Celestino Ferrer
MusicianName
Celestino Ferrer
About
An early tango musician and bandleader from Buenos Aires, Ferrer achieved success in the tango boom that erupted in Paris in 1913. He performed in nightclubs and recorded for the Pathé label until the outbreak of World War I forced him to relocate to New York. There, Ferrer found himself once again in the right place at the right time. Needing a band to compete with Odeon's new hitmaker, Robert Firpo, Victor turned to Ferrer's group, the Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino. The band recorded 125 sides between 1915 and 1919. He later returned to France, where his group made a living partly by performing dressed as gauchos in order to appeal to the local taste for the exotic. The transnational tango vogue provided Ferrer with career opportunities, but by leaving Argentina so early, he missed out on the stylistic transformations of the 1920s. As a result, Ferrer is now an obscure figure, having made very little lasting impact on the tango.
Role(s)
Musician
Composer
Birth date
June 27, 1885
Death date
March 4, 1958
Genre
An early tango musician and bandleader from Buenos Aires, Ferrer achieved success in the tango boom that erupted in Paris in 1913. He performed in nightclubs and recorded for the Pathé label until the outbreak of World War I forced him to relocate to New York. There, Ferrer found himself once again in the right place at the right time. Needing a band to compete with Odeon's new hitmaker, Robert Firpo, Victor turned to Ferrer's group, the Orquesta Típica Argentina Celestino. The band recorded 125 sides between 1915 and 1919. He later returned to France, where his group made a living partly by performing dressed as gauchos in order to appeal to the local taste for the exotic. The transnational tango vogue provided Ferrer with career opportunities, but by leaving Argentina so early, he missed out on the stylistic transformations of the 1920s. As a result, Ferrer is now an obscure figure, having made very little lasting impact on the tango.
