Osvaldo Fresedo y la Guardia Nueva: Addendum 1: The Trío Argentino and the Orquesta Típica Argentina (Irusta-Fugazot-Demare)

by José Manuel Araque

The Trío Argentino was formed by Lucio Demare (b. 1906) on piano, and the voices of Agustín Irusta (b. 1902) and Roberto Fugazot (b. 1902).

Demare was a prodigy, playing the piano from an early age. In a 1974 interview with Osvaldo Soriano, Demare detailed his childhood and adolescence, and told how his father Domingo, a violinist, initiated him in music. The young Lucio started playing at the Tabarís Club at the age of 17. There he was a pianist in the Carabelli Jazz Band and met Francisco Canaro, who recorded several shimmies composed by Demare. Incidentally, there Demare also met and became friends with José Bohr.

In April 1925 Canaro was invited to play in Paris, and traveled with his brothers Juan and Rafael. The Canaro Orchestra was a huge success at the Florida Dancing at the Théâtre Apollo. When Canaro asked him to join him as an alternate pianist, Demare went to Paris with his father. Demare told Soriano that he met Rudolph Valentino, and this helps to place the date of Demare's arrival in Paris around early January 1926.

Demare also told Soriano that he saw Paul Whiteman play in Paris in July 1926. Demare and his father worked to bring his mother and brothers, soon after the family was reunited in Paris. From October to December 1926 Canaro and his brothers played at the Mirador Club in New York. Canaro's other orchestra continued to play in Paris, at the Florida and at the Thé Dansants that Harry Pilcer ran at the Hotel Claridge on the Champs-Élysées. In November Comœdia magazine published a glowing review of The Black Bottom Follies at the reopening of the Apollo, where the Canaro Orchestra was opening for Sam Wooding's Jazz players.

Francisco Canaro returned to Buenos Aires from New York on December 7, 1926. Juan and Rafael Canaro, and pianist Fiorivanti di Cicco went to Paris instead. The Canaro Orchestra in Paris, now with two pianists, continued playing at the Florida and at the Claridge. Demare was in Paris when Charles Lindbergh landed in his Spirit of St. Louis on May 21, 1927, "the whole city was awake" he told Soriano. On June 2 the Canaro Orchestra played in a big South American Gala at the Opera, and in August they went to Biarritz and played at the Pavillon Royal.

Agustín Irusta was born in Rosario and was in Buenos Aires since at least 1925 where he formed an early Trio with Uruguayan Roberto Fugazot and the aging Alfredo Gobbi. In an interview years later Fugazot revealed that they went their separate ways for a while to try to make a living as actors. Both wrote songs, fellow rosarina Libertad Lamarque recorded Irusta's tonada Chilenito for Victor in summer 1926. That year Irusta also partnered with Luis Scalon and Genaro Veiga. Soon after Canaro's arrival from New York, the pianist Alberto Soifer introduced Irusta to Canaro. Canaro then recorded Irusta's and Rafael Tuegols' beautiful vals Yo te imploro (El trovero). Canaro also took note of Irusta's beautiful voice, and from March through September 1927 made him the first permanent "estribillista" in his Orchestra.

Irusta recorded Fugazot's tango Barrio reo, and likely introduced Fugazot to Canaro. Curiously Irusta also sang in a handful of recordings for Victor that year, including the tonada Me olvidaste that he interpreted in a duet with Fugazot. Soon Canaro had them singing singing together too. In September Canaro organized a competition of tangos with lyrics, as a means to increase interest in the form and to find new material for his singers. The competition was won by Pedro M. Maffia and Jorge Curi with their tango Noche de Reyes, which Irusta and Fugazot then recorded with the Canaro Orchestra. Canaro and Irusta also recorded other tangos from that competition which became classics in their own right, including Perfume de mujer, Copetín vos sos mi hermano, El mal que me hiciste and Queja indiana.

Canaro and Irusta recorded their last tracks for Canaro that year on September 30. Fugazot even got a chance to sing the lead in Canaro's only recording for a male singer of Fumando espero. Canaro then decided to return to France, and bring Irusta and Fugazot to Europe to support his brothers' Orchestra. He also brought his younger brother Mario who played the bandoneon. Canaro said in his memoirs that he did not travel as an engaged musician or even as director, he was "mostly on vacation". But it's possible Canaro was also there for business, as the Apollo had changed hands and the Florida engagement was no more.

