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Homage | Floreal Ruiz

“THE TATA”

Floreal Ruiz was born in Flores, Buenos Aires on March 29th, 1916. His father’s name was José, and his mother’s was, Rosa Rimundo.The marriage had three children, and due to the to his father’s anarchist ideas, it was coherent that he named his first daughter Fraternidad, his second son Floreal, and the last, Libertario. He was called by the nickname of Piruco when he was younger. His father was an upholsterer, and he taught him this profession, later he was a bread distributing and then a milkman. In Flores, there were for those times a lot of places were you could play soccer and Piruco as all the boys, felt passion for playing soccer. He was an Independiente fan, because he liked the red color. In the 20´s being still a young boy, he used to listen to Gardel, Corsini, Magaldi in radios, that, and having a pretty voice color; were the influence so that he dreamt of being singer. It was a time where the serenades where very popular. The neighborhood of Flores had resolved its entire problem, they had two friends with extremely good voice to express their girlfriend all their love. And theses two friends were of course, Piruco, and the other was Piero Fontana (lately known as Hugo Del Carril). It was a delight for the girls to hear them singing. The old Floreal was a very realistic person, due to the difficult moments he had going through, and knowing his son’s aspirations, he didn’t accept the idea of his son. To be a singer. He opposed to that idea because he thought that the people who sang were avoiding the real work, the hard work, and he thought that if he didn’t work he wouldn’t eat, and that singing wasn’t a real job, as simple as that. Floreal, was not a rebel person, for that reason he worked and he collaborated economically in his house, but his vocation for the tango was very strong, and he participated in all the singers competitions but with a false name once he registered with Fabián conde and other time with Carlos Martel. These competitions were usually organized in radios, for those times, Fénix and Prieto.


A REWARD TO HIS PERSEVERANCE

Year 1936 –After a lot of presentations he finally won a competition and he was hired to perform in a group which belonged to José Otero and which acted in Radio Prieto and Radio Belgrano. He also acted in Armenonville´s orchestra directed by Alberto Mancione.

THE BEGINNING OF HIS PROFESSIONAL LIFE

The golden period of tango has begun, the orchestral groups did the best they could to impress the audience, and the singers played a very important part in this game Year 1941 – Alfredo De Angelis was looking for a singer to accompany Héctor Morea, “el Colorado de Banfield”(The red haired from Banfield), so he called the young Flores with just 26 years old. Then, Morea left the orchestra and he was replaced by Julio Martel, and they formed a very successful duet, this caused their participation in one of the most important places of the tango golden period, this place was El Marzotto, and also they acted in Radio El Mundo that was very important. The orchestras had commentators for those times, they introduced the group, they presented the group or the song they were going to sing Nestor Rodi had that responsibility with De Angelis. The young Ruiz, with his warm voice, immediately captivated the Buenos Aires audience, which bought all his albums “Marioneta”( Marionette), “Déjame así” (Leave me in this way), “Como se muere de amor” (How she dies of love), “Bajo el cono azul” (Under the blue cone), “Cero al As”, “Mi novia de Ayer” (My ex girlfriend), “Madre y Guitarrera”(Mother and guitar player) were his great hits But nothing lasts forever in life and there were economical problems, some orchestras charged highest cachets for acting, and this situation allowed the directors to look for the best professionals; (musicians or singers), to hire them and in that way to continue in the leader groups platoon.

THE SKY IN HIS HANDS
We make a comment on that because in one of those favorites orchestras, Anibal Troilo´s one and in its best moment Fiorentino left it. Pichuco, though it was never going to happen, and quickly he started the searching for the person who would replace him, he knew it was going to be very hard. Alberto Marino, his other singer, knew about it and made a comment to him “...I am Floreal´s friend, if you seduce him with a bigger salary, I know that I can manage to convey him to sing with you...” He had always liked Ruiz for his color of voice and way of singing; he accepted the proposal “Alberto try to convey him and if he accepted it tell him that I will double his salary...” Year 1943 –That’s the way Marino did it, and Floreal without thinking of it was part Pichuco’s orchestra, causing the anger of De Angelis, but he resigned to the knowledge that the economic offer was very tempting to reject it, (a very justified reason on the other hand) and the that was very good man, was the style of person who cut the future to anybody, he wished him the best of lucks, and allowed him to leave. In his substitution Carlitos Dante that would be one of the important person with the time, arrived to the group, of the teacher Alfredo de Angelis.


