Héctor Varela

Historical background

Born Salustiano Paco Varela on 29 January 1914 in Avellaneda, Héctor Varela qualified as an accountant but never practised, preferring the bandoneon he learned from neighbourhood teachers and then at the conservatory of Eladio Blanco - a future colleague in Juan D'Arienzo's bandoneon section. After early stints with Salvador Grupillo (1929) and Alberto Gambino, where he accompanied singer Tita Merello, he joined D'Arienzo for recordings on the Electra label, before being poached in 1935 by Enrique Santos Discépolo for his Radio Municipal group. From 1940 and for a full decade he was D'Arienzo's lead bandoneon and arranger - years that, in biographer Jorge Palacio's (Faruk) words, were "rich in hits on Radio El Mundo, at club dances, in unforgettable recordings." D'Arienzo recorded twenty of Varela's own compositions, among them "Mirame en la cara," "Chichipía" and "Bien pulenta."

In 1950, at the height of D'Arienzo's success, Varela struck out on his own, presenting what Palacio called "an absolutely personal outfit of rhythm and sound" that "surprised almost everyone." His first line-up featured Uruguayan pianist César Zagnoli and singers Armando Laborde and Rodolfo Lesica; his first records, cut for the Pampa label in 1950, included "Tal para cual" and "La trilla." Argentino Ledesma's arrival in place of Laborde opened the orchestra's most commercially successful period, including tours of Brazil that inspired "Noches de Brasil." Through the 1960s decline of tango, Varela remained a television fixture on Grandes Valores del Tango. Historian Luis Adolfo Sierra described him as loyal to "a genuinely traditional lineage," with "the precision of technically demanding playing" - a bandleader who, above all, played for dancers.

Source: Ricardo García Blaya, "Hector Varela," Todotango.com, https://www.todotango.com/english/artists/biography/719/Hector-Varela/.