| Cátulo Castillo | |
| Birth Name: | Ovidio Cátulo González Castillo |
| Birth Date: | 6 August 1906 |
| Birth Place: | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Genre: | Tango |
| Occupation: | Poet, lyricist, composer |
Ovidio Cátulo González Castillo (6 August 1906 – 19 October 1975) was an Argentine poet and tango music composer. He was the author of many famous works, such as , El aguacero (lyrics by), and Caserón de tejas (both with music by), María and (both with music by Aníbal Troilo), and El último café (with music by). The tango La calesita, which he composed with Mariano Mores, inspired the film of the same name directed in 1962 by Hugo del Carril.
His father, José González Castillo, an anarchist, wanted to list himself in the civil registry as Descanso Dominical González Castillo, but was convinced by his friends not to, and kept his other name.[1] As an infant, Cátulo lived in Chile, where his father was exiled because of his anarchist ideology. He returned to Argentina in 1913. Cátulo later affiliated with the Communist Party.[2]
Cátulo composed Organito de la tarde, his first tango, at the age of 17.[3] He was also a boxer, eventually becoming the featherweight champion in Argentina and was pre-selected for the Paris Olympics, attending as part of his country's delegation,[3] but not competing.[4]
In 1926, he traveled to Europe, where he would later conduct his own orchestra.
During the 1930s, he obtained one of the cathedras of the Municipal Conservatory of Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires. In 1950, he would become the director of that conservatory, where he remained until he retired.[5]
During the 1940s and 1950s, when tango was at its peak, he dedicated himself to poetry and wrote with distinguished composers: Mores (Patio de la Morocha), (Anoche), Pugliese (Una vez), Sebastián Piana (Tinta roja and Caserón de tejas), and his main collaborator after 1945: Aníbal Troilo (María, La última curda, Una canción).[6]
He wrote for many journals, published the book Danzas Argentinas in 1953, composed songs for different films, wrote the lyrical sainete El Patio de la Morocha (with music by Troilo),[3] and was both secretary and president of SADAIC in different years.[7]
In 1953, he became president of the National Commission of Culture of the Nation. Two years later, the military government, the so-called Revolución Libertadora, stripped him of everything he had achieved. His wife, Amanda Pelufo, recalls those times:[8]
Because of persecution by Pedro Eugenio Aramburu's government, he had to abandon his profession. Included on blacklists with dozens of other tangueros like Hugo de Carril, Nelly Omar,, Anita Palmero, and Chola Luna, among others, he was persecuted for his political ideas, and did not return to work until the regime's fall.[9]
With the political thaw in the 1960s, Cátulo returned to his former activity. He continued composing, writing radical screenplays, and working in SADAIC. He published the novel Amalio Reyes, un hombre, which became a film directed by Hugo del Carril.[7] He also published Prostibulario, on his correspondence with Perón, in 1971. Among his most popular songs were: Maria, El último café, La última curda, La Calesita, Café de los Angelitos, Desencuentro, Y a mi qué, A Homero, Arrabalera, Mensaje, Tinta roja, Patio mío, and Caserón de tejas.[10]
In 1974, he was named Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires. Upon receiving the award, he told a short fable:[7]
He died 19 October 1975 from a heart attack.[3] [5]