On October 5 the Canaro Orchestra sans Canaro debuted at the Teatro Maravillas in Madrid. After conquering France the Canaros were finally coming to Spain. But Demare was not with them, he stayed in Paris playing for one "Orquesta Granados". Francisco Canaro arrived in Boulogne-sur-mer on October 18 on the Cap Polonio, and in Paris soon after, with Fugazot and Irusta in tow. The group reunited then traveled from Paris to Madrid in Canaro's Renault, and Canaro floated the idea of forming a Trío. Demare was just over 21-years old.

Since early November, the Canaro Orchestra had moved to the Maipu Pigall’s in Madrid. On November 25, 1927, the Trío appeared for the first time at the Maravillas, in a vignette entitled “Aires pampeanos”, as part of the revue “Noche loca”. They were an instant success. They also started singing at the Maipú Pigall's with the Canaro Orchestra.

Gardel returned from Buenos Aires to Barcelona on November 9, and in early December he moved to Madrid where he sang at the Romea. The Morocho spent New Year's Eve with Canaro, and singing with the Trío. On Wednesday January 11, 1928, the Trío and the Canaro Orchestra organized a monster party in honor of Gardel. Gardel then went back to Barcelona where three days later he recorded Demare’s tango Dandy.

On January 20 the magazine Nuevo Mundo published a review about the new interest in Tango in Madrid awakened by the presence in the city of Carlos Gardel and the Trio. The article records the first photo of the formally constituted Trio. "Did you hear them at the Maravillas singing El Boyero?".

Gardel then moved on to the Basque country and to France. Canaro soon returned to Buenos Aires, and his Orchestra folded at the Maipu Pigall's. The Trio played at the Maravillas until February 12. It was rumored that the management of the theater wanted to throw a party in recognition of their success, but apparently the offer was rejected. With this the Trío entered the Spanish lore, their life stories became the stuff of gossip columns in Spain. They then moved to the Teatro Pavón where they sang until the end of the month.

Along with their success came a recording contract. In Madrid they recorded their first tracks for La Voz de su Amo, Gramophone UK's subsidiary in Spain on February 27 and 28. The American Discography of Historical Recordings lists Harold Edward Davidson and Harry Fleming as the recordists of the group's early sessions in Spain. Gramophone was affiliated with the Victor company of the United States, thus many of these recordings were released in the Americas with Victor labels. The Trio's records carry several numbering schemes, the "AE" denominations are Gramophone Spain's, and the "110-" are for Gramophone UK. The critics loved their repertory full of Argentine folk songs, from Gatos to the "Pericón Nacional". The recordings sold like hotcakes, "El boyero" became one of their signature songs. Soon after their second recording session the Trio moved to Barcelona where they continued their work for Gramophone. Demare then recorded a solo version of his classic Mañanitas de Montmartre.

Spring of 1928 was a very busy season, a veritable Tango-fever took over Barcelona and all of Spain. Amongst others Bianco-Bachicha played at the Teatro Nuevo, with their star violinist Agesilao Ferrazzano and singer Teresa Asprella, and with bandoneon player Héctor Artola. The impresario Francesc Buxó signed the Trío and on March 10 they debuted at the Principal Palace in La Rambla. The Trio came along with "their" new Orquesta Típica, which they initially named "Alma Criolla". Demare lead from the piano; his younger brother Lucas and Pedro Polito played bandoneons; Víctor Hugo and Jesús Fernández played violins; and Romualdo Lo Moro played the drums and bass. The Trío and the Típica also played at the cabaret Eden Concert, which was run by Buxó.

Demare had poached LoMoro, Polito, Hugo and Fernández from Canaro's group. It's likely that Canaro was part of the deal as his brothers' orchestra had too much work in France and could quite cover Spain on the Summer season. In general the formation was fluid, with many Argentine players joining temporarily as they came to Europe and stopped in Barcelona. During the following three years other musicians joined the Típica such as Antonio Romano and Alberto Celenza on bandoneon, and Oscar Roma and Bernardo Stalman on double bass. The name was soon simplified to "Orquesta Típica Argentina".

In May 1928 the Trío started recording with the Orchestra too. The Orchestra's repertory leaned heavily on Tango, and highlighted some of Demare's early compositions.

