Lamarque, Libertad

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Libertad Lamarque

During the late 1930s and early '40s, Buenos Aires, Argentina, developed into the Hollywood of Latin America and during this time, Argentina's own Libertad Lamarque (1908–2000) became its biggest and brightest star. Over seven decades, Lamarque's face was rarely absent from television or movie screens. She starred in 65 films and countless Latin American telenovelas and recorded more than 800 songs, including many memorable tangos.

Born a Natural Showgirl

The youngest of ten children, Lamarque was born November 24, 1908, in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. Her French-Uruguayan father, Gaudincio Lamarque, made a living as a scrap dealer, though in his youth he had been a contortionist. Lamarque's Spanish immigrant mother, Josefa Bouza, was a seamstress. When Lamarque was born, her anarchist father was in prison for political dissent, so he suggested naming the baby girl "Libertad," which is Spanish for liberty.

Lamarque took to singing and dancing at a young age and often amused relatives with her theatrical renditions of traditional folk songs. Her uncles threw flowers and coins at her feet. Lamarque once said according to the Independent's Austin Mutti-Mewse, "I soon discovered that I adored performing, especially to an audience."

Alongside her brothers and sisters, Lamarque got plenty of opportunities to perform in her father's touring theater troupe. Their father wrote the plays, often political in nature, and their mother sewed the costumes. Lamarque quickly stood out among the family members and by age 12 she was acting professionally. In the early to mid-1920s, the family relocated to Buenos Aires, where Lamarque sang in the local theaters and nightclubs. She also performed tangos in variety shows in the Calle Corrientes theater district.

Signed to Record Label

Around this time Lamarque became acquainted with music producer Emilio Romero and the two laid down an album of tangos. Working together on the album sparked a romance and they were married by 1928. Soon, Lamarque had a daughter, Mirtha Romero Lamarque. As Lamarque's popularity grew, so did her work hours. In addition, Romero was jealous and suspicious of the actors whose company Lamarque kept. Their marriage was over in a flash, yet it took them a dozen years to separate because Argentina, at the time, had laws forbidding divorce.

Along the way, Lamarque signed a deal with the RCA Victor label, agreeing to make one record per month for a fee of 150 pesos each. Lamarque soon became the preeminent tango singer of her time and helped popularize the seductive, passionate and romantic song and dance style that the Buenos Aires working-class poor had developed in the mid-nineteenth century. In the late 1920s Lamarque, alongside three guitarists, toured Argentina and Paraguay, sharing her soprano voice. Most of her albums included a fusion of intense tangos, Mexican rancheros and boleros. Her most popular album, released in 1991, was Nadie se va del todo (Nobody Does it Better), which went platinum. Once Lamarque began recording, she was relentless in churning out songs. In 1976, RCA recognized her with a special award commemorating 50 uninterrupted years of recording.

Made Film Debut

Despite her schedule, Lamarque found ample time for acting. In 1929, Lamarque made her screen debut in Adiós Argentina (Goodbye, Argentina), which was shot in one day. Although Adiós Argentina was a silent film with no speaking parts, it was the first Argentine-produced film with a soundtrack. The actors recorded their songs on Vitaphone, a sound-film process that allowed the playing of phonograph soundtracks in sync with the film. Lamarque sang the title song, a tango. Her second film, Tango, came out in 1933 and featured the most popular tango singers and orchestras of the day.

By the mid-1930s, Lamarque received only starring roles in the blockbuster Argentine films of the day. Lamarque came of age during what has been called the "Golden Era" of Latin America cinema, the 1930s and '40s. Previously, Hollywood had tried to dub English films into Spanish for Latin American filmgoers, but it never really caught on. As one U.S. film distributor told Alfred A. Frantz of the New York Times in 1940: "The average moviegoer in South America knows just as well as the average moviegoer in the United States that Greta Garbo does not speak Spanish. Therefore, dubbed films did not ring true and the South American public turned thumbs down on even the best of them."

Lamarque came into her own as Buenos Aires developed into the Hollywood of the Latin American cinema. Lamarque understood the nuances of film acting and realized it went beyond singing and dancing mechanics. Lamarque used the lighting and cameras as tools. Most of the films Lamarque made during this time were musical comedies and dramas, including Adúdame a vivir (Help Me to Live) in 1936; Besos Brujos (Bewitching Kisses) in 1937; La Ley que olvidaron (The Law They Forgot) and Madreselva (Honeysuckle), both in 1938; and Puerta Cerrada (Closed Door) in 1939.

