Ángel Vargas: The Nightingale of the Buenos Aires Streets

Among the great voices of tango's golden age, few are as cherished as Ángel Vargas, the singer whose clear, intimate phrasing earned him one of the most poetic nicknames in the music: "El Ruiseñor de las Calles Porteñas," the Nightingale of the Buenos Aires Streets.^[1]

A nightingale from Barracas

He was born José Ángel Lomio on 22 October 1904 in the Barracas neighborhood of Buenos Aires.^[1] He began singing in the 1930s in the orchestra of Augusto Berto under the name Carlos Vargas, before the meeting that would define his career.^[1] The nickname that immortalized him was bestowed only in 1947, by the radio broadcaster Raúl Ástor.^[1]

"Los dos Ángeles"

In 1932 Vargas met the pianist and bandleader Ángel D’Agostino, and by 1940 he had become the principal vocalist of D’Agostino's orchestra.^[1] Their partnership — "los dos Ángeles," the two Angels — was magical: between 1940 and 1946 they recorded ninety-three sides, a body of work counted among the essential achievements of twentieth-century tango.^[1] Vargas's warm, conversational delivery rode D'Agostino's elegant rhythm to perfection on classics like "Tres Esquinas," "Muchacho," and the waltz "Esquinas Porteñas."^[1]

After leaving D'Agostino, Vargas pursued a solo career with various orchestras until his death, following surgery, on 7 July 1959.^[1]

Why he matters

Ángel Vargas matters because he perfected the art of the tango orchestra singer — the cantor de orquesta who is part of the ensemble rather than its star, weaving his voice into the band's rhythm. His recordings with D’Agostino are touchstones of the genre's golden age, still played in every milonga. Alongside Carlos Gardel and his contemporary Alberto Castillo, the Nightingale of the Buenos Aires streets remains one of the most beloved voices tango has ever known.