History of Tango – Part

7: Origins of the
Orquesta Típica –
Francisco Canaro
We would like to tell you about the early life of Francisco Canaro.
According to Tango historian Orlando Del Greco “In this name, all the
Tango is summarized”.
Francisco Canaro, artistic name of Francisco Canaroso, was born in
Uruguay in 1888.
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During his early childhood he moved with his family to Buenos Aires,
where they rented a room in a “conventillo”, collective form of
accommodation or housing in which several poor families

shared a house, typically one family for each room using communal
sanitary services. His family was very poor. Later, he would become
one of the wealthiest people in Argentina, and a major contributor to
the diffusion of Tango in Buenos Aires, the rest of Argentina and
abroad. He went on to be very involved in the struggle for musicians
and composers rights, making it possible to make a living for
musicians and generating incentives for them to improve and be
creative. His life runs parallel to the history of Tango: starting in the
poorest neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, moving up the social ladder,
eventually achieving world wide recognition.

Not long after Canaro and his family arrived in Buenos Aires, a
smallpox epidemic broke out. Three of his siblings got sick, causing
one of them to die. To avoid contracting smallpox, Francisco and his
remaining siblings had to sleep outside his family’s one-room home.
They decided that they needed to do something to help, and without
telling his parents, Francisco, Rafael and Luis went to sell newspapers
in the streets.
They would beg in the streets to get some money to buy newspapers
at 5 cents, to sell them at 8 cents. They found a corner that seemed
well suited for the enterprise, at Entre Rios and San Juan streets, but
they soon discovered the corner was already the post of two other
brothers. A conflict soon developed into a fight that ended with all of
them at the police station. There they settled on an arrangement to
share that corner and a new post with the other siblings.
Francisco also worked as shoeshine boy in the afternoons, after
selling newspapers in the mornings.
Later Canaro and his family moved to a “conventillo” at Sarandí 1358,
occupying Room 31, where one of his neighbors was Vicente Greco.
In modern day Buenos Aires, the freeway from the Ezeiza Airport to
the downtown area passes over the former location of this
“conventillo”.
When he and his family moved, Francisco got a job in a workshop
manufacturing oil cans.
His passion for music began in his childhood. He had a good voice
and would be a soloist during the comparsas de carnaval (Carnival
Parades). Later, a neighbor in the “conventillo”, taught him to play the
guitar, and soon he started playing with other kids in the neighborhood
parties.
He also learned how to play the mandolin, but his dream was to play
the violin. Not being able to afford one, he made his own using an oil
can and a wooden board.

In his memoirs, Francisco tells us about his childhood and what he

and the other kids in the neighborhood liked to do. Going to the circus
was a favorite, but they did not have money. Part of the fun was to try
to get in without paying and to avoid getting caught by the workers
and guards. They also played games in the street called “rayuela”,
“villarda”, “Cachurra monta la burra”, and “vigilantes y ladrones”. Also,
there were stone throwing wars between the kids of Sarandí Street
and Rincón Street. He also confessed to “diabluras” with other kids,
breaking the glass of the street kerosene lamps using their sling shots.

He learned the painter’s craft, and worked on the final stages of the
Congress Building, together with another tango musician and
composer: Augusto P. Berto.
At this time, he got enough money to buy a violin in a pawn shop.
He decided that he wanted music to be his profession, formed a trio,
and went to play in a brothel in the town of “Ranchos”, eighty miles
south of Buenos Aires, in 1906.

It was a very tough place, where the regulars were men that went to
prison at some moment of their lives.
One night an argument between the police guarding the door and two
drunk men ended in gunshots and two police dead. The trio was
placed on a very precarious balcony near the entrance, and one of the
gunshots perforated the floor of the balcony, luckily not injuring
Canaro or his colleagues. The musicians, fearing harm or even death
if they continued working in such conditions, demanded that the owner
of the brothel terminate their contract, but the owner convinced them
to stay by shielding the balcony with sheets of iron.
At this time, Canaro, who was very dedicated to his study of music,
decided to take lessons with a local music teacher.
Then the trio continued to Guaminí, a town 300 miles southwest of
Buenos Aires, on the border with the province of La Pampa. There
they found work in a “casa de baile” (literally a dance hall, but more
likely a brothel masked as a dance hall) called “El colorado”. The
owner did not hire them, but allowed them to put out a plate and ask
the dancers to pay ten cents for each song they danced, which they
paid at the end of the round, one, two or more songs.
However, there was one guy, nicknamed “Firulete,” who would always
find his way out of the place without paying. He was fond of showing
off, and his gang of friends would often shout “Solo!” to demand
everyone clear the dance floor to allow “Firulete” to display his dance
skills.

