didn’t see the money of that robbery, not even when it was burnt». This was what that man, now 74 years old, with an accent of a porteño night bird said. Fontán Reyes was the informer, the one who gave the information to the thieves. The event took place in the city of San Fernando in 1965. The case gave origin, years later, to a novel of the writer Ricardo Piglia, entitled “Plata quemada” and, thereafter (year 2000), to a motion picture version of the novel.

In his house in Talar de Pacheco, a locality of the northwestern area of the Greater Buenos Aires, where he lives with his second wife María Ofelia Reyes, he welcomes us to recall his steps as tango singer and his connection with that bloody event. «I had to spend three years and eight months in the prison of Olmos.», he comments with no resentment. «Had the boys not carried out the hold-up, I’d have done it myself», says he, almost with pride.

In 1957 he won a big tango contest. It was organized by LR4 Radio Splendid and the magazines Cantando and Radiofilm. He was only thirty-two years old and, of course, willing to start a brilliant show business career. His good style and his vocal range attracted the attention of Héctor Varela who then was successful. He hired him to make a tour of Chile but, for some reason he did not explain, as soon as he arrived his vocal cords were affected and was unable to sing. On his comeback to our country, he was then recovered, on January 2, 1958 he recorded with Varela the tango “Esta noche de copas”. The latter number was recorded, years later, by Jorge Falcón.

It was only a four-month tenure with Varela because his ailment appeared periodically, disappeared and later reappeared. When he was very young, still in the 40s, he had joined a quartet fronted by Alfredo Ponce. Then he appeared under the sobriquet of Alberto Moreno.

In 1950 he passed through the ranks of the Juan Canaro orchestra. Later he had a brief stint with Edgardo Donato before joining Varela. The former wanted to replace Raúl Lavié and Rodolfo Lesica who were splitting with him and so he had in mind Fontán and Ernesto Herrera. The latter had turned out winner in another contest. His first recording was successful as far as sales were concerned. When his vocal health was at its best he appeared at fairly important venues and soon he was summoned by the pianist Osvaldo Manzi. The pianist’s aggregation recorded a 78rpm disc with his instrumental “Febril” –widely acclaimed- and on the other side: “Dolor milonguero” with Reyes on vocals (December 18, 1958).

Thereafter he shortly joined the groups led by Emilio Orlando, Juan Sánchez Gorio and Celso Amato. His brief fame soon was lost into oblivion. He had a wife, two daughters and his financial position was not good. He worked in a sawmill owned by his brother and, in the evening, he used to travel to La Plata where he sang at night clubs.

After several years and always in his town he managed to buy a barroom located on Ginés and Sarmiento. Then his life changed. In the Piglia’s novel, winner of the Planeta prize in 1997, we can read that he had serious problems with drugs. Here Fontán was very upset and said: «That guy Piglia must have thought I was dead. I have never been a drug addict and I don’t care about the movie. My wife told me what the book says».

When he bought the barroom his life changed because that local was soon frequented by “heavy men” of the underworld. Carlos Alberto Argañaraz, who was the boss of the gang (shot to death by the police just before the assault to an armored truck), one day turned up with “Nene” Brignone, “Gaucho” Dorda, Carlos Alberto Mereles and Enrique Mario Malito. «They were daring, crazy boys.», he recalls. And he admits, almost embarrassed, that lately his memory is failing. He forgets details, he breaks up his story. But he never denies his responsibility in the events. «Have they decided not to rob that money I would have done it on my own.», he repeats, «Seven million and a half pesos, it was a lot of money at that time».

He lights a lamp because the evening is coming and he recalls his childhood in San Fernando. Hard work, and adolescence with tangos: «Because I sang all my life through», and he remembers that September in 1965 when at a table of his bar he gave to the Malito’s gang the essential information to attack the armored truck that carried the money from the Banco Provincia to the Municipality of San Fernando where he worked as inspector. «I supplied the weapons for them. I had a friend who was an airline captain and he brought machine guns and a FAL (short for fusil ametrallador liviano: light machine gun) from the United States», says he while he drinks some whisky.

«That guy Malito aroused fear, he never talked, he was always silent, always on the defensive, he was like a stalking tiger. Also was Brignone who was the son of a judge. He looked like a teenager, refined but with shaken eyes. Dorda was more easygoing and Mereles was a kid who was unable to scare anyone. I expected to win a hundred thousand dollars and in the end I got not even one peso. Those madmen burnt the money».

The event happened on September 27, 1965. A little bit after three PM. There were four people on the truck. The treasurer Alberto Martínez Tobar was holding a briefcase with the money tight against his chest. The exact amount was 7.203.960 pesos. As a result of the shooting, only one employee of the four municipality workers saved his life and, unfortunately, a man who was coming out from a café also died. The robbers fled to Montevideo and there were found by the Uruguayan police. They held for fifteen hours and when they realized they were lost they decided to burn the money.

Brignone and Mereles died. Dorda, wounded, recovered and the following year died in a riot in the Caseros prison. Malito succeeded in getting away from Uruguay. Somebody said he died in a shooting in the neighborhood of Floresta in 1969. Another version says he died of cancer in Asunción in 1982. Reyes was arrested in his house, denounced by a cousin of his who was indirectly involved in the robbery. He was sentenced to twelve years but he was set free after three years in jail. He was released blameless, keeping his name and honor untouched (?). From 1975 to 1990 he lived in Peru where he succeeded in appearing at some tango venues.

María Ofelia, his new wife, tells us that she had met him at a tango venue three years before. «I didn’t know who he was but I liked his voice and his good looks. We talked a lot on the phone and finally I went to live with him».

As for his career, he kept on singing whenever he had the chance.

It’s time to leave. Fontán adjusts his eyeglasses, thankful, and says that he thinks about his two daughters, his three grandchildren and his great grandson very much, and that tango has always been his great passion.

Published in Clarín newspaper, 5/14/2000.