Antonio Carrizo
Encyclopedia
Antonio Carrizo is a noted Argentine radio
and television presenter.
, in western Buenos Aires Province
, his first experience in broadcasting was during his teens at the helm of a transit media
vehicle, from which he could be heard hawking Mejoral, a paracetamol
analgesic, in General Villegas and surrounding Pampas towns. He arrived in Buenos Aires
following a year of military service
, and began on the radio as an ad announcer on Radio del Pueblo in 1948. He later co-hosted a program on ratings leader Radio Belgrano with Beatriz Taibo, in which the duo became known for announcing advertisements in the form of a dialogue. Taibo, for example, might ask: "Traffic's at a standstill. What do you think happened?" to which Carrizo would answer "A Sunlight
girl must have walked by!"
The radio theater producer at Radio El Mundo, Julio César Barton, hired Carrizo in 1949. He worked with leading names in Argentine radio at the time such as Niní Marshall
, Tita Merello
, and Luis Sandrini
, eventually becoming the station's programming director. Remaining on the radio, Carrizo debuted on Argentine television in the 1950s on Channel 7
, and in cinema as a radio presenter in Luis César Amadori
's El barro humano (1955). Carrizo was hired by Channel 9
director Alejandro Romay
to host Sábados Continuados in 1964. He returned to Channel 7 as host of Bienvenido Sábado (Welcome, Saturday), a variety show
that aired in 1965, and in the 1970s hosted Primera de la Noche (Top of the Evening). Carrizo also appeared from 1966 on Radio Rivadavia, which by then had become the nation's top radio network, working with Cacho Fontana
, Héctor Larrea
, and Juan Carlos Mareco
, and in 1971 left El Mundo to become host of Rivadavia's La Vida y El Canto (Life and Song). The urbane talk show
, which ran for twenty years, drew guests from Argentine music, cinema
, and literature
(including Jorge Luis Borges
, with whom he taped Borges, el Memorioso in 1979), as well as foreign guests such as Italian cinema great Vittorio Gassman
. He also hosted Cíclo Los Intérpretes (Performers' Series) on Radio Rivadavia, devoted to folk
and classical music
, and appeared as a recurring guest commentator on the popular round table
program Polémica en el Fútbol (Controversies in Argentine Football). Carrizo earned a Konex Award
for his career as presenter in 1981.
Carrizo was named President of the Society of Argentine Bibliophiles, and of the Argentine Chess Federation. The accomplished chess
player counted among his friends Grand Master Bobby Fischer
. Fischer visited Argentina often, and Carrizo's home hosted numerous matches between the two, as well as with other noted players such as Tigran Petrosian
and Miguel Quinteros
; during one such match, which Fischer and Quinteros played for money, the unpredictable Fischer repeatedly slammed the Japanese forest glass
coffee table, prompting Carrizo to urge Quinteros to lower the stakes, "lest that son of a bitch break my table!"
His later projects included serving as master of ceremonies
at the 1980 OTI Festival
, as well as the annual Ciclo Música en la Ciudad (City Music Series), a classical music festival, from 1987 onward. He joined Juan Carlos Calabró
as co-host of the radio comedy series, Calabromas, and its long-running television counterpart: El contra (The Jerk, Calabró's stock character). Carrizo served as Cultural Attaché
to the Argentine Embassy in Spain during the 1990s, and was bestowed the Order of Isabella the Catholic. He later hosted El Locutorio (The Broadcast Room), a cultural program, and Papeles Sueltos (Loose Papers), an intellectual round table show. He also hosted, among other programs, Hecho en Argentina, a geographic documentary series on the América 24
cable network, and from 2006 onward Tangos y Libros on Municipal Radio.
Carrizo's health worsened, and in 2008 he underwent cardiopulmonary bypass and cerebrovascular surgery. He recovered, returned as host of Tangos y Libros, and in 2010 was awarded the Argentina Bicentennial
Medal by Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri
. Carrizo, whose career spanned seven decades, earned widespread respect among colleagues and listeners for his authoritative intonation and cultural breadth. He became known as el señor de la radio ("the lord of the radio") in Argentina.
Radio in Argentina
Radio in Argentina is an important facet of the nation's media and culture. Radio, which was first broadcast in Argentina in 1920, has been widely enjoyed in Argentina since the 1930s. Radio broadcast stations totaled around 150 active AM stations, 1,150 FM stations, and 6 registered shortwave...
and television presenter.
Life and work
Born in General VillegasGeneral Villegas
General Villegas is a town in General Villegas Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.UN/LOCODE is ARVGS....
