Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
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Gerardo Anacleto Matos Rodríguez
MRodriguez.jpg
Background information
Birth name Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez
Also known as Becho
Born March 28, 1897
Montevideo, Uruguay
Died April 25, 1948 (aged 51)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Genres Tango
Occupation(s) Composer, journalist, piano player
Instrument(s) Piano
Years active 1917–1948
Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez (March 28, 1897 – April 25, 1948), also known as Becho, was a Uruguayan musician, composer and journalist.
Background and early career
Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez was born in Montevideo, the son of the owner of the Moulin Rouge, a popular local cabaret. He studied architecture, but did not complete the course. He began composing as a young student in 1917, and his first known work was "La Cumparsita", which he wrote on the piano of the Federación de Estudiantes of Uruguay [1] Archived April 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. It became one of the most recognizable tango pieces, though Matos was initially too shy to play the piece himself and it became well known through the performance of others.
He travelled widely throughout Europe and stayed in Paris for a time, as well as working as Uruguayan consul to Germany. In 1931, he collaborated on the film score for Luces de Buenos Aires, shot in Joinville-le-Pont, France, and starring renowned tango vocalist Carlos Gardel.
Principal compositions
Breyer Hermanos, La Cumparsita, 1916
The most famous classic tango of all times is "La Cumparsita", written by Matos Rodríguez in 1916, with lyrics added later by Pascual Contursi and Enrique Pedro Maroni. Roberto Firpo, director and pianist of the orchestra that premiered the song, added parts of his tangos "La Gaucha Manuela" and "Curda Completa" to Matos' carnival march, resulting in "La Cumparsita".
Matos Rodríguez also composed pieces for theater plays premiered in Buenos Aires, among them Manuel Romero's El Gran Circo Rivolta. He led his own tango orchestra in Montevideo for a short time afterwards.
Other tangos composed by him include: “Che papusa, oí”, “Son grupos”, “Yo tuve una novia”, “Cuando bronca el temporal”, “Hablame”, “Pobre corazón”, “Haceme caso a mí”, “Canto por no llorar”, “Rosa reseca”, “Botija linda”, “El pescador”, “Te fuiste, ¡ja, ja!”, “Adiós Argentina”, “Mi provinciana”, “La milonga azul”, “Dale celos”, “Raspail”, “Mocosita”, “La muchacha del circo”, and “San Telmo”. Rodríguez collaborated with the lyricists Enrique Cadícamo, Victor Soliño, Juan B. A. Reyes, Manuel Romero and Fernán Silva Valdés. With the latter he wrote a series of Canciones Montevideanas ("Songs of Montevideo"), including "Margarita Punzó".
He died in Montevideo after a long illness in 1948.
Lyrics La cumparcita
If you
knew that still inside my soul
I keep
that love that I had for you
who knows
if you knew
that I
have never forgotten you
going
back to your past
You will
remember me
friends
no longer come
not even
to visit me
no one
wants to comfort me
in my
affliction
Since the
day you left
I feel
anguish in my chest
I said
percanta: what have you done
Of my
poor heart?
to the
abandoned parrot
not even
the morning sun
peek out
the window
like when
you were
And that
companion dog
that
because of your absence I did not eat
Seeing me
alone the other day
she left
me too
If you
knew
With affection,
Ruben
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