They played at the Principal Palace and the Eden Concert until mid June. Before going on a tour they recorded a new version of Mañanitas de Montmartre. In early Summer they played at the Olympia and the Ba-Ta-Clan in Valencia, and the Concert Café in Alicante among others. The Bianco-Bachicha Orchestra played by the beach in La Barceloneta until August 12, at the Casino San Sebastián. At this point the Bianco-Bachicha orchestra must have been under strain, Héctor Artola left and joined Demare's Típica Argentina. Soon after Bianco and Bachicha officially split their orchestra.

The poet Enrique D. Cadícamo, known as the lyricist of hits by the Trio, arrived in Barcelona that Summer in the company of the singer Luis Scalón and pianist Luis N. Visca. Attracted by the enormous success the Trío was enjoying in Spain, brothers Carlos and Francisco Spaventa formed an orchestra with Visca, Scalón, the talented violinist Samuel Reznik, and guitarrist Héctor Morales. Ángel Maffia and Inocencio Calviello on bandoneon, and a few local musicians completed the formation. In early September the Orquesta Típica Argentina Spaventa played a few days at the Teatro Principal de Gracia and then at the Principal Palace and the Teatro del Bosque. On Septiembre 27 Gardel, coming back from Buenos Aires, stopped briefly in Barcelona, he was on his way to conquer Paris. Cadícamo followed him a few days later. In October the Típica Spaventa recorded a few tangos for La Voz de su Amo.

Buxó brought the Trio back to the Eden Concert and to the Teatro Nuevo that season. The press kept talking about them, in November there was a melee at the Eden Concert because Irusta had publicly expressed his sympathies for the local soccer team FC Barcelona. In December they celebrated their first anniversary with a series of shows at the Salón Doré of the Granja Royal, a restaurant in La Rambla famous for its café-concerts and its aristocratic clientele. They also played at the Teatro Barcelona with the theater company Rivera De Rosas. They were too busy at times, and had to negotiate with Buxó for less shows at the Teatro Nuevo to allow for some rest.

The Trío and the Orquesta spent sometime in the studio in early November, and recorded Osvaldo Fresedo's Madre mía, which got plenty of playtime on radio. Perhaps coincidentally Osvaldo Fresedo and his orchestra had briefly touched ground in Barcelona a few days before, they were on their way to Paris too. The Trío also recorded a couple of tracks by Cadícamo (Che papusa oí and Qué vachaché) and The Típica recorded a stunning version of Brignolo's Chiqué that showed Demare was taking the orchestra in directions that Canaro never suspected. The energy of the players, their connection, the interplay of their instruments is truly ahead of its time.

While visiting Buenos Aires in 1928 the Spanish impresario Manuel Gorina invited 21-year old Cátulo Castillo to form a band, also to ride on the coattails of the Trio Argentino's success. The troupe Castillo hastily put together included Miguel Caló, who used to play the bandoneon for Osvaldo Fresedo; the brothers Malerba, Alfredo on piano, Ricardo on bando and Carlos on violin; Estanislao Savarese on violin; Pablo Emilio Flores a third bandoneon; and the singer Roberto Maida. The group arrived in Barcelona on the steamship Diulio on November 12, 1928, they improbably added one Carlos Leonetto, just one random young man they met on the ship and decided to dress as a gaucho and add to the act. Ironically the press commented on the longevity of the group as a "guarantee for their success". In Barcelona they performed at the dancing Excelsior and the Teatro Principal Palace for a few weeks, and then went to Madrid.

Francisco Canaro was in town too. Cátulo's father, the writer and lyricist José González Castillo, also went to Barcelona, as did the theater companies of Camila Quiroga and Rivera-de-Rosas. The composers of Adiós muchachos, César Vedani and Julio Sanders, and the composer of La Cumparsita Gerardo Matos Rodríguez also joined. The press joked that there were more Argentine artists in Spain than in their country of origin.

In December singer Juan Giliberti and his Orquesta Típica Los Siete Ases also arrived in Barcelona, they soon moved to Madrid. The orchestra was integrated by J. Regino Bova on piano; Roberto Licciardi bandoneon; Ángel Grach and G. Zorrilla Fernández violins; A. Zorrilla Fernández, bass; and Gerardo Martínez director. In January 1929 Cátulo's orchestra performed at the Royalty and at the Maipu Pigall's in Madrid, and Juan Giliberti ocassionally joined them. Then from January 16 to 22 Cátulo's orchestra recorded 17 tracks for Odeon with Maida, including Cátulo's own Caminito del taller, Qué vachaché and Chiqué. Around the same time Giliberti and Los Siete Ases were also in a recording studio recording their version of Piedad. Los Siete Ases then went on a short tour of Alicante and Valencia. Cátulo's orchestra continued in Madrid, playing in small venues.

