Edmundo Rivero
| Edmundo Rivero | |
|---|---|
Rivero in the 1960s.
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| Background information | |
| Native name | Leonel Edmundo Rivero |
| Also known as | El Feo (The Ugly) |
| Born |
June 8, 1911 Valentín Alsina, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | January 18, 1986 (aged 74) |
| Genres | Tango |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
Leonel Edmundo Rivero (June 8, 1911 – January 18, 1986) was an Argentine tango singer, composer, and impresario.
Rivero was born in the southern Buenos Aires suburb of Valentín Alsina. Joining his father in some of his travels, he was exposed to the lifestyle and the music of the gauchos of Buenos Aires Province from his early days. His maternal great-grandfather, named Lionel, was a British immigrant, and fought against the Pampas tribes in the mid-19th century, being wounded by a spear. From him, Rivero inherited his blond hair and his first name.
In his teens, Rivero's family moved to the Belgrano neighborhood, in the days where tango developed as a dancing phenomenon, but also as an ever more complex music form under the "ABC" of composers/directors Arolas, Bardi, and Cobián. At the same time, the themes of tango lyrics evolved from light-hearted ribaldry into more complex stories delving on love and manly honor.
Rivero learned classic guitar and also trained as a singer; he had a deep bass-baritone voice that was one of his trademarks, together with his huge hands (due to his acromegaly) that made him the butt of many jokes.
After working as a cover singer in small venues, Rivero got his first radio appearance singing a duet with his sister Eva in Radio Cultura. He spent the early 1930s alternating radio work with dance hall gigs.
After singing for bandleader José De Caro in 1935, Rivero's qualities attracted José's more famous brother Julio De Caro, who drafted Rivero into his orchestra, which incorporated non-traditional instruments and was a fixture of the Pueyrredón theatre ballroom in Flores. Rivero gained some fame, and the moniker that stayed with him forever: el feo (the ugly guy).
Even though Rivero was featured in many Argentine films in the 1930s and 1940s, the early forties were a time of uncertainty for him. Even bandleaders who did hire him (such as Humberto Canaro) would not retain him for long. Later, Rivero would claim that his deep voice was a severe handicap during this time.
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