In 1939, Madreselva (Honeysuckle) made it to the Spanish theater in New York. One New York Times movie reviewer said that "one can easily understand why Libertad Lamarque has become so popular among Ibero-American cinema patrons." The reviewer added that Lamarque "possesses an undefinable attraction all her own." The musical dramas Lamarque starred in generally portrayed her as a longsuffering woman who finds solace in the tango amid a life filled with cheating men, unrequited love and doublecrossing female friends.

Forced out of Argentine Cinema

Lamarque's success continued without incident until 1944 when she locked horns with another actress, Eva Duarte, during the filming of La Cabalgata del circo (The Circus Parade). The two clashed over the script and their costumes. According to rumor, Duarte showed up one day wearing one of Lamarque's dresses and an infuriated Lamarque slapped Duarte across the face. Another version says Lamarque slapped Duarte for loafing around.

Soon, Duarte married Colonel Juan Domingo Perón and later adopted the name "Evita." When Perón took power in 1946, Duarte became Argentina's all-powerful first lady and promptly banned Lamarque's voice from the radio airwaves. In addition, she coerced filmmakers into dropping Lamarque from their films. Lamarque, however, did not give up her career so easily. She moved with her second husband, Alfredo Malerba, to Mexico and continued acting. In her memoirs, Lamarque denied ever slapping Duarte, though she acknowledged their animosity.

Some political insiders have suggested the clash was over Colonel Perón's affections. Though Perón was displaced from power in the mid-1950s, it was not until after 1960 that Lamarque returned to visit Argentina. She was welcomed with open arms. Fans filled the airport with signs proclaiming "Welcome Back" and "Long Live Libertad."

Nicknamed "Sweetheart of the Americas"

The films Lamarque made in Mexico became box-office smashes and she was soon counted as a national treasure in her adopted homeland. Standout films from this period include Gran Casino (Grand Casino) in 1947, and Escuela de música (Music School) in 1955. As an actress, Lamarque fussed over her scripts and at times changed the ending to keep her character alive and well. Lamarque made more than 40 films in Mexico and recorded 180 songs. At the height of her career, the volume of fan mail she received rivaled that of her Hollywood counterparts. In fact, Lamarque had to hire a staff to tend to the mail. In 1947 she was invited to perform at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall.

Lamarque's fame extended well beyond Mexico and Argentina and she found a following in many Latin American countries, including Chile, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. "Strangely, even with a strong Argentine accent that never quite went away, she became the darling of Mexican cinema," Latin American film expert Carl Mora told the New York Times' Simon Romero. "Her magnetic presence made for quite a life trajectory." Lamarque was given the nickname "Sweetheart of the Americas," (Latin America).

Hollywood tried to lure her to the U.S. screen. Paramount and MGM offered contracts, but she refused. Speaking to the Independent's Mutti-Mewse, Lamarque discussed her decision, "I was scared. Some Latin-American actresses like Lupita Tovar and Mona Maris had already found success in Hollywood, making a living making Spanish versions of American box-office hits…. I couldn't speak a word of English and didn't want to be taken advantage of. I have no regrets."

Performed Up Until Death

Lamarque later was a guest on television talk shows. She also starred in Spanish telenovelas and thanks to this work remained popular in Latin American countries until her death. During the 1980s, Lamarque appeared in Soledad (Solitude) and in 1998 joined the telenovela La Usurpador (The Usurper). Both were produced in Mexico. She also starred in the Venezuelan soap opera Esmeralda and Argentina's Armada.

When Lamarque was 80, she told the Miami Herald's Juan Carlos Coto she had no intention of retiring just because the calendar said she was getting old. "I am not mummified. I am a lively person who enjoys her work and is healthy. What matters is that I can appear on a stage or television and that I keep being a figure that attracts attention, the applause and the love of the people. That's why I keep working." Even after she hit 90, Lamarque was still going strong. She was on the set filming an episode of the popular telenovela Carita de Ángel (Angel Face) two weeks before she died. In this show, Lamarque played a nun in charge of a boarding school.

In her later years, Lamarque divided her time between Mexico and Coral Gables, Florida, where she lived with a housekeeper and eight cats. She died of pneumonia at 92 on December 12, 2000, at a Mexico City hospital. Survived by her daughter, Lamarque's body was cremated and her ashes were spread in the sea.