376  Ada Falcón - no mystery

Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2002 11:19:41 -0000
From: Mike Lavocah <mikelavocah@FREENETNAME.CO.UK>
Subject: Ada Falcón - no mystery

There is no real mystery about Ada Falcsn's withdrawal from public life. In
fact, her life is partially documented in the recordings she made with
Canaro, her long time lover. What about "Yo no si que man hecho tus ojos" (I
don't know what your eyes have done to me), recorded in 1930, with music
*and lyrics* by Canaro himself - Ada was famous for her huge, alluring green
eyes. This composition and others like it - Te Quiero (I Love You), Lo Que
Nunca Te Diran (What They Never Tell You) lend a special poignancy to these
recordings. Get EBCD-29 and check them out yourself. Even tangos which are
not Canaro compositions such as Envidia (envy) are viewed differently in
this light.

Canaro promised to leave his wife but never did - allegedly because he
didn't want to lose half his money. One day, during a break in recording,
Ada was sitting on Canaro's lap in a side room when Canaro's wife burst in
to the room. Pulling a revolver from her handbag she pointed it at Ada and
told her to leave her husband alone. Ada fled from the room and left the
orchestra a few days later. This would have been towards the end of 1938.

This story was told to Nistor Pinssn by a musician in Canaro's orchestra and
is on the Argentine site www.todotango.com here:
https://www.todotango.com/english/creadores/afalcon.html. Sergio, the article
doesn't say when the interview took place, but it's just possible that this
musician is still alive - it's certainly worth contacting Nistor.

I think the documentary is a great idea, but a drama (a film) would be even
better!

Why are the Argentines so coy about talking about this celebrity affair?
This question has intrigued me for years.

My nomination for the greatest Falcsn / Canaro recording: Suavemente (a
foxtrot). The interplay between singer and orchestra is masterful, whilst
Falcsn's control, timing and delivery are simply devastating. A neglected
masterpiece.

Mike Lavocah
mike@milonga.co.uk
https://www.milonga.co.uk/