular among Porteos, as the
inhabitants of Buenos Aires were called. Through the songs of Carlos Gardel, the
tango moved from the marginal neighbourhoods to the upper class ballrooms. And
further on, to other continents: by the end of the 1920s, Gardel and his band were
touring Europe and the Americas and registering massive popularity. In the first 3
months alone of his visit in Paris in 1928, Gardel managed to sell over 70,000
records.
Apart from being a singer and songwriter, Gardel was also a famed tango dancer.
Many of his performances are included in his Hollywood films, the most prominent
of which was Las Luces de Buenos Aires, produced in 1931.
My homeland is tango
For tango aficionados in Europe, Gardel is an iconic figure of tango clasico, but for
Argentinians it is even more than that. It is a part of their national identity. For this
reason, much debate and controversy has been developed surrounding his personal
life. While some claim he was born in France to an unmarried mother who later
immigrated to Argentina, others contend he was the illegitimate child of a wellknown Uruguayan businessman.
Gardel himself was very discreet about his personal life and often made evasive and
contradictory statements regarding it. My homeland is tango, he was once quoted
saying. On different occasions he also claimed My heart is Argentinian, but my soul
is Uruguayan. At his death in a tragic plane crash in 1935, he was mourned

throughout Latin America, and even nowadays his image is very much alive on the
streets of Buenos Aires. Cafes, museum and even street art reproduce his iconic
image as an immanent part of Argentinian culture.
Gardels music legacy
Few other musicians had a more powerful role in the history of tango. The rich and
resonant voice with which Carlos Gardel sang his melancholic tango ballades is
regarded today as a trademark for tango clasico. He not only managed to take
tango from the poor suburbs of Buenos Aires to the classiest and most elegant
tango ballrooms of London, Paris and Madrid. But also, by using his natural talent
and charm, he accentuated the tangos expressivity and rhythm, making tango
music and dance fundamentally linked to one another.