The Trío returned for a month to the Principal Palace in Barcelona, and in early February they recorded two Movietone videos in Parc Güell which are apparently lost. In these shorts they sang their popular songs Por el camino (El boyero), El carretero and Dandy.

Then they went on a small tour of Spain, with shows in Reus, Tarragona, Vilafranca, Lérida and Zaragoza. All of Spain was enthralled with them, their songs played on radio all over the peninsula. Their extensive repertory set them apart from other orchestras of the era, they changed it from day to day. Since March 25 they were back in Madrid for more recording sessions with Gramophone. In April 1929 they played for a couple of weeks at the Cine Avenida in Madrid, and were guests at the final show of the theater company Rivera-De Rosas. The tour continued with shows at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao and finally the Teatro Bretón in Logroño (La Rioja).

On April 23 Gardel returned to the Principal Palace in Barcelona for a short engagement. After 6 months singing at the Apollo in Paris. Gardel was back in yet another city that adored him, it was a sold out crowd every day until Sunday May 12. From May 16 to 26 Gardel appeared in Madrid at the Cine Avenida. Two days he had to be absent due to "an affliction", maybe he got a cold. Bachicha played at the Cine Argüelles in Madrid on those days. The press reported that Gardel was about to sign a movie contract with Paramount, the future beckoned.

Although the Típica Spaventa was initially successful in Barcelona, when Winter arrived their prospects dimmed. In February they played for a few days in Madrid and soon returned to Barcelona. The press highlighted the role played by the trio formed by Carlos Spaventa, Luis Scalón and Héctor Morales. But they were haunted by Francisco's dubious reputation as a singer, under the shadow of artists like Irusta-Fugazot-Demare and Gardel the jokes about Francisco's singing mounted. In Oviedo a hopeful journalist wrote that if Spaventa won the lottery (El Gordo) everyone would celebrate his retiring from the stage. Someone wrote that Spaventa was going to Milan to learn how to sing. And a story also made the rounds about their first night in Córdoba where Francisco received a letter signed by many that read: "the peoples of this City, not being able to withstand the sadness of your tangos, would be happier if you sing pasodobles". Spaventa left town that same day.

May 1929 was an exceptional month in Spain. On May 9 the Ibero-American Exposition was inaugurated in Seville, many Latin American countries joined by opening their national pavillions. The tango orchestras of Cátulo Castillo, the brothers Canaro and Salvador Pizarro were there. By now Giliberti's Ases and Spaventa's Típica were dissolving, Luis Visca, Pablo Flores and Miguel Caló had returned to Buenos Aires, signs of saturation of the market for Argentine orchestras. Cátulo brought Alberto Cima and Américo Cuadri from Buenos Aires to replace Caló and Flores.

On May 20, the much larger and global Barcelona International Exposition opened too. Maybe the Seville commitments were already costly to Argentina, surely their presence in Barcelona was muted. On May 23 King Alfonso XIII and the royal family were guests at a diner-gala hosted by industrialist André Citroën at a replica of Paris' Restaurant Les Ambassadeurs that was built in Montjuic for the Barcelona Expo. The Broadman-Alfaro Tango Orchestra and Billy Arnold's Jazz played, Americans Fowler and Tamara danced. Gardel stopped by to see the Expo before he sailed on June 1 on the Conte Rosso. On June 6 Cátulo and Canaro played at the inauguration of the theater of the Argentine pavilion at the Ibero-American Exposition in Seville.

The Trío and the Típica returned to the Principal Palace in time for the opening of the Barcelona Expo. They announced a contest for the lyrics to a tango composed by Demare and dedicated to the host city. The music would be played on May 31 at the Palace under the title "Tango for competition". The guidelines were also distributed at the Palace, the originals had to be typewritten and not signed, and include a self-addressed envelope. Submissions would be accepted until June 10. Señorita Pilar Canosa was announced on June 18 as the winner of the contest. It seemed like an endless celebration was taking place in town as FC Barcelona won the first ever match of the Spanish League on June 23. The Trío sang the tango Barcelona through the end of June at the Principal Palace.

