Paquita Bernardo, born Francisca Cruz Bernardo and nicknamed ''La Flor de Villa Crespo'' (May 1, 1900, 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 ...

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 ...

– April 14, 1925), was a tango composer and the first professional female

bandoneon The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and played ...

player of

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...

. She was the daughter of Spanish

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

José Bernardo (born in 1860 in Almería, Andalucía and emigrated to Buenos Aires in 1887) and María Jiménez (also from southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and ten years younger than José). Paquita was born in Buenos Aires on Gorriti Street, near the corner of Canning (whose current name is Scalabrini Ortiz). She had many siblings: Enrique (1889), Mercedes (1890), Josefina (1891), Arturo (1895), Paquita (1900), Luis (1903), Jose (1906), and María (1911). She began her primary education at a public school on Padilla Street after her parents had moved to the neighborhood of

Villa Crespo Villa Crespo is a middle class neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the geographical center of the city. It had a population of 83,646 people in 2001, and thus currently a population density of 23,235 inhabitants/km2. Villa Crespo ...

al Pasaje Mangiante (later disappeared), which was located in Camargo 5691. In the sixth grade (1915), her parents sent her to study piano at the conservatory of Professor Catalina Torres. Here, the young José Servidio, who was nicknamed "Balija", attended to study the bandoneon. Balija, who over the years would become a well-known musician and author of the tango ''El bulín de la calle Ayacucho''. Meeting Balija, gave Paquita the opportunity to learn to play the bandoneon and study it in secret with the help of Augusto Pedro Berto Note. During this period, young women could only play the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

or piano, not the bandoneon, since it forces one to open and close their legs. Paquita was able to convince her father to allow her to continue studying this instrument and she received lessons from

Pedro Maffia Pedro Mario Maffia (August 28, 1899 – October 16, 1967) was an Argentine tango bandoneonist, bandleader, composer and teacher, as well as starring in several tango films. Early years He was born in the Balvanera neighborhood of Buenos Aires, ...

and Enrique Garcia. She composed about fifteen pieces of music, starting with the tango ''Floreal'', that was recorded by

Juan Carlos Cobián Juan Carlos Cobián (1888–1953) was an Argentine bandleader and 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 ...

, ''Cerro Divino'' (a

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

she composed in homage to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

when she was working there), and ''Cachito'', a

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 ...

dedicated to Horacio J. Domínguez (the son of the owner of Café Domínguez). ''Cachito'', later became ''La Emmascarada'' when Francisco García Jiménez wrote lyrics and it was recorded by

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inter ...

and also by

Roberto Firpo Roberto Firpo (May 10, 1884June 14, 1969) was an Argentine tango pianist, composer, and leader. Firpo was among the first innovators of the classic tango music genre. He was the establisher of the piano in the tango orchestra. Firpo was born in ...

in 1955. She also composed ''Soñando'', with lyrics by Eugenio Cárdenas, which received sixth prize in the first tango national competition organized at the Grand Splendid Theater by

Max Glücksmann Max Glücksmann, born (Mordechai David Glücksmann) (Czernowitz, Bukovina, Austro-Hungarian Empire, March 8, 1875 - October 20, 1946, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Argentine pioneer of the music and film industries. Biography Glücksmann was bo ...

in 1924. Other works included the tango ''La Luciérnaga'' and the

Pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by ...

''Dejadme'' ''solo'' and ''La maja''. Paquita, who did not record any songs, died in her neighborhood of Villa Crespo on April 14, 1925, as a result of complications from a poorly treated cold. Some reports of her death stated that she suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardo, Paquita 1900 births 1925 deaths Tango lyricists Bandoneonists 20th-century Argentine composers Argentine people of Spanish descent