he was born in Berisso, at that time, city of La Plata, province of Buenos Aires.

Along with her brother Ernesto, she was learning the mysteries of the instrument with the teaching of her father Juan Pedro José, who had appeared for several decades in the local milieu, in which he was known as Joanín. When he was over 80 years old, he was still playing in the quartet led by José Capella.

Raquel, when she was nine, got a bandoneon with the trademark Premier as a gift from her godmother. A few years later, in 1945, she was already member of a group led by her father, with which she appeared at the tango venues, especially, the famous Bar Sportman (now disappeared), on Montevideo Street. There she also joined an all-girl orchestra led by another girl known by her first name, Delia.

The orchestra fronted by the Hermanos Galli was part of the Sportman. One of the brothers, Hugo José, was the composer of one of the tangos with the same name: “Arrabal [c]”. His was one of the pieces with most melodious contour, according to the rendition by the Cayetano Puglisi orchestra in 1925.

Raquel was an extraordinary intuitive player of the bandoneon and had the ability to learn to play it quite soon.