That same month Francisco Spaventa left for Havana. "He's finally leaving!" wrote one wiseguy. The Típica had evolved as new musicians came in, including Samuel Reznik and other former members of the Típica Spaventa. That month the Típica was also very busy recording for La Voz de su Amo, including a curious "Tango Romanza" composed and played by Demare and Reznik. On July 2 the Típica and the Trío played at the Teatro Circo in Reus. Artola and Polito parted, they joined Bachicha's orchestra.

In an interview granted in March Roberto Fugazot mentioned "they were going to Paris". He also mentioned the Trío's interest in playing in the United States where "no Argentine orchestra had been able to crack the market yet". The journal Variety reported that the Trio had been hired by David Sayag and Henri Lartigue (along with several other Vaudeville acts from New York) for Edmond Sayag's IV Ambassadeurs Show in Paris. Since May 22 Osvaldo Fresedo filled the Tango orchestra part of the show. We infer that Demare's new Típica replaced Fresedo's Orchestra at the Ambassadeurs in early July when Osvaldo Fresedo went to play at Edmond Sayag's show in Ostend's Kursaal. But we have found no hard evidence of the exact whereabouts of either outfit in July or August 1929.

In early September 1929 Cuban newspapers announced the imminent arrival of the Trío and the Típica who they said had played for months in Paris. Fugazot fell ill with apendicitis just before the departure and was forced to split with the group and travel to New York in transit to Havana. Osvaldo Fresedo was already in New York when Fugazot arrived on October 8, we also speculate that Fresedo and Fugazot met there.

Demare, Irusta and the musicians of the Típica left St. Nazaire for Havana on the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique's steamer Cuba on September 19 at 4PM. On the 21st, at 1PM, they stopped at A Coruña in Spain. Bad weather complicated the crossing, it was hurricane season, the steamer arrived in Havana on October 1 at 8 AM. They were forced to start their show without Fugazot who boarded the Orizaba in New York on October 13 and arrived in Havana on October 16.

Through November 28 they played at the famous Teatro Campoamor, sometimes playing three times a day (1PM, 5:15PM, 8:30PM). Havana loved them. The Cuban press noted that up until their visit the biggest Argentine Tango names to have visited the island were José Bohr and Francisco Spaventa. The Trío included songs by Cuban pianist and composer Ernesto Lecuona in some shows, and premiered their version of Discépolo's Victoria, Canaro's Las vueltas de la vida and Delfino's Griseta (never recorded) in others. They also played on Cuban radio and at the cabaret Sans Souci in Arroyo Arenas, sharing the stage with a local jazz band and with Ignacio Piñeiro's Sexteto Nacional.

When their formal commitments to the Campoamor ended the Trío split temporarily: Demare stayed in Havana with the Típica, while Irusta and Fugazot decided to play in the interior of the island. They reached out to guitarist Rafael Iriarte from Argentina to join them, and in December they touched smaller cities like Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba. When Irusta, Fugazot and Iriarte returned to Havana on December 26 they played for the recluse of Havana's famous prison Castillo del Príncipe, and then again at the Campoamor sans Demare.

As imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in early January 1930 Carlos Spaventa, Luis Scalón and Héctor Morales arrived in Havana, and they also called themselves "Trío Argentino". Demare and the Típica were still playing at the Sans Souci and had taken on new commitments at the Thé Dansants of the Hotel Almendares. The Típica joined Irusta, Fugazot and Iriarte for a handful of shows at the Campoamor before the singers left for Mexico. Coincidentally Francisco Spaventa was on the same ship.

The Típica stayed behind in Havana, and played other venues like the Havana Yatch Club. At the end of January Bachicha arrived in Havana to play at the Campoamor and at the cabaret Chateau Madrid, Romualdo LoMoro decided to leave Demare for Bachicha too. With his wife LoMoro had a side business dancing and teaching Tango. The Trio Spaventa-Scalón-Morales left for Mexico.

It was quite the busy Tango season in Havana. From March 13 through March 21 the Típica played at the Sans Souci for Rosita and Ramón, who had been dancing in Miami. Ramón and Rosita were instrumental in bringing Osvaldo Fresedo to New York the previous September, and it's likely they had also met Demare and his Orchestra in Barcelona in May, or in France in Summer 1929 (or both).

Irusta and Fugazot came back from Mexico on March 17 and joined the Típica at the Sans Souci. On March 19 they organized a huge Tango Night at the Sans Souci with a dance contest, it was very well received. Rosita and Ramón sailed on March 22 for New York.

