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Raúl Méndez
Real name: Godi, Raúl Benavídez
Singer, journalist and broadcaster
(28 November 1956 - 2012)
Place of birth:
San Isidro (Buenos Aires) Argentina
SONGS IN THIS ARTICLE
Bandoneón de mi ciudad
Tango
Divina
Tango
Margarita Gauthier
Tango
Ninguna
Tango
ARTISTS IN THIS ARTICLE
Alberto Caroprese
Alberto Marino
Alfredo De Angelis
Aníbal Troilo
Ben Molar
Carlos Dante
Dionisio Delgado
Floreal Ruiz
Hugo Del Carril
Joaquín Mora
Juan de Dios Filiberto
Nelly Vázquez
Osvaldo Pugliese
Raúl Berón
Roberto Cassinelli
Roberto Goyeneche
Roberto Rufino
Rosita Quiroga
Tita Merello
By
Todotango.com
Date of birth and birthplace: 28 November 1956, in San Isidro (province of Buenos Aires).Full mame: Raúl Benavídez Godi
e began to sing tangos at age 5 in the carnival balls of 1961 at a neighborhood club where the orchestra led by the bandoneon player
Dionisio Delgado
used to play. But his professional career started in the 70s and appeared at different venues alongside the greatest artists:
Hugo Del Carril
,
Tita Merello
,
Roberto Rufino
,
Carlos Dante
,
Rosita Quiroga
,
Nelly Vázquez
,
Raúl Berón
,
Roberto Goyeneche
,
Floreal Ruiz
,
Alberto Marino
,
Osvaldo Pugliese
,
Alfredo De Angelis
, among others.
He was finalist in 1975 in the TV show
Grandes Valores de Hoy y de Siempre
on Channel 9. Immediately after his brilliant appearance at the contest he was hired to join the staff cast of the Casa de Gardel on 735 Jean Jaures Street which at that time was run by the impresario Virgilio Machado Ramos.
He appeared at the historical show at the Luna Park stadium on December 11, 1977 when the Tango Day (Día del Tango) was established thanks to
Ben Molar
’s suggestion. The singer
Roberto Rufino
was his art patron and he accompanied the latter in his last days when he was in a bed of the Fundación Favaloro where he passed away.
Privately, he likes to tell two funny stories about two tango figures: «One evening, while walking along in Buenos Aires, I met a black man who spoke with a mixture of porteño and Caribbean accents. The man wanted to play some tangos on a piano. We entered several venues until we got to a local at a basement. I don’t remember if it was on Esmeralda or Maipú Street. Right at the entrance there was a rather out of tune piano, we asked permission and he began to play. After some time he told me: What do you like to sing? Immediately I answered: “
Ninguna
” and asked him to accompany me in A. I mistook the tango, I ought to have told him "
Divina
" or “
Margarita Gauthier
”. The black man was maestro
Joaquín Mora
.»
«I had a great teacher: the bandoneon player
Alberto Caroprese
, composer of “Murales de cantina”, “
Bandoneón de mi ciudad
” (dedicated to
Aníbal Troilo
) and the waltz I premiered: “En cada atardecer”, with words by Rufino and
Roberto Cassinelli
. There was a great difference in age. Alberto was my friend, a sort of father who taught me that lyrics cannot be changed and music, either, though sometimes we can try to embellish it with a sober arrangement. He was a bad-tempered Italian with a good taste for tango. I learned a lot with him».
He traveled for twelve years and appeared in several countries of America and Europe. On one occasion he was hired to sing on the yacht of the tycoon Adna Khashoggi. Among the guests were the American actress Brooke Shields and the actor Pierce Brosnan, frequent visitors to the Costa del Sol, in Spain.
He appeared as guest artist with the Orquesta Nacional de Música Argentina
Juan de Dios Filiberto
. He was contributor to the radio program La Noche con Amigos conducted by Lionel Godoy.
Nowadays he tours our country singing with the
Muestra Pictórica Cultural y Educacional Carlos Gardel
of the painter Saide Yamila Abdala and, furthermore, he produces and emcees his own radio program:
Viva el Tango y lo demás
, which is aired on AM 1620 Radio Italia.
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