Canaro and his colleagues got more and more annoyed by this over
time, until one night they confronted him and demanded payment.
“Firulete” reacted dramatically as though they had insulted him and
waited outside with two of his gang members to provoke them to fight,
which led to fist fights and gunshots. By the time the police arrived,
they only found the musicians, since the others were locals and knew
the town well and how to sneak away quickly.
The musicians ended up in jail for creating unrest, and they were
forced to sleep on the cold ground with no blankets for many nights.
Their only reprieve was a police escort to play at “El colorado”, a
“privilege” granted to them thanks to the friendship between the sheriff
and the owner of “El colorado.”
After a while, they were released from jail, assisted by the mediation
of a “compadre” from the area, who became friends with the
musicians during their stay in Guaminí.
A consolation for Canaro was hearing that “Firulete” was eventually
caught, and submitted to the standard treatment sheriffs gave to
“compadritos”, which consisted of cutting their hair short and removing
the “taquito militar” (heels) from his shoes.

Also during Canaro’s time spent in Guaminí, he met Pacho. A

friendship that lasted until Pacho’s death, in 1934.
Pacho came to Guaminí with his orchestra to play at the other “casa
de baile” of the town, called “El verde”.
In Canaro’s memoirs, he remembers the owner of “El verde” who was
a large, elderly woman who was very beautiful in her youth, and very
extravagant in her apparel. To attend and watch over the business,
she used to place herself in a kind of pulpit where she could dominate
the scene. She wore lots of jewelry, and placed a diadem on her head
that gave her the look of a queen. Often she organized gala nights
and demanded women working for the house dress in green colors,
but to avoid uniformity. On those special nights she wore even more
jewelry, creating a strong contrast between herself and her clientele.
These parties were very famous during that time.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-6858 size-full" src="https://i1.wp.com/

escuelatangoba.com/marcelosolis/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Tren.jpg?
resize=477%2C320" alt="Tren" width="477" height="320" data-recalc-
dims="1" />Canaro and his orchestra then traveled on the train tracks
to Salliqueló, 340 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, where they were
not able to find a gig, since the town was very small and did not have
dancing. As a means of survival, they went around to restaurants and
asked the owners permission to play for donations. They received
very little money, but enough for some food and lodging.
The next day, they arrived in Tres Lomas, where they were lucky
enough to be hired in a “casa de baile.” The building was constructed
with wooden walls and metal sheets ceiling and it was a very cold
winter. During this time, the trio was playing at the top of their game,
and were received with great acceptance by the audience. But in
some moment they heard a noise: Tac! It was a drop of the water
condensed on the ceiling due to the cold temperature. And then, one
of these drops fell on the first string of Canaro’s violin, breaking it.
They continued playing until the amount of water falling on them made
it impossible. Canaro remembers that in order to continue playing, he
had to do it with one string, and compared it with the feat of the great
violinist Nicolo Paganini, who played a famous concerto with one
string. Canaro acknowledged that his feat did not become as well
known, playing in a obscure corner of the province of Buenos Aires,
with a violin that only cost eight pesos, interpreting the tango “Piantá
piojito que te cacha el paine”.
Then, the trio moved to Trenque Lauquen, where they did well
enough, and Canaro felt especially fortunate because he started
dating two of the ladies in the town. One of them was the daughter of
the owner of the “casa de baile” they were working for, and the other
was a girl from the town.
However, his fortune did not last long, since Canaro had to play in
another town one hundred miles away. Nevertheless, Canaro wrote
letters to them both to stay in touch.
Unfortunately, their experience in this new town was not good
because they did not make enough money to pay for their hotel,
leading them instead to escape in the middle of the night.
The next town was General Acha. They worked there for a short time,
and when they were tired, decided to return to Buenos Aires.
Canaro had continued writing to his two girlfriends, but on one
occasion made the mistake of mixing up the envelopes and letters,
sending each of them the letter written for the other. When the train
back to Buenos Aires made its stop in Trenque Lauquen, both of them
were outraged and waited for Francisco at the station to confront him
and make a scene.
In 1907, after a short stay in Buenos Aires, Canaro headed with the
guitar player Domingo Salerno, author among other great tangos of
“Marianito”, to San Pedro, a town 100 miles north west of Buenos
Aires. They found work at a “casa de baile” called “La Puerta de
Fierro”, but since they wanted a trio, they invited a local musician who
played the flute, nicknamed “El Cuervo”. This musician, according to
Canaro, had the problem of falling asleep between tangos, letting his
flute fall on the floor, making a noise that made the regulars laugh.
The owner of the house was an Italian guy, not well mannered, whose
big mustache would get wet in the soup he ate for dinner, which he
would clean by licking it with his tongue. Canaro tells us that when the
sheriff of San Pedro called this guy on the telephone, he would
answer by standing up and taking off his hat, repeating “Yes Sir!”
The trio grew up to a quartet when Canaro incorporated another violin
player, called Merella. Sadly, Merella soon got sick and needed
surgery. After the surgery, he was not improving, and Canaro decided
to accompany him back to Buenos Aires by train. Soon after getting on
the train, Canaro noted that Merella wasn’t moving. He spoke to him
with no response. Canaro took a small mirror that he carried in his
pocket and placed it in front of his nose and observing that the mirror
did not fog up, realized his friend was dead. When the train inspector
came to ask for their tickets, Canaro told him what had happened. The
inspector called the manager and they determined that the dead body
could not continue on the train and asked Canaro to exit the train with
his friend at the next station. Canaro begged them to let him  continue
with his friend’s body to Buenos Aires, where the brother of his friend
was waiting for them to arrive, but he was not successful, and had to
get off the train in Baradero.
Canaro was hopeless at this point. Luckily, he found help from some
cart drivers parked at the station, who took him and the deceased
Merella to town, where Canaro was able to buy a coffin, make the
necessary legal arrangements, and bury his friend in the local
cemetery. Then he returned to San Pedro.