As a token of the gratitude of the city of Havana on Sunday March 30 at 10AM Ernesto Lecuona organized a party in honor of the Trío at the Teatro Payret. The show was a huge success, so much that they had to do a second show on April 4. Lecuona and Demare performed several numbers on two pianos, including Lecuona's new song Tus ojos azules. On April 1 the Teatro Campoamor also organized a big farewell party for the Trío and for Bachicha. Many Cuban artists were part of these functions, and the President of Cuba Gerardo Machado attended the show at the Campoamor. It seemed clear the Trío was going to return soon.

In May the Trío went back to La Voz de su Amo's recording studio in Barcelona, committing to record the tangos Las vueltas de la vida and Tus ojos azules.

They also recorded the exquisite vals Lupe, which has led to speculation about a relationship between Demare and Mexican star Lupe Vélez. Vélez's role in El Gaucho (with Douglas Fairbanks in 1926) made her the most popular Latin actress in Hollywood, and she was in several movies in 1929 transitioning from silent films to talkies. The newspapers mentioned that the Trio was going to California looking for a movie contract, and we know Lupe Vélez was in Sonora that February. But we have no evidence at all of a Demare-Vélez meeting in Mexico, or that they ever dated. Nonetheless, the piece was explicitly dedicated to Lupe.

In June they were back in Paris and played at the Empire with renowned trapeze artist and female impersonator Barbette, it was Vaudeville in Paris. The reviewer at the journal Gringoire was not that impressed this time: "They almost look like first prize winners of the Conservatoire disguised as riders of the pampas."

In August they were in San Sebastián, and then returned to the Principal Palace and the recording studios in Barcelona in late September and for the next 6 weeks. On October 10 they played their last show of a farewell week at the Palace that included Conchita Piquer.

On October 12 Lucio and his family buried the youngest yet of the Demare brothers, Gabriel. He was 16 years old and was coming up as a pianist too. Maybe this is the inspiration for the somewhat dark and ominous tango that Lucio composed and recorded the previous week.

They then traveled to Valencia that October, and were back in Madrid in November 1930, and played at the Alkázar and the Latina.

On December 14 they arrived in Havana again and played for weeks at the Teatro Nacional and the cabaret Chateau Madrid. Demare's memories of Cuba are fond, but he felt that they were losing their momemtum. Certainly the conditions had changed since their previous visit, the economic crisis caused by the stock market crash was already being felt. There was disagreement among the group members as Fugazot insisted on trying his luck in the USA.

Then they moved to Haiti, Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico with moderate success. Samuel Reznik split from the Típica, stayed in Cuba for a while and then returned to Buenos Aires. In Caracas they opened on April 11, 1931, at the Teatro Ayacucho to great aclaim. Then they played for Venzuelan dictator Juan Vicente Gómez in Maracay. Demare split, and Irusta and Fugazot went to Ecuador and Perú without him. The Trío finally reunited in Buenos Aires and on November 10 they appeared at the Cine Broadway. On January 2, 1932 they were at a show organized by Enrique S. Discépolo and entitled "The History of Tango in Two Hours". The all-star cast of this show included an orchestra of 50 directed by Canaro, as well as turns at the baton by Enrique Delfino, Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, and Francisco Lomuto. Casimiro Aín danced with N. Bucino, and Tania sang Osvaldo Fresedo's Tango mio. Fugazot broke a leg in an accident and was disabled for 4 months. In January or early February 1932 Irusta and Fugazot joined Fresedo for a gorgeous recording of the vals Lupe.

Then Irusta went back to the studio to record 30 tracks with Canaro through August of that year, including a handful of duos with Fugazot.

The Trio (and some members of the Típica, including Lucas Demare) sailed for Rio de Janeiro in October where they played at the Teatro Broadway. By November they were back in the Gramophone studios in Barcelona to record new tracks.

That November they also payed a visit to the Orphea Films studios in Montjuic to discuss plans for a movie, Boliche, directed by Francisco Elías and shot the following winter. For a small fee and their participation in the movie they won the rights to distribute the film in the Americas where it was an instant hit, though Demare later told that they never got any money from the distribution. They followed up with the movie Aves sin rumbo, directed by Antonio Graciani and released in 1934. They wrote plenty of numbers for the movies colaborating with Elías and Graciani on the lyrics, and released them on La Voz de su Amo. They also colaborated with the Spanish jazz orchestra Crazy Boys. Lucas moved on to movie-making.

