Roberto Grela (28 June 1913 – 6 September 1992) was an Argentine

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 ...

guitarist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Many consider him the best tango guitarist.

Professional career

He was born at 773 Cochabamba Street, in the

San Telmo San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis, it hosts some of its oldest buildings. One of the birthplace ...

neighborhood (at that time a poor neighborhood south of downtown

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 ...

), with the name Roberto León Grela. His father and uncle formed the duo Los Hermanos Belpasso. Grela learned to play the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

at gatherings in the home of his uncles Octavio and Juan, which were also frequented by the guitarist Manuel Parada, who—when Grela was seven years old—convinced him to start playing the guitar (instead of the mandolin, which he liked more). In 1930, at the age of seventeen, he began playing the guitar professionally, accompanying Roberto Maida on radio LR3, and later also worked with Charlo (with whom he also performed in

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 ...

, at the Justicia cinema). During his long career, he accompanied many performers, including Jorge Casal, Osvaldo Cordó,

Fernando Díaz Fernando Díaz (''floruit'' 1071–1106) was a Spanish nobleman and military leader in the Kingdom of León, the most powerful Asturian magnate of the period. He held the highest rank in the kingdom, that of count (Latin ''comes''), from at least 2 ...

, Agustín Irusta, Alberto Marino, Héctor Mauré,

Nelly Omar Nilda Elvira Vattuone (10 September 1911 – 20 December 2013), better known by her stage name Nelly Omar, was an Argentine actress and singer during the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema. She was successful as a tango singer, performing on numero ...

Alberto Podestá Alejandro Washington Alé, better known as Alberto Podestá (22 September 1924 – 9 December 2015), was an Argentine tango singer. Childhood and youth Born in the city of San Juan, Argentina, San Juan, his father died when he was very young, w ...

, Tito Reyes, Osvaldo Ribó,

Edmundo Rivero Leonel Edmundo Rivero (June 8, 1911 – January 18, 1986) was an Argentine tango singer, composer, and impresario. Biography Early days Rivero was born in the southern Buenos Aires suburb of Valentín Alsina. Joining his father in some of h ...

, Alberto Serna, and Jorge Vidal. In the early 1950s, he briefly ventured into Argentine folk music. He even had his own

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

group (which at the time was very popular at dances, along with tango) called Los American Fire. He also learned to play

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo ...

. In 1953, the

bandoneonist 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 ...

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular wit ...

brought him back to tango to accompany his bandoneon in the performance of the sainete ''El patio de la Morocha'', by

Cátulo Castillo Ovidio Cátulo González Castillo (6 August 1906 – 19 October 1975) was an Argentine poet and tango music composer. He was the author of many famous works, such as ', ''El aguacero'' (lyrics by ), ' and ''Caserón de tejas'' (both with music by ...

, at the Enrique Santos Discépolo Theater (now the Alvear Theater). His partnership with Aníbal Troilo gave tango history the most emotional side of Grela and the best of Troilo as a bandoneonist. But it was Grela who moved Troilo to give his very best. Later, he had a similar experience with

Leopoldo Federico Leopoldo Federico (12 January 1927 – 28 December 2014) was an Argentine bandoneon player, arranger, director and composer. Life Born in the district of Once in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Federico was one of the most prolific bandoneo ...

, and it became clear that it wasn’t the same—something was missing: Troilo, despite Leopoldo’s superior technique. Troilo evoked in the guitarist a profound and deeply emotional atmosphere. They were spiritually in sync, in the words of Néstor Pinsón and Ricardo García Blaya. He also formed the San Telmo Quartet with Leopoldo Federico and recorded albums for various record labels in Buenos Aires. According to the poet

Horacio Ferrer Horacio Arturo Ferrer Ezcurra (2 June 1933 – 21 December 2014) was a Uruguayan-Argentine poet, broadcaster, reciter and tango lyricist. He is particularly well known for having composed the lyrics for tangos by Astor Piazzolla, such as ''Ba ...

