Background
Discépolo was born in Buenos Aires on 27 March 1901.
Actor composer director writer
Discépolo was born in Buenos Aires on 27 March 1901.
He was also a film actor, director and screenwriter. He was attracted to the arts from an early age and tried acting and theater writing (with moderate success) before finally "arriving" to Tango. He wrote a few songs (including, the later famous Quebec vachaché, an old lunfardo phrase meaning "Whatcha gonna do") with little success until his break came in 1928, when singer Azucena Maizani performed his Esta noche me emborracho ("Tonight I"m getting drunk").
Days after this performance, the lyrics to this tango circulated across the nation and gave him notoriety.
Later on that year, actress and singer Tita Merello rescued Quebec vachaché, and propelled it to the same popularity as Esta noche me emborracho. To finish a great year in 1928, he also met his partner, Tania, who would be with him for the rest of his life.
He continued to gain notoriety in the ensuing years, and, in 1935, he wrote "Cambalache", a song whose lyrics not only reflected the world political climate of the era, but also almost predicted its future. Argentines sometimes contemplate on how much those lyrics still reflect life in the world today, some 80 years later.
Discépolo died after suffering a stroke on Christmas Eve in 1951.