Enrique Santos Discépolo

Who was Enrique Santos Discépolo?

Enrique Santos Discépolo was an Argentine tango and milonga musician and composer, author of famous tangos such as "Cambalache" and many others performed by several of the most important singers of his time, amongst them notably Carlos Gardel.

Discépolo was born in Buenos Aires. He was attracted to the arts from an early age and tried acting and theater writing before finally "arriving" to Tango. Even when his decision to write popular music wasn't totally separated from his previous exchanges with theater and acting, his older brother Armando resisted this move and therefore in the beginning things weren't easy for Enrique. Armando had taken over his education after his parent died when Enrique was very young.

He wrote a few songs with little success until his break came in 1928, when singer Azucena Maizani performed his Esta noche me emborracho. 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 Que vachaché, and propelled it to the same popularity as Esta noche me emborracho. To finish a great year in 1928, he also met his wife, Tania, who would be with him for the rest of his life.