Alberto Castrillo

Alberto Castillo (December 7, 1914 – July 23, 2002) (nickname: Riobal) was a prominent Argentine tango singer and actor. He was born Alberto Salvador De Lucca in the Mataderos district of Buenos Aires, the son of Italian immigrants Salvatore De Luca and Lucia De Paola (from Teggiano, near Salerno). Castillo made his professional debut in the 1930s and began a successful recording career in 1941; his first hit was his cover of the Alfredo Pelala tune “Recuerdo”. Castillo sang with the orchestras of Julio De Caro (1934), Augusto Berto (1935) and Mariano Rodas (1937) and Ricardo Tanturi (1939). With his keen sense of rhythm and his tendency to go hoarse, Castillo made a name for himself as the main interpreter of the black-oriented genres of candombe and milonga. One of his most successful recordings was "Cien Barrios Porteños" (The one hundred barrios of Buenos Aires), to the point that presenters would announce him as "the singer of the 100 barrios". Beginning in 1946, Castillo appeared in a number of Argentine films.