Ivo Pelay (May 5, 1893 – August 28, 1959) was one of
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
's most prolific
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
s of the early 20th century.
Born Guillermo Juan Robustiano Pichot in
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 ...
, Pelay wrote over 200 plays in his lifetime, beginning with ''La Mala Vida'' in 1911. Perhaps his most famous work is his 1925 nationalist dramedy ''La canción de los barrios'' ("Song of the Streets"). In addition, a number of his plays documenting the political and economic woes of Argentina in the 1930s were very popular.
While most of his plays were satires or straight comedies, he wrote a number of popular local musicals, which helped popularize the
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 ...
style of music. In addition, he worked as a writer for
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
, as a journalist, and as a director on a number of his plays. He also served as the chief manager of the Teatro Nacional, which showcased many of his plays.
Pelay was also a prolific lyricist, notably in the tango and milonga styles, with over 100 songs to his credit.
His best-known works include ''Todo te Nombra'', ''Soñar y nada mas'' and above all ''Se dice de me''.
Pelay died in 1959 as one of the legends of Argentine theater. He was 66.
He is buried at
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.[Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...]
'' (1938)
* ''
The Song of the Suburbs
''The Song of the Suburbs'' (Spanish: ''La canción de los barrios'') is a 1941 Argentine musical film of the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, directed by Luis César Amadori, who co-wrote it with Ivo Pelay, and starring Aída Alberti, Alicia Vign ...
'' (1941)
* ''
The New Bell'' (1950)
See also
*
Pichot
References
External links
Ivo Pelayon tango.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelay, Ivo
1893 births
1959 deaths
Writers from Buenos Aires
Argentine dramatists and playwrights
Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery
20th-century dramatists and playwrights