Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
Encyclopedia
Gerardo Hernan Matos Rodríguez (March 28, 1897 – April 25, 1948) Montevideo
, Uruguay
, also known as Becho, was a Uruguay
an musician
, composer
and journalist
.
, the son of the owner of the Moulin Rougle, a popular local cabaret. He studied architecture, but did not complete the course. He began composing as a young student
in 1917, and his first known work, La Cumparsita
, which he wrote on the piano of the Federación de Estudiantes of Uruguay http://www.todotango.com/english/creadores/gmrodriguez.asp. It became one of the most recognizable tango pieces, though ironically, Matos was initially too shy to play the piece himself, and it became well-known through the performance of others.
He travelled widely throughout Europe
and stayed in Paris
for a time, as well as working as Uruguayan consul to Germany. In 1931, he collaborated on the flm score for Luces de Buenos Aires, shot in Joinville-le-Pont
, France
, and starring renowned tango vocalist Carlos Gardel
.
is La Cumparsita
. Some claim it is the most famous and recognizable tango of all time.
Rodríguez also composed pieces for theater plays premiered in Buenos Aires
: Manuel Romero
’s El Gran Circo Rivolta, among them. He led his own tango orchestra in Montevideo for a short time afterwards.
Other tangos of his include: “Che papusa, oí”, “Son grupos”, “Yo tuve una novia”, “Cuando bronca el temporal”, “Hablame”, “Pobre corazón”, “Haceme caso a mí”, “Canto por no llorar”, “Rosa reseca”, “Botija linda”, “El pescador”, “Te fuiste, ¡ja, ja!”, “Adiós Argentina”, “Mi provinciana”, “La milonga azul”, “Dale celos”, “Raspail”, “Mocosita”, “La muchacha del circo”, and “San Telmo”.
Rodriguez collaborated with the lyricists Enrique Cadícamo
, Victor Soliño, Juan B. A. Reyes, Manuel Romero
and Fernán Silva Valdés. With the latter he wrote a fine and touching series of Canciones Montevideanas ("Songs of Montevideo"), to which "Margarita punzó" belongs.
He died in Montevideo after a long illness, in 1948.
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, also known as Becho, was a Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Background and early career
Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez was born in MontevideoMontevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, the son of the owner of the Moulin Rougle, a popular local cabaret. He studied architecture, but did not complete the course. He began composing as a young student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
in 1917, and his first known work, La Cumparsita
La Cumparsita
"La cumparsita" is a musical piece written by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, an Uruguayan musician, in 1916. It is among the most famous and recognizable tango songs of all time....
, which he wrote on the piano of the Federación de Estudiantes of Uruguay http://www.todotango.com/english/creadores/gmrodriguez.asp. It became one of the most recognizable tango pieces, though ironically, Matos was initially too shy to play the piece himself, and it became well-known through the performance of others.
He travelled widely throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and stayed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for a time, as well as working as Uruguayan consul to Germany. In 1931, he collaborated on the flm score for Luces de Buenos Aires, shot in Joinville-le-Pont
Joinville-le-Pont
Joinville-le-Pont is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur by detaching its territory from the commune of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and starring renowned tango vocalist Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel was a singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was born in Toulouse, France, although he never acknowledged his birthplace publicly, and there are still claims of his birth in Uruguay. He lived in Argentina from the age of two...
.
Principal compositions
His best known work for the tangoTango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
is La Cumparsita
La Cumparsita
"La cumparsita" is a musical piece written by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, an Uruguayan musician, in 1916. It is among the most famous and recognizable tango songs of all time....
. Some claim it is the most famous and recognizable tango of all time.
Rodríguez also composed pieces for theater plays premiered 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...
: Manuel Romero
Manuel Romero
Manuel Romero was an Argentine film director, screenwriter , dramatist and score composer, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era...
’s El Gran Circo Rivolta, among them. He led his own tango orchestra in Montevideo for a short time afterwards.
Other tangos of his include: “Che papusa, oí”, “Son grupos”, “Yo tuve una novia”, “Cuando bronca el temporal”, “Hablame”, “Pobre corazón”, “Haceme caso a mí”, “Canto por no llorar”, “Rosa reseca”, “Botija linda”, “El pescador”, “Te fuiste, ¡ja, ja!”, “Adiós Argentina”, “Mi provinciana”, “La milonga azul”, “Dale celos”, “Raspail”, “Mocosita”, “La muchacha del circo”, and “San Telmo”.
Rodriguez collaborated with the lyricists Enrique Cadícamo
Enrique Cadícamo
Enrique Domingo Cadícamo was a prolific Argentine tango lyricist, poet and novelist. From an initial Symbolist bent, he developed a distinctive, lunfardo-rich style from an early age, and by 1925 he had his first piece, Pompas de jabón, sung by Carlos Gardel...
, Victor Soliño, Juan B. A. Reyes, Manuel Romero
Manuel Romero
Manuel Romero was an Argentine film director, screenwriter , dramatist and score composer, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era...
and Fernán Silva Valdés. With the latter he wrote a fine and touching series of Canciones Montevideanas ("Songs of Montevideo"), to which "Margarita punzó" belongs.
He died in Montevideo after a long illness, in 1948.
Reference
See also
- Music of UruguayMusic of UruguayThe music of Uruguay includes a number of local musical forms. The most distinctive ones are tango, murga, a form of musical theatre, and candombe, an afro-Uruguayan type of music which occur yearly during the Carnival period. There is also milonga, a folk guitar and song form deriving from Spanish...