After a while he got the information from some travelers that they
needed musicians in Arrecifes, 35 miles south, and that the pay was
better than what they were receiving in San Pedro. He wrote to the
owner of the place, confirming that he and a bandoneon player
(Salerno decided to remain in San Pedro) could be there in a few
days. The owner replied that they needed them immediately, so
Canaro and the other musician decided to take the first available cart.
This last-minute decision saved their lives. Later they found out that
the cart they had planned to take was crashed into by a train, and no
one survived.
Once they were established in Arrecifes, Canaro wrote to Buenos
Aires for another musician, Pablo Bustos, to join them. Pablo had
recently been released from prison for killing a man, alleging self-
defense.
While living in Arrecifes, Canaro was dating a lady who used to be the
girlfriend of someone nicknamed “El Zorro”, with the reputation of
“guapo” (though), who was in prison. When news came that “El Zorro”
was going to be released from prison, Canaro and his girlfriend
decided to disappear together. They planned for her to hide out in
another town and wait for Canaro, who would join her once he
received his salary. But “El Zorro” found out about their plan, and one
day he showed up at a bar near the “casa de baile” where Canaro and
Pablo Bustos were playing cards with other townspeople. He ordered
a drink and tried to pick a fight with Canaro by talking loudly and
making indirect references to insult him. Canaro did not let this get to
him, instead playing dumb. “El Zorro” eventually became impatient
with his game of taunting Canaro and got close to him, pushed his
shoulder, and said:
“Listen, little musician, I want to tell you something.”
“With great pleasure!” Canaro responded. He stood up, preparing for
whatever would come next, while Pablo placed himself in a strategic
position.
“El Zorro” made a gesture like he was reaching for his weapon and
pushed Canaro out of the bar.
Then “El Zorro” said loudly, “I will make you tell me where Maria
Esther (the lady) is.”
Canaro responded, “If you are so “El Zorro” (referring to the character
who is clever and resourceful), why don’t you find her yourself?”
Then a fight broke out, but the people at the bar got in between them,
the police came, and things did not go further.
But Canaro was convinced that “El Zorro” was not going to let this go,
so, prudently, the following morning asked to be paid, took the train to
meet Maria Esther, and continued on to Buenos Aires together,
enjoying their romance for a while in the big city.
Once back in Buenos Aires in 1908, Canaro formed a trio together
with Samuel Castriota on piano (author of “Mi noche triste”) and
Vicente Loduca on bandoneon. They rehearsed feverishly until
Canaro was satisfied with the repertoire and the sharpness of the
interpretations. He found them a regular gig at “Café Royal” in the very
center of the tango scene at the time, the corner of Suarez and
Necochea streets, in La Boca neighborhood.

