The singer and the poet met in Buenos Aires in 1933, where the tango offered to set the ‘Romancero gitano’ to music
What would the ‘Romancero gitano’ sung by Gardel sound like? Federico García Lorca, author of the work, would love to hear it. Because the poet and the tango singer expressed mutual admiration. It was no coincidence that the two radiated sympathy and seductive skills. In his book ‘Gardel’ (Planet), the Argentine historian and writer Felipe Pigna reveals the intrahistory of a meeting of the stars.
The two met in 1933. On October 13, the writer from Granada had arrived in Buenos Aires, where he stayed for six months. But it was a day in November when the two met. Federico, accompanied by two friends, had just come to a rehearsal of the play “The theater is me” at the Smart theater. Arriving at the corner of Corrientes and Libertad, after the necessary introductions and signs of recognition, Gardel said to the poet: «The title is phenomenal! [de la obra]! If I write the story of my life, I’m going to write a similar story… ‘I am the biographer’. What did you think about? Pure biographer, pure being on screen. Pure life for others. You have to change jobs! But… where does the ox that does not plow go?».
Lorca answered him with a radiant reply: «You are not an ox. You are made of feathers and glass, you are a canary. The tanguero, who was also quick and resourceful, replied: «That is why I am condemned to live and die in a cage».
His biographers portray Gardel as a generous, hospitable, and wasteful man. True to that legend, el Mudo entertained his guests with a private concert in which he sang ‘Caminito’, ‘Claveles Mendocinos’, ‘La tropilla’ and ‘Mis flores negra’. In honest correspondence, García Lorca sat down at the piano to play Spanish melodies and recite some of his poems. They say it was a magical night when the goblin of two geniuses flew over. «The poet was very impressed by the musicality, the artistic quality of Carlos Gardel. A friendship based on mutual admiration began to develop,” writes Felipe Pigna. They say that Gardel snapped at the poet: «Let’s see when he writes us a tango! You Andalusians are just as sentimental as we are». According to journalist Antonio Lorenzo, Zorzal Criollo offered to put music on ‘Romancero gitano’.
That promise had never been heard of. Lorca and Gardel never saw each other again after that. The two went to their tragic destinies. Gardel died in a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia in 1935, in a collision with another plane that engulfed the two planes in flames. Lorca was shot in 1936 on the road from Víznar to Alfacar (Granada).
The friendship that grew out of that chance meeting was not the complicit love of two homosexuals. Pigna denies that the Argentine heartthrob loved men. In addition, the singer had a girlfriend whom he did not marry and many adventures with tango dancers and actresses. As the tango says, many mines but never a woman.
Perhaps this lack of commitment is due to Gardel having an Oedipus complex from a book.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
