|
|
INES CALANDRIA Her real name is Inés Arce. She has a very soft and high-pitched voice such as Libertad LamarqueÕs. She was only 8 years old when she appeared on the radio and she also sang in the choir of the Col—n Theatre. She was 74 when the shooting of the movie began. For her El Chino Bar is a genuine and unique place, where identity is preserved. Until she was 18, she used to dance tango with her brother. They rehearsed during weekdays and danced at the "milonga" (social dance) on Saturdays. When she got married at 22, and as a result of her husbandÕs jealousy, she gave up dancing and singing. Only twenty years later, she took up singing again. She was El Chino's neighbor and, when he came across her at La Providencia Club, he invited her to go to his bar. Since then, she has become a habitué on Saturdays and takes part in the show. She says that tango tells a whole story just in three minutes. "When you're young, you sing better, but at my age you feel tango, your heart and your feelings play a large part". It makes her sad to see that young people don't appreciate tango, as if they had lost their roots and identity. She compares tango with black music, both express a feeling of protest in some way. As her family was from Galicia and Andalucía, she can sing some songs in Andalusian Spanish like Eladia Blazquez. For Christmas and New Year's Eve, her friends and relatives gather in the street to dance and celebrate. For her El Chino was a bohemian, and the bar Ñthanks to its architectureÑ still preserves its bohemian identity. She has been married for 55 years. Her husband says, "I like all songs, only if they are sung by her". Inés misses the old times when people spent the afternoon together in the street, drinking mate and listening to music. Nothing to do with today's stressful life. To contact Inés Arce: TE. + 54 - 11- 4912- 6698 |
|
EL TOTO ACOSTA Enrique Alfredo Acosta sings alone, but in this interview he was with his wife, Antonina Procopia, known as La Tota. In their house -full of plants, light, and anecdotes- they talk about love at the age of 60: its romanticism, seduction tips, and strategies to overcome difficulties. La Tota praises her husband and looks at him as if she were a teenager. They are 70 and have been together for 10 years. They tell us about how they met and the long bus ride to go to El Chino Bar in Pompeya. Because of his repertoire and his sober finely-tuned way of singing, El Toto is considered "Gardel" in the bar. In his free time, he likes working around the house, fixing things. El Toto was seduced by his wifeÕs cheerful personality. He had been single until he met her when at the age of 60. Antonina felt attraction to him because of his songs, his talent and presence. They cook and share activities, they understand and complement each other. To
contact El Toto Acosta: |
 |
|
El TANO Walter Barberis was 71 when the film started to be shot. He was the philosopher at the bar. He was a singer, sculptor and painter. He lived in a house, surrounded by photos, plants and his sculptures, which expressed a range of feelings -from deep love to the insanity of war. He showed us around his house and life, proud of having lived in close contact with his soul. Our soul is a source of energy; energy that compresses easily, unless we let it free. He regarded women as the driving force of men, and considered uprooting as unnatural suffering. He left Italy when he was a teenager, but since then his heart and mind kept wandering back there. When he traveled, he also missed Pompeya and the Riachuelo (Buenos Aires Southern waterway), but his roots were in Italy, which reminded him of his parents. His mother used to tell him, "Walter, if you feel sad, just sing". He loved books and their teachings. For him loneliness and freedom go hand by hand, and men should never surrender. Uprooting is an important motif in tango. In tango there's no happiness. Walter died in September 2001, but everyone remembers his phrases and thoughts. |
 |
 |
ABEL FRIAS Guitar player and folklore artist with a clear and emotive voice. He knew El Chino for over 30 years and has enjoyed the company of all the people at the bar. He was attracted by El Chino's simplicity and has become a habitue. His artistic vocation was centered in this place, where nights began at 12:00 and there wasn't a closing time. Abel has always been there from the very beginning. To
contact Abel Frías: |
|
CRISTINA DE LOS ANGELES She's been a singer since she was young. She's the feminine soul at the bar. She begins the show by giving a warm spontaneous welcome to the audience. She's a remarkable singer. She tells us about her mother and daughter, with melancholic eyes. She lived for some time in the United States and in Peru, but she missed Argentina so much that she decided to return. She came back to El Chino Bar "looking for familiar smells and tastes". Folklore was her main interest until she started -just by chance during her stay in the US- to sing tango, playing the guitar at first and then one of the few bandoneons in that country. She lives alone, her daughter is married and her mother died. She has a collection of boxes made by Porota, whom she loves so much, and another one of mates. She says that Argentine people feel as foreigners in their own country. She considered El Chino a pure, naive, and sensitive man. She has sung serenades in different places here in Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, and New York. To
contact Cristina de los Angeles: |
 |
|
HORACIO PUCCIO ACOSTA He's a 68-year-old widower and has three children. He started to sing when he was 4. He studied singing for twenty years and has performed with well-known artists in the "Picadilly" and "Luna Park". He preferred to sing hard tangos, but El Chino asked him to sing "milongas", which are beautiful and flowing, to make the atmosphere more enjoyable and since then he's the one who gives the show a funny touch. He used to sing in cabarets and missed his family when he sang in other provinces. He finds it quite amazing that someone can write about a whole life in a few lines. This is how he defines tango: "a whole life in short lyrics". During this interview he sings and pauses to talk about his jobs: he worked with glass in his workshop and once he was poisoned by some paint. He earned and lost money during that time. He values friendship, but he felt betrayed when he was going through hard times. He has also sung serenades. He associates tango and the bar with women, smoke and alcohol. To
contact Horacio Acosta: |
|
CARLOS RAGO (56) He's the youngest in the troupe. He sings at night and drives a privately-owned car during the day. He started singing when, at the age of 15, he was the winner in a singing contest. "It was fraud" he remembers "those who clapped were all friends of mine". He has studied singing. He met El Chino over 25 years ago, when only men went to the bar. He has also sung serenades. The bar is for him a warm, family place. He has lived in Barracas, Lanús, and Villa Soldati (some of Buenos Aires Southern neighborhoods). When he sings, he can feel the audience's emotions. He values friendship and the presence of foreign people in the bar like JosŽ Sacristán. He usually sings "Lágrimas de Sangre" (Blood Tears) because it reminds him of a sad love story in his life. |
 |