They played on a balcony that was so small, it could barely contain all
three of them. In his memoirs, Canaro said that every time he visited
La Boca for any reason, he liked to come back to this place, look at
the little balcony, and reminisce about his youth.
“Café Royal”, like other similar businesses, had waitresses, called
“camareras”, who dressed in black with white aprons and were very
accommodating with the clientele – and very good looking.
The specialty of the house was Turkish coffee, which customers liked
very much.
The owner of “Royal” was a Greek gentleman with black curly hair
who, in accordance with the fashion of the time, had a very thick
mustache. Here wore a picturesque vest, from which he hung a thick
golden clock chain, that had a big gold medal, which he carried with
pride, perhaps as a sign of his status as the owner of the café.

In front of “Royal” was another café, as important, where the Greco

brothers played. On Suarez Street, “La Marina” was where Genaro
Espósito played. In front of “La Marina”, there was another café with
Roberto Firpo playing. On Necochea Street, Arturo Bernstein
demanded being served beer without interruption, alleging he could
not play his bandoneon with a “dry throat”.
Kitty-corner to “Café Royal” was a big “Café-Concert”, perhaps the
most important in the La Boca neighborhood, where Ángel Villoldo
performed.
Canaro had great admiration for Ángel Villoldo. In his memoirs,
Canaro describes how Villoldo amazed his audiences by playing the
harmonica and guitar simultaneously, using a device he created to
hold the harmonica on his chest, leaving his hands free to play the
guitar. His compositions were very popular. For example:
“Soy hijo de Buenos Aires,
me llaman El Porteñito,
el criollo más compadrito
que en esta tierra nació…”
Canaro acknowledges his debt to this “precursor” of the “typical
Porteño music”, and that not only he, but all tango musicians,
composers, Tango itself and the country of Argentina owe a lot to
Ángel Villoldo, who passed away on 1921 in complete poverty.
Continuing with Canaro’s description of the neighborhood of La Boca
during those times, he tells us that the “Zeneise” language, a
Genovese dialect, was spoken there almost more than Spanish. The
area of La Boca centered on the corners of Suarez and Necochea
streets, hosted not only shows, but also many restaurants. It was a
neighborhood of night life, continuously bustling, that attracted many
people from downtown and other neighborhoods, bringing out the
gangs of young men from rich families, and not so young men,
accompanied by beautiful ladies. Rivalries between them and the
dwellers of La Boca would often arise, provoking fights.
A young man from the San Telmo neighborhood, nicknamed the “Fay”,
frequented the bars of La Boca on an almost daily basis. He was a
cart driver, strong, well-grounded, known for being “guapo” and his
powerful fists, as he would resolve squabbles with punches. One
punch from him resulted in one man out of the fight. The “Fay” was
considered a neighbor of La Boca, not of the downtown, due to his
regular and friendly camaraderie with the young people in that
neighborhood.
One night, as usual, the “Fay” was accompanied by several friends at
“Café Royal”, as he was a fan of Canaro’s music. A great friend of his,
a waitress called María “La Morocha”, was invited to sit with them by
the “Fay” while also attending to other tables. At another table close
by, there was a “patota” (group of men), of a rich young men called
Cacho Arana, and they started teasing “La Morocha”. When it became
too much, the “Fay” responded to them and a fight broke out. First,
they started throwing glasses and bottles, then chairs, then guns
came out and tables went upside down. When the police arrived, the
“Fay” was in the middle of the fight, throwing punches left and right.
They closed the café and took everyone to the police station. These
fights were common in La Boca.
Another night, Loduca was in the company of a Spanish lady, who had
been involved with a guy nicknamed “El Ñato Campana”, with a
reputation as “guapo” and a skillful thief.
Canaro explains that after the trio finished playing and they were on
their way home, this guy showed up by surprise on the street with a
gun in his hand. He threatened to take the woman with him by force,
so Loduca quickly took his gun out and both of their guns fired without
consequence. Although no one was injured, the next day Canaro
discovered a bullet hole in his overcoat…
Another night, in 1909, a young man came to “Café Royal” with a
group of friends, while Canaro’s trio was playing. He had the air of a
“compadrito high life” (a wealthy, tough, young man), who wore a grey
hat with a black ribbon, tilted forward, a checkered jacket with black
and white squares and black trim, pants with a wide black stripe on
each side and three small pearl buttons, a fancy vest with fileteados (a
type of artistic drawing, with stylized lines typically used in Buenos
Aires), and an ascot tie decorated with a colorful pin. He was very
good looking and attractive, with long eyelashes, full eyebrows, good
teeth, a ruddy complexion, and big black eyes. Considering the usual
dynamics between gangs, Canaro was expecting a fight, but soon
realized that this young man had come in a friendly mood when he
noticed that he was carrying a bandoneon. He was Eduardo Arolas.
When the concert finished, they came down from the balcony to join
him and his friends.
One of his friends said that he composed a very beautiful tango, and
they all asked him to play it, to which he happily agreed. Arolas placed
a small black velvet blanket on his lap, beautifully embroidered with
his initials, got his bandoneon and played his tango “Una noche de
garufa”. Canaro and his colleagues liked the tango very much, and
included it in his repertoire. After that first meeting, they became close
friends.
Among the popular songs during that time and still now, they played:
“El Choclo”, “El Torito”, “El Porteñito” (Villoldo),”Don Juan” (Ponzio),
“El Morochito” (Greco), “La Catrera” (De Bassi), “La Morocha”,
“Felicia” (Saborido), “El Irresistible” (Logatti), “Venus” (Bevilacqua), “El
Talar” (Aragón), “El llorón”, “Siete Palabras”, among others.
Around this time, Canaro also met Roberto Firpo, and they developed
a close friendship. They were neighbors of the same neighborhood,
San Cristobal, and every night they rode the #43 streetcar together.
By 1910, the year of the Centennial Anniversary of Argentina, Tango
started to move from Suarez and Necochea streets to take over
downtown.
The first to play downtown was Roberto Firpo. The success of his
many compositions was the key that opened the center of Buenos
Aires to him. The place was the “Bar Iglesias”, at 1400 Corrientes
Street, where the Centro Cultural General San Martin is now located.

