Casimiro Alcorta

Casimiro Alcorta (1840–1913) was a musician of Argentina, considered one of the fathers of tango music.

Sheet music cover dated 1916.

"Cara sucia" was performed in 1919 by Orquestra Francisco Canaro and singer Lola Membrives (2:50)

An Afro-Argentine son of slaves, Alcorta was born in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. He became free as a child, and took the name of his owner, as was typical. His mother, Casimira, was a slave of the landowner and musician Amancio Jacinto Alcorta (1805-1862), one of the first classical composers of Argentina.

Casimiro excelled as a violinist, dancer and songwriter. His musical career spanned the years from 1855 to 1913, i.e, from the first time when the tango began to form, until it took final shape and identity. The first tango "group" was composed of Alcorta (violin) and Sinforoso (clarinet). As a dancer, he formed a legendary duo with his partner La Paulina, of Italian origin, with whom he remained until his death in 1913.

As a composer, he authored the famous tango "Concha Sucia" ("Dirty Shell") in 1884, which decades later would be renamed "Cara Sucia" ("Dirty Face"), and be performed by artists such as Francisco Canaro. Alcorta also composed the tangos "La yapa", "Entrada prohibida" ("Forbidden entry"), and "El choclo" ("The corn"). It is very likely that many of the tangos composed between 1870 and 1900 he wrote, including some attributed to other composers. Alcorta died in Buenos Aires in 1913, in the arms of Paulina.

Bibliography

• Duque Castillo, Elvia. iUniverse, ed. Aportes del Pueblo Afrodescendiente: La Historia Oculta de America Latina. ISBN 978-1-4759-6583-4.
• Viejo Tanguero (atrib. José Antonio Saldías). El tango: su evolución y su historia. Crítica.
• Selles, Roberto. LP Tango, ed. "Los negros del tango: de Casimiro a Rosendo".