Alberto Castillo (December 7, 1914 – July 23, 2002) (nickname: Riobal) was a prominent

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

singer and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Career

He was born Alberto Salvador De Lucca in the

Mataderos Mataderos (Spanish for "slaughterhouses") is a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is one of the three ''barrios'' that make up the Comuna 9, alongside Liniers and Parque Avellaneda. Located in the south-west end of the cit ...

district of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, the son of Italian immigrants Salvatore De Luca and Lucia De Paola (from Teggiano, near

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

). Castillo made his professional debut in the 1930s and began a successful recording career in 1941; his first hit was his cover of the Alfredo Pelala tune “Recuerdo”. Castillo sang with the orchestras of

Julio De Caro Julio de Caro (December 11, 1899March 11, 1980) was an Argentine composer, musician, and conductor prominent in the Tango genre. Life and work His father opened a conservatory in the San Telmo district, in 1913, soon becoming one of the city's ...

(1934), Augusto Berto (1935) and Mariano Rodas (1937) and Ricardo Tanturi (1939). With his keen sense of rhythm and his tendency to go hoarse, Castillo made a name for himself as the main interpreter of the

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

-oriented genres of

candombe ''Candombe'' is a style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed ''candombe'' in its Rep ...

and milonga. One of his most successful recordings was "Cien Barrios Porteños" (The one hundred

barrios of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, the autonomous city and capital of Argentina, is composed of 48 neighbourhoods (locally known as ). Since 2008, the city is also legally divided into communes (), each one including one or more . Among the most visited and populat ...

), to the point that presenters would announce him as "the singer of the 100 barrios". Beginning in 1946, Castillo appeared in a number of Argentine films. Castillo was also a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

by training. This fact famously convinced his fiancée's parents to let her marry Alberto, because he was "more than just a tango singer", and was used as a plot device in the Argentine movie '' Moon of Avellaneda'' (Sp: "Luna de Avellaneda"), where Castillo is summoned to deliver a baby right after finishing his set at a carnival fair (the story is fictitious). Castillo did have a short stint as a sports physician. In December 1951, the Vélez Sársfield soccer team, which he supported, was on a tour of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and several players came down with

heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

, where Castillo was scheduled to perform. A member of the Vélez delegation contacted Castillo, who tended to the players and stayed with the team for the remainder of the tour, rescheduling some of his shows to fit the team's agenda. Among his later releases was a cover of his candombe hit “Siga el Baile”, recorded with Argentine band

Los Auténticos Decadentes Los Auténticos Decadentes (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Authentic Decadents") is an Argentina, Argentine band that mixes ska with Latin American rhythms. The band was formed around the year 1986 by Cucho and Nito, who invited Gastón to jo ...

. Castillo was the mentor of many other tango artists, such as Silvia Gabriela. Castillo is buried in

La Chacarita Cemetery The La Chacarita Cemetery (, also known as "Cementerio del Oeste") is a cemetery located in the Chacarita neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Occupying an area of 95 hectare, it is the largest in the country.Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Selected filmography

* '' The Tango Returns to Paris'' (1948)

References

External links

* *
Alberto Castillo
on Tango.info
"Profile - Alberto Castillo"
The Tango Times: Summer 2002. 1914 births 2002 deaths Singers from Buenos Aires Argentine male actors 20th-century Argentine male singers Tango singers Argentine physicians Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery {{Argentina-actor-stub