A poet´s history a hundred years after his birth.

 

He was born on March 3^rd, 1901 in a family that loved music. His father, Santo Discépolo, an Italian inmigrant, was a musician, a director and a teacher. His mother, Luisa Deluchi, was a housewife and took care of her four children, from which Enrique was the youngest one. According to his own words, Discépolo´s childhood was very sad: his father died from cancer when he was five. All his family was immensely sad, and his mother fell into a deep depression, which led her to tuberculosis; this awful illness killed her after only three years. Having become an orphan, he and his sister Otilia moved with some relatives, but later on his life he wouldn´t remember that as a pleasant experience, as he once told a journalist: “I had to be very quiet, even when sleeping, in order not to bother those people.” In 1911, his brother Armando got married and took Enrique to live with him. That´s when he started studying music again as a way of remembering his father. At the age of fifteen he made his debut as an actor in Roberto Casaux´s company, using the name E. Santos.  By that time he also started writing songs and theatre plays, but he didn´t have much repercussion. He had his first main role in the play “Mateo”, written by his brother Armando. In 1924, while he was in Montevideo, he wrote his first tango “Bizcochito” (“Little biscuit”), with lyrics by José A. Saldías. A year later he wrote “El organito” (“The little pipe organ”) along with his brother, and “¡Qué va-cha-ché!” (“What are you going to do?”) which described Argentina´s social  situation. From that moment on, all his lyrics would have a dramatic touch, which showed all his hidden pain; but, at the same time, he had a cheerful and festive personality. He had a passion for study, and didn´t miss any opportunity of reading a book that could give him any kind of knowledge. He had two groups of friends: actors and intellectuals. Nobody knows why destiny made him live during one of Argentina´s darkest periods, but we do know that Discépolo turned into “People´s Voice” (“La voz del Pueblo”), since he reflected all the pain, anguish and injustice that people suffered everyday. Around that time he wrote a number of successes: “Esta noche me emborracho”, (“Tonight I´ll get drunk”), “Chorra” (“Thief”), “Soy un arlequín” (“I am a harlequin”), “Yira yira” (“Wander, wander”), “Victoria” (“Victory”), “Qué sapa señor” (“What happens, sir?”), “Sueño de juventud” (“Youth dream”) and many others. Historians always tell, as an anecdote, that nobody wanted to sing “Esta noche me emborracho” (“Tonight I´ll get drunk”), until he finally got Azucena Maizani to sing it, and it became a huge success. It was because of the same tango that he met, almost accidentally, the woman who would be his companion for life: Tania. It is said that José Razzano met the singer at “Casino”, the place where she performed, and convinced the author of going with him. For Discépolo it was love at first sight, but Tania played hard to get before accepting his love. Some of his works which also helped him develop his fame were “Confesión” (“Confession”) along with Luis César Amadori; “Carrillón de la Merced” with Le Pera´s collaboration, and “Quien más, quien menos” (“Almost anyone”). In 1935 he made a very long tour around Europe and North Africa, places in which he performed and gave a lot of conferences. Back in Buenos Aires he formed his own group with which he performed in Municipal radio station, and made several recordings for Victor company. Many-sided and hyperactive, he made an incursion  into film industry, appearing on: “Cuatro corazones” (“Four hearts”), “Caprichosa y millonaria” (“Capricious and millionaire”), “Un señor mucamo” (“Mister butler”), “La luz de una estrella” (“A star´s light”), “Fantasmas de Buenos Aires” (“Ghosts from Buenos Aires”), “Cándida, la mujer del año” (“Cándida, woman of the year”), “Yo no elegí mi vida” (“I didn´t choose my life”) y “El hincha” (“The fanatic”). At the same time he continued writing. Some of his works from that period are: “Cambalache” (“Barter”), “Alma de bandoneón” (“Bandoneón soul”), “Melodía porteña” (“Porteña melody”), “Desencanto” (“Disenchanting”) with Amadori´s collaboration, “Tormenta” (“Storm”), “Martirio” (“Martyrdom”), “Infamia” (“Infamy”), “Uno” (“One”) with Mores´s music and “Canción desesperada” (“Desperate song”). During the last stage of his life he composed “El choclo” (“Corn”), and also “Sin palabras” (“Without any words”)y “Cafetín de Buenos Aires” (“Buenos Aires little coffee house”) with music by Mariano Mores. Enrique Santos Discépolo died in Buenos Aires on December 23^rd ,1951, causing great pain to all the Argentine people, since he was almost the only poet people considered as its own voice. Some of his tangos were first sang postmortem, like “Mensaje” (“Message”), “Fangal”, (“Mudhole”), “Andrajos” (“Rags”) y “Fratellanza” (“Brotherhood”).