Osvaldo Pugliese

Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese was born on December 2, 1905, in the Villa Crespo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, the son of a flute player. Forming his own historic orquesta típica in 1939, Pugliese created a unique, dramatically powerful sound characterized by rubato tempo shifts and heavy marcato accents known as the 'yumba' pulse.

A dedicated communist, Pugliese refused commercial compromises, structuring his orchestra as a worker cooperative where all musicians shared earnings equally. Frequently imprisoned during Peronist and military regimes, his orchestra placed a single red carnation on his empty piano bench during concerts when he was jailed. In 1985, at age eighty, he became the first tango orchestra leader to triumph at the prestigious Teatro Colón. Musicians in Argentina invoke 'San Pugliese' for good luck before performances.