Canaro’s trio eventually dissolved, and he entered the orchestra of

Vicente Greco, to play at café “El Estribo” of Entre Rios Street 763/67,
and at the dance halls of “Salon Rodriguez Peña” on Rodriguez Peña
Street 344, close to Corrientes Street. At “El Estribo”, Canaro liked to
stay late after his gigs in the “peña” that happened in the underground
of the café, two or three times a week, where many “payadores”,
guitar players and singers came together. Gardel and Razzano were
regulars.
On nights the “peña” was closed, he like to go with his colleagues
after work to a “bodegón” (a kind of taproom) of the marketplace
located across Entre Rios street. There, they enjoyed the specialty of
the house, a succulent Italian style stew, served in abundant portions
with a generous parmesan cheese topping, costing only ten or fifteen
cents. They stayed there late into the night and would see other
musicians and dancers, like “El Pardo Santillán” and “El Vasco Aín”,
who where the organizers of the dances at “Salon Rodriguez Peña”.
Another place Canaro played with Greco was the house of “La
Morocha Laura”, with a very selected clientele, located on Paraguay
and Pueyrredón streets. Groups of wealthy young men rented the
house for a fixed amount of time, including female dancers, drinks and
musicians.
One night, a manager for “Casa Tagini” on Avenida de Mayo who ran
Columbia Records in Buenos Aires, came to café “El Estribo” to sign
them on to record. They accepted and, in order to differentiate their
musical formation from others who did not specialized in Tangos,
Canaro and Greco chose the title of “Orquesta Típica Criolla”.
These recordings were very successful and sold very well.
Once he left Greco’s orchestra, Canaro made other contributions to
the formation of the “Orquesta Típica”, including the double bass
(Ruperto Leopoldo Thomson) and the “estribillista” (a singer
performing only the chorus part of a composition –Roberto Diaz).
Also, Canaro helped Tango to find its way to complete acceptance by
all the sectors of Buenos Aires society, being the first Tango musician
to play at the private parties celebrated in the houses of some of the
most prominent upper class families of Buenos Aires.
As a composer, some of his first tangos are “Pinta Brava”, “Matasano”,
“Charamusca”, “Nueve Puntos”, “La Tablada”, “El Pollito”, “El
Chamuyo”, among others.
Bibliography:
◦ “Mis memorias. Mis bodas de oro con el tango”, Francisco
Canaro, Ediciones Corregidor 1999.
◦ “Crónica general del tango”, José Gobello, Editorial
Fraterna, 1980.
◦ “El tango”, Horacio Salas, Editorial Aguilar, 1996.
◦ “El tango, el gaucho y Buenos Aires”, Carlos Troncaro,
Editorial Argenta, 2009.
◦ “Encyclopedia of Tango”, Gabriel Valiente, 2014.
◦ http://www.todotango.com/english/