e is one of the present singers that deserves all my respect. I think he is original, with an unsurpassable intonation and a special sensitivity. Even though, as a friend of mine says, after Gardel everything is a question of taste. I allow myself to define Horacio as a distinguished, sober, elegant performer, that sings the way tango has to be sung, mezza voce, without stridences.

Good-looking and known as a seducer, his singing emphasizes the song words with an excellent diction, generating a mood that respects the dramatic sense of the verses and their metaphors.

He appeared in the early 60s with a way of singing quite different to the other vocalists. He did not include tangos in his songbook and it seemed that he hummed for himself, as an exaggerated version of João Gilberto. Bolero and bossa nova were his favorite genres.

His friends, the pianist Sergio Mihanovich and the López Ruiz brothers introduced him to the RCA-Victor company which by that time was managed by Víctor Buchino, its musical director. He soon thereafter began recording to a great acclaim.

Since then his career has been growing. He was summoned to appear at the main television program of that time: Sábados Circulares, emceed by Nicolás Mancera, in which he had a long tenure. He also appeared at La Noche, another show conducted by Mancera in which he appeared alongside important figures: Astor Piazzolla, Eladia Blázquez, Egle Martín, among others.

In 1965 he toured the interior of the country and switched to the Columbia label. He cut five new recordings which were quite successful, especially, in Latin America and in the United States.

In Buenos Aires he appeared in the most important venues: Teatro Odeón, De La Cova, El Globo and café-concerts: La Fusa and La Botica del Ángel, the latter run by Eduardo Bergara Neumann.

In 1970 he was invited by Vinicius de Moraes to sing in Mar del Plata and Punta del Este, along with Chico Buarque, María Creuza, Toquinho, Naná and Dorival Caymmi.

And finally we come to 1975, year when Horacio decided to produce a transcendental change: he quit his routine and fully devoted to tango. So he started a new recording stage that lasts to now. His first long-playing record with tangos was for CBS-Columbia and was entitled Por los amigos (1976).

In his recordings outstanding musicians are featured: Antonio Agri, Quicho Díaz, Fernando Suárez Paz, Walter Ríos. The musical direction was in charge of Oscar Cardozo Ocampo, who would become Horacio’s advisor and musical reference until the former’s death in a car accident in 2001.

At the time of the military dictatorship presided by Jorge Videla, the singer decided to fly to Europe. He settled in France in 1978. There he recorded a disc accompanied by the Uruguayan guitarist Ciro Pérez and the bandoneonist Juan José Mosalini. The latter had been member of the Osvaldo Pugliese Orchestra along with the young Daniel Binelli and Rodolfo Mederos.

By that time his tango was slower and romantic. I want to highlight a number he recorded more than once: “Rubí”, it seems that it was conceived for his style.

After his compact disc Barrio reo, in 1999, backed by the guitarist Juanjo Domínguez, we can appreciate a definitive tango style with more drive; his rendition of “Porque soy reo” is excellent.

He toured all the important cities of France. In Paris, his outstanding appearances are at the Bobino Theater, at the Gaitée Montparnasse and at the mythical stage of Trottoirs de Buenos Aires, accompanied by the bandoneonist Walter Ríos. On several occasions the important producer Eve Griliquez invited him to appear in her program in France Culture, alongside the Uruguayan singer/composer Daniel Viglietti.

He returned to Argentina when the democratic goverment was back, during the time when Raúl Alfonsín was president and then his relationship with tango would not stop again. He appeared at the Teatro San Martín, at the Teatro Alvear, at Clásica y Moderna, at the Casona del Teatro and at other prestigious venues.

Furthermore, he performed at important theaters of the interior of the country, for example, the Coliseo Podestá theater of the city of La Plata or the Teatro del Libertador, in the city of Córdoba.

In the movies he appeared in only one motion Picture: Cleopatra (2003), directed by Eduardo Mignogna, with Norma Aleandro, Natalia Oreiro and Alberto de Mendoza in the main roles.

He has recorded over two hundred numbers and he also wrote pieces in collaboration with Eladia Bláquez (“Lo vivido”), Carlos Barocela (“Nuestro refugio”, “Mi ciudad”), Albino Gómez (“Quiero contarle al viento”) and Teresa Parodi (“Corazón de pájaro”).

Today he is member of the Academia Nacional del Tango and keeps on working for the joy of those who love the best tango.