Mi Noche Triste - Music

He Was Born On January 6 1922 On 753 Agüero Street –in The Heart Of The Neighborhood Of El Abasto- Son Of Lorenzo Rufino And Agustina Guirin Although In His Birth Certificate Is Written The Day He Was Filed On The Records On The 8th Day Of That Same Month And Year. A Little Bit Yonder On Agüero And Guardia Vieja Streets The Café O'Rondeman Was Placed Where Carlos Gardel Attempted His Early Songs. A Premonition? Maybe Because Rufino As Well Started At The Old Café Of His Neighborhood Which Still Was Run By The Traverso Brothers. But There Is A Further Coincidence In The Same Year 1935 His Father And Gardel Died. And In 1936 A Few Days After The Cortege Which Was Mourning Carlitos To His Final Abode Had Passed Along Corrientes Street "El Pibe Del Abasto" –as He Was Called Since The Early Days At O'Rondeman Made His Professional Debut He Was Also Called "El Pibe Terremoto"- At The Café El Nacional As Vocalist Of The Francisco Rosse Typical Orchestra To Switch A Little Bit Later To Petit Salón With Antonio Bonavena Orchestra Composer Of "Pájaro Ciego" And Uncle Of The Would-Be Boxer.
To Bonavena Followed In Rufino's Artistic Career The Orchestras Of "Cieguito" Camilo Tarantini Of José "Natalín" Felipetti –the One Of The Waltz "Pabellón De Las Rosas"- And Of Anselmo Aieta.
Then The Destiny Foreseen By Don Lorenzo Had Been Definitively Left Behind At That Time He Quit High School In His Third Year. Tango Would Be His Only Destiny.
But We Are Still In The Singer's Prehistory And 1938 Will Be A Key Year. Carlos Garay Carlos Di Sarli´s Agent Heard Him Sing The Tango Written By Di Sarli And Enrique Carrera Sotelo "Milonguero Viejo" He Told His Principal About It And The Latter Included Him In His Orchestra With Which He Was Able To Record On December 11 1939 The Tango "Corazón" By Di Sarli And Héctor Marcó. Fame Had Already Touched Him With Its Magic Wand And «at The Age Of 21 Or 22 He Had A Unprecedented Discographic Record» As The Journalist Jorge Sturla Says.
In Fact He Recorded Together With Di Sarli Forty-Six Numbers. Meanwhile He Had Two Brief Breaks With The Orchestras Of Alfredo Fanuele 1941 And Emilio Orlando 1942 To Once Again Reunite With "El Señor Del Tango" In 1943.
A Year Later He Split With The Orchestra Which Launched Him Into Popular Acclaim It Was Time Of Taking A Chance As Soloist. He Made His Debut As Such Accompanied By His Orchestra And Entrusted Atilio Bruni With The Conduction Of It On Radio Belgrano Where He Was Called "El Actor Del Tango".
Subsequently His Accompanying Ensemble Was Led By Alberto Cámara –with Whom He Recorded His First Disc As Soloist For The Uruguayan Label Sondor In 1945- And Porfidio Díaz With Whom He Cut A Second Record For The Chilean Victor Company 1946 .
Between 1947 And 1950 He Was Again A Vocalist For Someone Else's Orchestras Those Led By Enrique Mario Francini-Armando Pontier And Miguel Caló To Go On Performing As Soloist Between 1952 And 1954. During The Two Following Years He Was Singer In Roberto Caló's Outfit And Later He Went On As Soloist Save For Brief Stints With Some Directors Such As Francini 1957 Pontier 1961-1962 Aníbal Troilo 1962-1965 And Miguel Caló 1966 To Record A Long-Playing Disc .
It Is Curious Rufino's Short Labor As Melodic Singer Under The Nickname Bobby Terré With Which It Can Be Said He Did Not Stepped Into History. As Such He Cut Recordings Between 1957 And 1960 Alternating With His Own Name As Tango Artist. His Appearances At The Radio El Mundo Large Studio With Public Attendance Were Hidden Behind A Mask Because He Was Introduced As "The Masked Bobby Terré" It Was Not A Question Of "avivar A La Gilada" To Alert The Fools .
At Its Time His Interpretations Of "Adiós Adiós Adiós..." "El Teléfono" "Vuelve Amor" And "La Luna Y El Sol" Had A Sort Of Repercussion. But That Was All. Terré Was Again Rufino And Rufino Would Never Again Depart From Tango.
A Capacity Less Known Than That Of Singer But Anyway Not Ignored Was That Of Composer And Lyricist. He Is Author Of Numerous Works Such As "Muchachos Arranquemos Para El Centro" "Eras Como La Flor" "¡Cómo Nos Cambia La Vida!" "¡Calla!" "Destino De Flor" "Dejame Vivir Mi Vida" "La Novia Del Suburbio" "Soñemos" "Tabaco Rubio" "El Clavelito" "No Hablen Mal De Las Mujeres" "Los Largos Del Pibe" "En El Lago Azul" "Carpeta" "El Bazar De Los Juguetes" "La Calle Del Pecado" "Julián Tango" "Manos Adoradas" "Porque Te Sigo Queriendo" "¡Qué Quieren Yo Soy Así!" "Lita" "Boliche" Etc. Among His Authorial Collaborators –musicians And Lyricists- We Can Find Roberto Casinelli Manolo Barros Mario César Arrieta Marvil Roberto Caló Cholo Hernández Julio Navarrine Héctor Marcó Horacio Sanguinetti Reinaldo Yiso Angel Cabral Alberto L. Martínez Alejandro Romay And Others.
His Latter Years Were Of Indefatigable Activity He Seemed To Be Eternal. But Years Do Not Pass In Vain And His Latter Appearances Turned Out Pathetical With An Audience Who Kept On Being Loyal And That Even Had To Kindly Prompt Him The Lyrics When His Memory Failed In A Vain Effort Of Seeing Him As The Major Singer He Had Been.
On The Other Hand Each Time He Stepped On A Stage It Seemed Impossible To Make Him Leave It It Was As If He Would Need To Hold To The Show Forever And To The Company Of His Fans. Anyhow In 1997 Justice Was Done He Was Honored As "ciudadano Ilustre De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires" Illustrious Citizen Of The City Of B.A. And In 1998 "ciudadano Ilustre De La Cultura Nacional" Illustrious Citizen Of The National Culture . It Was The Culmination Of His Career A Culmination Undoubtedly Deserved. On February 24 1999 His Heart Stopped Beating At The Intensive Care Room Of The Fundación Favaloro. On The 25 In The Morning The People Said Goodbye To His Remains In The Chacarita Cemetery Singing That Tango He So Many Times Had Unraveled Word By Word So As The Meaning Of What The Author Had Written Was Not Missed "Malena Canta El Tango Como Ninguna..." Malena Sings Tango Like Nobody Else . Maybe Only One Thing Was Missing To Have Said Rufino Instead Of Malena.
Originally Published In The Fascicle 34 Of The Collection Tango Nuestro Issued By Diario Popular. read less