In an interview in 1939 Irusta told stories about singing in Morocco, he loved to travel. They went back to Argentina in March 1935, just before the advent of the Spanish Civil War. In 1936 Irusta sang in a handful of new tracks for Canaro, including the vals-romanza Cariño with Ada Falcón and Fugazot. Irusta and Fugazot also sang along chansonnier Roberto Maida in Canaro's musical La Patria del Tango.

In a piece on the magazine Radiolandia the Trío announced their definitive separation in June 1937. Interviewed separately they expressed hope for the freedom they would be gaining. Demare revealed that Fugazot had led the Trio all along and predicted a shiny future for Irusta and Fugazot as a duo. In another interview Irusta explained that the Trío's act was now too expensive to produce, they were being payed as individual artists which was not possible anymore. For a little while Irusta and Fugazot sang together but soon Irusta turned his full attention to movies, starring among others in Nobleza gaucha and El matrero. Demare formed a new Típica with singer Juan Carlos Miranda. And Fugazot also made some movies.

Irusta arrived in Havana on August 19, 1939, on the SS Santa Lucía from Valparaíso. The Kresto Company had invited him for a series on radio concerts, and once again he sang at the Campoamor. He was also promoting the movie Puerta cerrada where he starred with Libertad Lamarque. The movie featured the homonymous tango Puerta cerrada, composed by Lamarque's husband Alfredo Malerba. Irusta was very popular in Cuba, at one point his movies played in 5 different theaters in Havana. He traveled in the company of Samy Friedenthal and Juan Carlos Quiroga (violins), Héctor "Cachito" Presas (bando) and Daniel López Barreto (piano). In Havana they ran into tango singer Mercedes Simone, also on tour. On September 7 they sang at the Teatro Nacional together, in a special program called "Fiesta del Tango" that included Cuban luminaries Esther Borja and Ernestina Lecuona (Ernesto Lecuona's sister). Irusta's last show in Havana took place on Sunday September 24.

From Havana the group traveled to Venezuela where, calling themselves

Trío Típico Cachito-Barreto-Quiroga, they recorded for Victor. The master made its way to New York before December 6, and then it was issued by Victor for the Spanish market only. We think Quiroga split before the group went to Puerto Rico where they recorded two more records for Victor. We also speculate that other recordings may survive in the wild from these sessions.

Irusta's group then landed in New York on January 15, 1940. They played at Club Gaucho in The Village, the original location of El Chico in the cellar of a building at the intersection of Sullivan St and 3rd Street. The place was tiny and frequented by the digerati. They also played at the Teatro Hispano in Spanish Harlem on a showing of Puerta cerrada. The Hispano, previously known as Teatro Campoamor (116th Street and 5th Avenue), was the scene of several Gardel movie premieres before the tragic death of the idol.

Irusta and his group spent close to 5 months in the New York. In April they recorded a few tracks for Decca and Varsity Records. Their Decca recordings credit Terig Tucci, who had directed Gardel recordings in New York in 1935. Tucci kept with him the manuscript of the tango Recordando, Gardel's last composition, and with Irusta recorded it for Decca.

Irusta left New York for Buenos Aires in May or June 1940. By now he was truly fond of his globetrotting ways, and was not only focused on making movies, but recorded with different orchestras and guitarists in many of the locations he visited. In Buenos Aires he sang for Domingo Federico for a while. Demare stayed in Buenos Aires and concentrated on his Típica. In 1941 Lucas directed the movie El viejo Hucha and Demare wrote the score including the classic Malena, which became his best known tango. The year 1943 was very productive for Demare who discovered the singer Raúl Berón, with whom he recorded 26 tracks that year. These include Tal vez será mi alcohol, a tango they had to re-release under the title Tal vez será tu voz due to censorship.

In January 1943 Irusta was in a series of transmissions from Radio Belgrano in Buenos Aires. Then, in September he left Buenos Aires on tour, and sang in Lima's Teatro Segura in September 1944. In November he was with Conchita Vila in Panama, and then he went to Cuba. In August 1945 he was in Mexico City's Follies and in December he sang at the Alameda in Guadalajara. In 1946 he starred in La hija del payaso with Cachita Muñoz. The journal Variety reported that Irusta was following on the steps of many Argentine artists turned off by the censorship on radio in their country. This group included, among others, Libertad Lamarque, Alfredo Malerba and bandoneonist Américo Caggiano. A handful of recordings with Caggiano date from this era. Irusta returned to Cuba in November 1946 to work with director Leo Fleider on a production called "Cholo, caballero andante".

