The Argentine soul of Barcelona is in mourning and not only for the death of Maradona. A few days ago, the Tango nightclub announced that it will not open doors again. One more victim of the pandemic.
It is not strange that in the Catalan capital there is a place with the name of this dance. In the same way that now the youth go crazy to the rhythm of the trap and reggaeton coming from the Americas, there was a time in Barcelona when they had breakfast, lunch and dinner with tangos. The city was full of academies where the basic and local steps were taught with orchestras that dedicated their entire repertoire to it so that couples could display their skills. The obsession was so great that it was considered the third capital of tango after Buenos Aires and Paris. It was the perfect breeding ground for a star hatching: Carlos Gardel.
There was a time when in Barcelona I had breakfast, lunch and dinner with tangos
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Gardel tiptoed into Europe through the port of Vigo in 1923 and, in tandem with José Razzano, performed in Madrid without pain or glory. To return to Argentina they had to embark in Barcelona and, when they set foot in the city, Gardel noticed the Barcelona tango fever. The singer had found the springboard from which to assault the Old Continent.
Goya Theater. November 10, 1925. The Argentine company Rivero-deRosas ends the show. It is the moment of the end of the party and Gardel appears on stage alone. Razzano, with voice problems, has had to stay in America. He is only accompanied by a guitar. There is no budget for more. In fact, in those early days the singer was only a complement to the shows offered by the theatrical cast.
The Catalan secretary
One of the only three survivors of the accident where Gardel lost his life was Josep ‘Joe’ Plaja Gasch, from Empordà, who worked as a translator for Paramount and whom the singer had hired to help him with English. But, as the recently released documentary ‘Joe, Gardel’s secretary’ explains, Plaja was much more than just a teacher.
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But Gardel, always dressed with a smile that illuminated his eyes, had a seductive charisma. It was just what the Odeon record company needed to compete against the records that Pancho scares he recorded for his Master’s Voice. The battle to dominate the tango market was epic. The records had greatly improved the quality of sound and the most manageable and affordable devices were increasingly present in more homes. Especially in those of the rich.
Barcelona in the twenties he was still swimming in the wealth of money made during World War I. Spanish neutrality had favored the businesses of the Catalan bourgeoisie, benefiting from the European paralysis during the conflict. Luxury cars, black tie dinners, exclusive parties in trendy places were part of the night landscape.
And since the bourgeoisie of the city in those days was reflected in Paris, it imitated it as much as it could. The passion for tango had been imported from there and he also copied the taste for mixing with artists. Gardel was one of the most coveted and even sang the Equestrian Circle, although he preferred more relaxed settings. For example made friends with Santiago Rusiñol, who invited him to the Cau Ferrat in Sitges and, according to Xavier Febrés in his essential book ‘Gardel a Barcelona’, he got the habit of praying before going to bed. The two men chatted, drank and sang tangos until their hearts said enough.
With whom he also had good harmony was with the footballers, especially with Ricard Zamora and Josep Samitier, that besides stars in the field they were also stars of the Barcelona night. You could see them in theaters, concerts … and in the shows of Gardel, who in 1927 had returned to the city for the third time to fill the Principal de la Rambla to the flag where people came from all over Catalonia to hear him. sing.
In 1928 he made the long-awaited debut in Paris and, shortly after, his film career began, which took him to New York. The conquest of the United States took him away from Barcelona. He visited it briefly for the last time in 1932. Only two days to record new songs. I didn’t know it then but it was the last time I sang for Odeon.
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On June 24, 1935, during a tour of South America, he died in an aviation accident in Colombia. The Barcelona newspapers mourned his death and tango fans turned him into a legend.
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