Hugo Diaz

Hugo Diaz was born on August 10, 1927, in Santiago de Estero. At the age of five he began to play the harmonica, and in less than two years was already performing regularly for a local radio station.

All his life, in spite of a highly successful career, the ex-child prodigy remained loyal to the companion of his youth.

His debut in Buenos Aires around 1944 was, of course, spectacular and resulted in a whole series of record contracts with Odeon, TK, Jockey and later RCA. But we should continually bear in mind the deep rural roots of Hugo Diaz. He made his name as a first class tanguero, yet the genius of Diaz was expressed above all in the provincial musical forms he had grown up with: chacareras, zambas and milongas. But such a musician could never really be confined to a single style.

In 1953, during a European tour, Hugo Diaz had the opportunity to meet two admired musicians, Larry Adler and Toots Thielemans. The admiration was mutual, since Toots Thielemans never failed to pay homage to Hugo Diaz.

On his return home, where the nuevo tango was revolutionizing the music scene, his situation seemed more difficult. But Diaz was to record the most important part of his musical legacy during the 1970s. —Courtesy Calabash Music