Atahualpa Yupanqui

Atahualpa Yupanqui ( born January 31, 1908 as Héctor Roberto Chavero in Pergamino, Argentina, † 23 May 1992, Nîmes, France) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist and writer. He is regarded as the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century.

Life

Atahualpa Yupanqui was born under the civil name Héctor Roberto Chavero in Pergamino in the province of Buenos Aires. His family moved to San Miguel de Tucumán, when he was ten years old.

At a young age Yupanqui traveled extensively through the North West of Argentina and the Altiplano studying the indigenous cultures. He joined the Communist Party in 1931 and had to leave the country after the failed uprising of the Kennedy brothers. He sought refuge in Uruguay. In 1934 he returned to Argentina.

In 1935, Atahualpa Yupanqui first visited the city of Buenos Aires, and as his compositions became increasingly popular, he was invited to play in the National Radio. Shortly thereafter he met Antonieta Paula Pepin Fitzpatrick, nicknamed " Nenette ", know, who would become his lifelong companion and musically supported him under the pseudonym " Pablo Del Cerro ".

During the military dictatorship from 1946 to 1949 he was constantly harassed and even imprisoned. In 1949 he left the country and moved to Europe. Édith Piaf invited him to appear in June of the same year in Paris. After that, he toured throughout Europe.

In 1952 he returned to Buenos Aires. Because of his criticism of the Communist Party, he was expelled from her, which made it easier for him to appear on the radio. Nevertheless, he was treated with suspicion by the anti - Peronists, who came to power after the fall of Peron in 1956.

In the following years, Atahualpa Yupanqui lived in his houses in Buenos Aires and Cerro Colorado in the province of Córdoba. Between 1963 and 1964 he toured Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Egypt, Israel and Italy. In 1967 he toured Spain and settled in Paris. Although he returned regularly to Argentina, but these trips became less frequent after 1976, after Jorge Rafael Videla took power in Argentina with its military junta.

Atahualpa Yupanqui died in 1992 in Nîmes ( France) at the age of 84 years.

Works

Among the most famous compositions by Atahualpa Yupanqui include Viene clareando, El arriero, Zamba del grillo, La Anera, La Pobrecita, Milonga del Peon de campo, Camino del indio, Chacarera de las piedras, Recuerdos del Portezuelo, El alazán, Indiecito dormido, El aromo, Le tengo rabia al silencio, Piedra y camino, Luna tucumana, Los ejes de mi carreta, Sin caballo y de Montiel, Cachilo dormido and Tú que puedes vuélvete.