Agustín Magaldi
Agustín Magaldi Coviello (December 1, 1898 – September 8, 1938) was an Argentinian tango and milonga singer-songwriter. His nickname was "La voz sentimental de Buenos Aires" ("The sentimental voice of Buenos Aires"). Magaldi took part in the opening broadcasts of Argentina's LOY Radio Nacional in July 1924.[1]
Magaldi suffered from liver disease and was admitted to Sanatorium Otamendi early in September 1938. An operation by Dr. Pedro Valdez was successful, but Magaldi died 48 hours later. He was buried in La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires.[2]
Portrayal in Evita
In the Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical Evita, Magaldi is shown as bringing Eva Duarte to Buenos Aires and so is therefore referred to as "the first man to be of use to Eva Duarte".
There is some disagreement, however, about the role Magaldi played in Eva's real life, or that they knew each other. For example, in the biography Evita: The Real Life of Eva Perón, biographers Marysa Navarro and Nicholas Fraser write that there are no records of Magaldi performing in Eva's hometown of Junín in the year that Eva is said to have met Magaldi.
A major historical error is that the musical shows Magaldi performing at a charity concert given in aid of the victims of an earthquake in San Juan, Argentina. The concert, where Eva Duarte and Juan Perón met for the first time, happened on January 22, 1944, when Magaldi had been dead for over five years.
References
- ↑ The film industry in Argentina: an illustrated cultural history Jorge Finkielman p. 112, McFarland & Company
- ↑ Frommer's Buenos Aires Michael Luongo p. 152 John Wiley & Sons
Other websites
- Agustín Magaldi by Pablo Taboada and Ricardo García Blaya.
- Agustín Magaldi biography and controversy over his birthplace (in Spanish)
- Agustín Magaldi at Tango.info
- Agustín Magaldi recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings
- Agustín Magaldi at Find a Grave