, in western Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, his first experience in broadcasting was during his teens at the helm of a transit media
Transit media
Transit media is a form of out-of-home advertising that uses vehicular platforms to establish a mobile brand presence.Typically, transit media campaigns are employed in denser urban environments to maximize brand exposure to both pedestrian and on-road traffic...
vehicle, from which he could be heard hawking Mejoral, a paracetamol
Paracetamol
Paracetamol INN , or acetaminophen USAN , is a widely used over-the-counter analgesic and antipyretic . It is commonly used for the relief of headaches and other minor aches and pains and is a major ingredient in numerous cold and flu remedies...
analgesic, in General Villegas and surrounding Pampas towns. He arrived in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
following a year of military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
, and began on the radio as an ad announcer on Radio del Pueblo in 1948. He later co-hosted a program on ratings leader Radio Belgrano with Beatriz Taibo, in which the duo became known for announcing advertisements in the form of a dialogue. Taibo, for example, might ask: "Traffic's at a standstill. What do you think happened?" to which Carrizo would answer "A Sunlight
Sunlight (cleaning product)
Sunlight is a brand of household soap originally produced by the British company Lever Brothers in 1884. It was the world's first packaged, branded laundry soap. Designed for washing clothes and general household use, the success of the product led to the name for the company's village for its...
girl must have walked by!"
The radio theater producer at Radio El Mundo, Julio César Barton, hired Carrizo in 1949. He worked with leading names in Argentine radio at the time such as Niní Marshall
Niní Marshall
Niní Marshall was a popular Argentine comedienne and actress.-Life and work:She was born Marina Esther Traveso in Buenos Aires to Pedro and María Ángela Traveso, a well-to-do family in Rosario, in 1903...
, Tita Merello
Tita Merello
Laura Ana Merello best known as Tita Merello was a prominent Argentine film actress, tango dancer and singer...
, and Luis Sandrini
Luis Sandrini
Luis Sandrini was a prolific Argentine comic film actor and film producer. He has made over 80 appearances in film between 1933 and 1980....
, eventually becoming the station's programming director. Remaining on the radio, Carrizo debuted on Argentine television in the 1950s on Channel 7
Canal 7 Argentina
Canal Siete, TV Pública or TV Pública Digital is an Argentine television network founded on October 17, 1951. Between 1979 and 1999, the network was known as Argentina Televisora Color . During the 1978 World Cup, it was known as A78TV.Owned, financed and operated by the Argentine State, Canal 7 is...
, and in cinema as a radio presenter in Luis César Amadori
Luis César Amadori
Luis César Amadori was an Italian - Argentine film director and screenwriter and one of the most influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era...
's El barro humano (1955). Carrizo was hired by Channel 9
Canal 9 (Argentina)
Canal 9 is an Argentine television network based in Buenos Aires. It is a general entertainment station which offers news, soap operas, talk shows, and movies.-History:...
director Alejandro Romay
Alejandro Romay
Alejandro Romay is an Argentine businessman working with theater and TV. He worked for many years at Channel 9, and became known as the "Czar of television".-Biography:...
to host Sábados Continuados in 1964. He returned to Channel 7 as host of Bienvenido Sábado (Welcome, Saturday), a variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
that aired in 1965, and in the 1970s hosted Primera de la Noche (Top of the Evening). Carrizo also appeared from 1966 on Radio Rivadavia, which by then had become the nation's top radio network, working with Cacho Fontana
Cacho Fontana
Jorge "Cacho" Fontana is an Argentine radio and television personality.-Life and work:Born Norberto Palese in the Barracas section of Buenos Aires, he was the only child of Nieves Filgueiras and Antonio Palese...
, Héctor Larrea
Héctor Larrea
-Life and work:Larrea was born in Bragado, Buenos Aires Province, in 1938. He lost his father at age nine, and found comfort with his mother in radio broadcasting, particularly Tango shows. He participated in high school plays, and following graduation, attended the Institute of Higher Radio...
, and Juan Carlos Mareco
Juan Carlos Mareco
Juan Carlos Mareco was a Uruguayan actor and radio and television talk show host. He achieved fame in Spain, Chile and Argentina from the 1960s onwards in comedy roles and as a television host in a variety of genres....
, and in 1971 left El Mundo to become host of Rivadavia's La Vida y El Canto (Life and Song). The urbane talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, which ran for twenty years, drew guests from Argentine music, cinema
Cinema of Argentina
The cinema of Argentina has a tradition dating back to the late nineteenth century, and continues to play a role in the culture of Argentina....