HIS GLORIOUS MOMENT

Year 1944 – In September, Floreal Ruiz, recorded his first song with Troilo, the tango, “Marioneta” (marionette). Although Marino was the lead voice in the group, Floreal´s excellent voice, allowed him to record “La noche que te Fuiste”(The night that you went) and “Confesión”(Confession), “Flor de Lino” (Linen flower) and “Romance de Barrio”(neighborhood affair). The duet Marino-Floreal, one of the most remarkable in those times lasted until the year 1947, time in which Marino left the group and to replace him Edmundo Rivero arrived. In the golden period of our tango there wasn’t lack of work, the orchestras were required from the radios, clubs, Cabarets, etc... Pichuco was in his own style, a very important person “Marabu", "Ocean Dancing”, and in “El Tibidabo”, besides his permanent performances in “Radio Belgrano” and “Radio el Mundo”. Musicians as important as Hugo Baralis, Reinaldo Nichele, Jose Basso, gave an unmistakable style Pichuco´s bandoneon. Year 1947 – Jose Basso left the group and he was replaced by Carlos Figari. For those times there was an orchestra that without being so important, boasted of having select singers, they tempted their interpreters with a lot of money that didn't win in any other orchestra, it was Francisco Rotundo´s orchestra. Year 1949 – Rotundo offered him a monthly salary; the same amount that Troilo paid him annually, and Floreal didn’t think it twice and accepted it, and poor “ Gordo” suffered himself the pain that caused his goodbye, he felt the same thing De angelis suffered when he took Floreal for himself. Francisco Rotundo´s orchestra leaned on in that angular stone that was his singers, to stay in the competition, since he didn't have an own style that lit the tango passions, among the Buenos Aires audience. In Rotundo´s orchestra played the most important musicians of that time. Floreal´s great hits with Rotundo were: “Aquel Tapado de Armiño”, “Esclavas Blancas” (White slaves), “Sobre el Pucho”. A lot of musicians wanted to be part of Rotundo´s orchestra because of the money he paid to them. Ruiz was part of Rotundo´s orchestra and the singers were: Enrique Campos and Carlos Roldán. Some time later Roldan left and he formed a duet with Campos, from that period there is a remarkable jewel: “El viejo Vals”(The old vals). Year 1952 – At the end of this year Enrique Campos left the orchestra, to work as a soloist so Rotundo hired a very important singer, who sang for Franchini-Pontier, he was Julio Sosa, to accompany the star of his orchestra who was Floreal Ruiz. Floreal became first singer and he recorded songs as: “Las vueltas de la Vida”, and “no tenés perdón”, among others... Rotundo´s orchestra was intimately bound to the politics, since her wife was, the senator Juanita Larrauri, and in 1956 when the Free Revolution, which overthrows Perón, took place Rotundo decided to dissolve the orchestra Musicians and singers were without work. Floreal decided to have a rest for some time to meditate and see where he could work (he knew that he didn’t need to offer himself because he was a well-know person in the tango world. Besides his professional side, he had a nice personality, he was a good friend, he had a low profile, he didn't have hates neither bitterness for anything neither for anybody. His jovial character made all the colleagues to respect him and to value him for his professional conditions.


HIS VOCAL MATURITY
Year 1956 – Jose Basso who knew Ruiz because they had worked together in Troilo´s orchestra (he wasn’t called by the nickname tata yet), Hired him to perform replacing Rodolfo Galé, who, in that moment was working with Oscar Ferrari as a couple, and that was leaving the orchestra to work in Carlos Di Sarli´s orchestra to form a duet with Argentino Ledesma. Year 1957 – Ferrari left the orchestra and Ruiz recorded 13 songs being alone in the group. The experts said that the binomial–Director–Cantor– was a so harmonious assembles, where Basso with his defined style giving more importance to the strings and “bandoneónenos” and his personal style to mark the rhythm from the piano, accompanied, Floreal, in this, his new stage that already had a voice but it was more mature, due because tango was not sung but well said, it was said. The first phrasing teacher was, Roberto Rufino, and Floreal smartly began to say the tango, and this modality was growing and great musicians as: Goyeneche, Morán, Mauré, Sosa, Podestá, among others adopted it. It had been 40 the songs Floreal had recorded with Basso. Eight years lasted the great society between Basso and Floreal, with duet creations with colleagues of high class as: Alfredo Belusi and Jorge Durán. His partner in that moment in chronological order were: Oscar Ferrari, (1956), Alfredo Belusi (1957/60), Alfredo Del Rio (1961), Roberto Florio, Jorge Durán 1962/63. In 1964 - Tango began to decrease in the popular interest. What was happening? The international music was invading us, and the authorities didn’t do anything to maintain alive our music, because Folklore and tango are our highest musical cultural expression. There was a new generation of young people, that were very influenced by the North American system of life, and they tried to copy everything, from getting dressed as them, to eat, until to dance like them. Besides the recording companies that managed the market were also American, as R.C.A. Victor which hired the American singers to act in the country, in television and different show. That gave origin to the “Club del Clan”, armed exactly for this company, where it was shown lukewarmly (to attenuate the uneasiness), the Tango through young singers like Raúl Lavié and Enrique Dumas. Elvis Presley, Billy Haley, Neil Sedaca, and other, they were the mirrors where the young Argentinean imitators were looked at, and this way the Rock and Roll began to replace our tango...


THE NEW DIRECTIONS
The orchestras to survive, needed to reduce themselves, quartets, sextets, duets, were the only options, the singers became soloist for not relegating positions, as Julio Sosa who chose Leopoldo Federico, (to accompany his in his performances), until that moment he was Musical Director of Radio Belgrano. This singer was one of the people, which marked the new road. Floreal wasn’t the exception, with the great composer and arranger, Osvaldo Requena he continued performing and he recorded for Microfón company and he acted with great success in the channels 9 and 11.

THE NICKNAME OF TATA WAS BORN

Proposals from Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and other countries of America began to arrive, the people from these countries felt a lot of respect for the tango and they wanted to see this singers performing their great hits. It was exactly in one of those trips that Floreal heading a group of interpreters, and logically to be him, the oldest one one in the group and also the most serious, he was in charge to charge the cachet and to distribute the money that corresponded each one. He knew from his own experience that the singer's money lasted very little in the pockets that the money didn’t, he asked their partners if they wanted him to be the distributor of the money; and when the returned to Buenos Aires, the posture was accepted in an unanimous way. In that way the nickname was born, because everyone knew that the money was saved because “the old” he was called TATA, and he that was a good person accepted the nickname because for his experience and his age he was almost the father of all of them. He was interned in Durand Hospital in 1977, due to a heart attack, and all his colleagues, musicians and interpreters visited him to wish him a prompt improvement. On April 17th, 1978 and being still young , with 61 years old his heart stopped working, and died one of the most important interpreters who will be in the memory of the people who loves the best of the music, Tango.

Oscar Mármol

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