In Cuba Irusta was joined by Lucio Demare and Roberto Fugazot for a new series of recordings by the Trio. In March 1947 he was back in Mexico where he was fined when the union of local artists complained about the "invasion" of foreign talent. He sang at the Teatro Tívoli in Mexico City, and starred in several films including the highly acclaimed La otra with Dolores del Río, a landmark of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1948 for the making of the movie La dama del collar, only to leave again in May 1949 for Spain to star in the movie La guitarra de Gardel with Carmen Sevilla. Back in Buenos Aires in 1950 he recorded for the label TK. That year he again traveled to Venezuela to star in the movie Detrás de la noche, directed by Antonio Graciani.

The Trio never got back together again. In the 50s Demare recorded mostly solo on the piano, and only ocassionally with his Típica. Fugazot almost "disappeared". And Irusta went to Colombia and, eventually, back to Venezuela where he passed in 1987. Roberto Fugazot died in Buenos Aires in 1971, and Lucio Demare in 1974.

Notes

1. A copy of the original promo picture of the Trío taken in Madrid and yet another picture wit the Canaros.

2. Héctor Artola and Pedro Polito split from Demare in Summer 1929 when the Típica went to the Ambassadeurs. Artola then joined the new Bachicha Orchestra. Polito returned to Buenos Aires around 1931, Artola returned in 1934. The sheet for Polito's beautiful tango Escucháme is a touching memento of one point in time.

3. In total the Típica Spaventa recorded some 20 tracks for La Voz de su Amo, their last recording session took place on April 26, 1929. Luis Scalón sang ocassionally with Los Siete Ases in 1929 before the group disbanded. In Fall 1929, and before they went to Havana, the Trío Spaventa-Scalón-Morales appeared in Paris for a few weeks in a cabaret, sharing the stage with the great Russian artist Alexander Vertinski. After their trip to Mexico Carlos and Francisco Spaventa went to New York, and Luis Scalón went to France.

4. Though much has been said about "Cátulo's orchestra" we think this really was Miguel Caló's first orchestra, as evidence shows that "Caló's Tipica" and Maida were playing at the Teatro Astral in Buenos Aires since May 1928. After Seville the group returned to Madrid to perform at the Latina and others, we estimate they disbanded before the end of the year when Cátulo sailed for Buenos Aires. The Malerba brothers stayed in Europe until 1932 and Maida returned in late 1933.

5. Other sources assure that Demare dated Lupe. On September 15, 1929, Lupe Vélez arrived in Tampa with a Hollywood crew to work on the movie Hell Harbor. Director Henry King had declared that he wanted to make a film "on location", that is, the movie would not be filmed in a studio, instead the Tampa area would be a prominent part of the movie. Half the city turned out to welcome Lupe, she was the star of the moment and one of the first Latinas to break barriers in Hollywood. Around this time there was intense maritime traffic between Havana and Florida, the trip lasted less than a day. The Sexteto Habanero came expressly from Havana to play at Lupe's welcome, and also to play a small part in the film. The Governor also came to welcome "Ms. Velez", to which Lupe responded "Jesus, Mr. Governor, don't call me 'Ms. Velez', I am Lupe to my friends!". But there is zero evidence that Demare went on "a little getaway" to Tampa. Lupe was in Tampa until mid-November. She then went back to Hollywood (she was dating Gary Cooper).

6. While the interview with Soriano is full of details about his debut and coming of age, Demare's timeline of events is a bit murky, in particular when it comes to his memories of Gardel. Demare, for example, says that Gardel was with him at the Ambassadeurs seeing Paul Whiteman in 1926, but there's general agreement that Gardel did not visit in Paris before April 1928, well after he recorded Dandy. It seems far more likely that they met in Madrid in December 1927. Moreover, Demare thinks he met legendary American crooner Bing Crosby, who sang with Paul Whiteman's orchestra, but we think Demare mistook the Lost Generation's poet Harry Crosby for the singer.

9. The full discography of the Trío and the Típica can be found here. It includes the recordings of Irusta and Fugazot with Canaro and Demare's recordings with his Tipica and solo until 1957. It also includes an approximation of Irusta's repertoire after 1940.