, and literature
Argentine literature
Argentine literature is the body of literary work produced in Argentina. Among Argentina's best-known and most influential authors are Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, José Hernández, Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Roberto Arlt, Julio Cortázar, Manuel Puig, and Ernesto Sabato...
(including Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, with whom he taped Borges, el Memorioso in 1979), as well as foreign guests such as Italian cinema great Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman Knight Grand Cross OMRI , popularly known as Il Mattatore, was an Italian theatre and film actor and director...
. He also hosted Cíclo Los Intérpretes (Performers' Series) on Radio Rivadavia, devoted to folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, and appeared as a recurring guest commentator on the popular round table
Round table (discussion)
Round table is a form of academic discussion. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate. Each person is given equal right to participate, because of the circular layout usually used in round table discussions....
program Polémica en el Fútbol (Controversies in Argentine Football). Carrizo earned a Konex Award
Konex Award
Konex Foundation awards, or simple Konex awards are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation to Argentine cultural personalities.Created in 1980, where conceived as a way to reward the Argentine personalities and institutions of different fields, as well as to stimulate the beginners.Even though...
for his career as presenter in 1981.
Carrizo was named President of the Society of Argentine Bibliophiles, and of the Argentine Chess Federation. The accomplished chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player counted among his friends Grand Master Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
. Fischer visited Argentina often, and Carrizo's home hosted numerous matches between the two, as well as with other noted players such as Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
and Miguel Quinteros
Miguel Quinteros
Miguel Quinteros is an Argentine chess grandmaster.He won the Argentine Chess Championship at the age of 18 and in 1969 took eighth place at the Mar del Plata Zonal tournament...
; during one such match, which Fischer and Quinteros played for money, the unpredictable Fischer repeatedly slammed the Japanese forest glass
Forest glass
The term Forest glass or the German name Waldglas is given to late Medieval glass produced in North-Western Europe from about 1000-1700 AD using wood ash and sand as the main raw materials and made in factories known as glass-houses in forest areas...
coffee table, prompting Carrizo to urge Quinteros to lower the stakes, "lest that son of a bitch break my table!"
His later projects included serving as master of ceremonies
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
at the 1980 OTI Festival
OTI Festival
OTI Festival was an annual singing competition, held between 1972 and 2000, among active member countries of the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana .- Venues and Presenters :- Winners :-By country:...
, as well as the annual Ciclo Música en la Ciudad (City Music Series), a classical music festival, from 1987 onward. He joined Juan Carlos Calabró
Juan Carlos Calabró
Juan Carlos Calabró is an Argentine actor and comedian.He debuted on radio in the early sixties with the program Farandulandia and reached television in 1962 with the hit comedy Telecómicos...
as co-host of the radio comedy series, Calabromas, and its long-running television counterpart: El contra (The Jerk, Calabró's stock character). Carrizo served as Cultural Attaché
Cultural attaché
A cultural attaché is a diplomat with special responsibility for promoting the culture of his or her homeland. The position has been used as an official cover for intelligence agents. Historically, the post has often been filled by writers and artists, giving them a steady income, allowing them to...
to the Argentine Embassy in Spain during the 1990s, and was bestowed the Order of Isabella the Catholic. He later hosted El Locutorio (The Broadcast Room), a cultural program, and Papeles Sueltos (Loose Papers), an intellectual round table show. He also hosted, among other programs, Hecho en Argentina, a geographic documentary series on the América 24
América 24
América 24, recently referred to just as A 24, is an Argentine news cable channel. Founded in 2005 by PRAMER, it replaced a previous 24 / 7 news channel, CVN -External links:* *...
cable network, and from 2006 onward Tangos y Libros on Municipal Radio.
Carrizo's health worsened, and in 2008 he underwent cardiopulmonary bypass and cerebrovascular surgery. He recovered, returned as host of Tangos y Libros, and in 2010 was awarded the Argentina Bicentennial
Argentina Bicentennial
The Argentina Bicentennial is a series of celebrations and observances celebrated on May 25, 2010, and throughout the year. They commemorated the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution, a sequence of historical events that led to the Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros' being ousted from office...
Medal by Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri is an Argentine businessman turned politician, and Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Son of Francisco Macri, a businessman of Italian origin prominent in the industrial and construction sectors, he represented the City of Buenos Aires in the Lower House of...
. Carrizo, whose career spanned seven decades, earned widespread respect among colleagues and listeners for his authoritative intonation and cultural breadth. He became known as el señor de la radio ("the lord of the radio") in Argentina.