: “An artist of exquisite sensitivity and rare musical ability, he absorbed into his instrument the brilliant and fluid phrasing of the bandoneon tradition.” He was self-taught and always played by ear. He was criticized for using a pick (a tortoiseshell

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

) to play the guitar (he said that this was how he achieved the sound he liked). In 1964, together with

(vocals),

Enrique Mario Francini Enrique Mario Francini (14 January 1916 in San Fernando – 27 August 1978 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango orchestra director, composer and violinist who played in various tango ensembles including the Orquesta Francini-Pontier and Á ...

(violin),

Horacio Salgán Horacio Adolfo Salgán (June 15, 1916 – August 19, 2016) was an Argentine tango musician. He was born in Buenos Aires to an established Afro-Argentine family. Some of Salgán's most well-known compositions include ''Del 1 al 5 (Días de pago)'' ( ...

(piano), Enrique ''Kicho'' Díaz (double bass), Berlingieri (piano), Ciríaco Ortiz, and others, he led the show ''Tango'', performed at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

, with Troilo as the central figure. Starting in 1966, he regularly worked at the Caño 14 bar on Uruguay Street. He participated in the film '' Buenas noches, Buenos Aires'', a musical movie directed in 1964 by

Hugo del Carril Pierre Bruno Hugo Fontana, otherwise known as Hugo del Carril (30 November 1912 – 13 August 1989), was an Argentine film actor, film director and tango singer of the Golden Age of Argentine cinema. Early life Born in Buenos Aires, del Ca ...

. In 1974, he formed the group La Trova Porteña, together with Raúl Garello,

, and

María Cristina Laurenz María Cristina Laurenz (born 1940) is a retired Argentine actress and singer active between 1960 and 1994. She is the daughter of Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the ...

, at El Gallo Cojo, in the San Telmo neighborhood. In 1980, he joined the orchestra of Canal Once television (Buenos Aires), led by Osvaldo Requena. In 1985, he received the

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The p ...

- Diploma of Merit as one of the 5 best tango instrumentalists of the decade in Argentina. He composed, among others: ''Viejo baldío'' (lyrics by Víctor Lamanna), ''Callejón'' (lyrics by Héctor Marcó), and ''A San Telmo'' (in collaboration with

Héctor Ayala Hector () is an English, French, Scottish, and Spanish given name. The name is derived from the name of Hektor, a legendary Trojan champion who was killed by the Greek Achilles. The name ''Hektor'' is probably derived from the Greek ''ékhein'', m ...

), ''Las cuarenta'' (1939, lyrics by Francisco Gorrindo), ''Color gris'', ''Amarga despedida'', ''De punta y taco'', ''Bendito'' (waltz with lyrics by

), ''Mi zambita rea'' (lyrics by Ferrer), ''Celedonio Bécquer'' (lyrics by Ferrer and Raúl Garello), ''Danzón de la chiflada'' (lyrics by Ferrer and Garello), ''Tristería'' (lyrics by Ferrer and Garello), and ''Serenata a mi guitarra''. Grela died in

on September 6, 1992, at the age of 79.

Discography

Among his recordings with Troilo, the following can be highlighted: * ''Nunca tuvo novio'' * ''Mi refugio'' * ''Sobre el pucho'' * ''La Cachila'' * ''Taconeando'' * ''Palomita blanca'' Among his recordings with Leopoldo Federico, the following can be highlighted: * ''Romance de barrio'' * ''Amigazo'' * ''Amurado'' * ''Tinta roja''

Films

* '' La diosa impura'' (1963), directed by

Armando Bó Armando Bó (3 May 19148 October 1981) was an Argentine film actor, director, producer, screenwriter and score composer. He began his career as an actor and producer during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema of the 1930s and 1940s. In 1956, B� ...

* '' Buenas noches, Buenos Aires'' (1964), directed by

References

External links

*
Roberto Grela
at

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grela, Roberto Musicians from Buenos Aires Argentine tango musicians Argentine singer-songwriters Argentine guitarists 1913 births 1992 deaths