Osvaldo Pugliese

His music is a favorite with accomplished dancers, because of its wonderful walking rhythms interposed with slow moments for elegant turns and embellishments. Pugliese is often played later in the evening when the dancers want to dance more slowly, impressionistically and intimately. Tangology 101, Osvaldo Pugliese.

Pugliese was a devoted communist and he found himself in direct confrontation with the dictatorships in Argentina. He was arrested many times, and would have been killed except that he was too popular. When he was jailed, people would place a red rose on his empty piano until he returned. Perón had him jailed for six months. Stories abound of these arrests, but Pugliese never spoke publicly of these times. It is said that he was once taken out on the ocean in a small boat and threatened with drowning. Years later when Perón presented the musician with a national award for his contributions to Argentina, they say that Perón quietly thanked Pugliese for not holding a grudge about the incident. Osvaldo Pugliese. Wikipedia.

"La Yumba" is the best known of Pugliese's tangos and became the anthem for his orchestra. The great bandoneonist Daniel Binelli explains the unique sound of "La Yumba" in this clip from the 1948 film "Mis cinco hijos."