artist spotlight

Hugo Diaz was not a tango musician, that's why his albums are so rare and hard to find. He was a folklore musician from Santiago del Estero. He was born on August 10th, 1927 and lost his sight when he was 5. He was hit by a ball when he was watching a soccer game. While he was in despair, he asked his father to buy him a harmonica. He practiced it when he was worried about his future. After 14 months an operation restored his sight. By this time he had become a "boy wonder of the harmonica". He continued to learn folklore music from the famous Diaz brothers (relatives of Hugo). He also listened to Jazz albums and played it too. In 1946, he moved to BsAs and, in 1949, organized a folklore band "Hugo Diaz y sus Changos(Hugo Diaz and his bad boys)".

In 1952, he made his first recording. Sometimes he played tango on stage, but he never made a tango recording until 1972, when he signed a new contract with TONODISC. When he discussed what type of songs his first album with TONODISC should contain, he talked to said to the director "You haven't heard my tango before, right?" The director responded, "No, and I don't have interest. My work is selecting 12 folklore songs, and record those, not tango." After that talk, Hugo Diaz invited him to his "Tango" concert. Listening to Hugo Diaz's Tango, the director immediately changed his mind and made the first "Tango" recording of Hugo Diaz. The title was "Hugo Diaz en Buenos Aires" In 1973, he recorded his second album, "Hugo Diaz en Buenos Aires Vol. II". Vol. III came out in 1974. In 1975, he made his last tango album "Hugo Diaz para Gardel 40 Anos Despues". He died on October 23rd 1977.