La Rolando Rivas is a project conceived and led by Rolando himself,
the most famous cab driver of Buenos Aires, main character of an iconic
TV series during the early '70s.
But... what kind of Tango band is La Rolando Rivas?
As Rolando may have said, quite likely, sometimes:
»Tango had been early on cheerful and young, a shameless little rascal
who lived in the bordellos and had no fucking idea about how easy
crying could be. Of course he did have, like in any decent epic, a
relentless sadness, but back then he still wasn't showing his pain
on first row.«
There. La Rolando Rivas intends to recover that jocose spirit. Tries to
drive home a black and yellow tango, sizzling on the grill. And let sordos
sounds be heard, let old compositions be nurtured by new spirits, let new
muses be touched by old tricks, let the stick-shift drive the wheel –just
by the stereo– and let the tangos, valses, milongas come out with fries
and be sung and danced...
Like Rolo himself wrote:
»The Orquesta Tipica de Rolando Rivas, worldwide recognized as
La Rolando Rivas is, without exaggeration, one of the best bands of the
last 512 years.
«A showdown between the Old Guard and the Avant-garde... A sort of
rear-guard. A forward escape. Or perhaps, a charge backwards,
downwards, inwards.
»In its violent, extreme contrasts reigns the most subtle and peaceful
monotony. Even more, in the cleanless of its dirt, its accelerated
slowdowns, in the luminous darkness of its phraseology I find all that I
never had but which somehow, irremediably, I had lost.
»I always tell Monica, my wife, that with the music of these fellows we can
dance, make love, divorce...
»Like Claudio Garcia well said: "they sound like an old bandoneon wrapped
in velvet, forgotten in the cab's back seat.
»In just one word, La Rolando Rivas is one of the best ideas I ever had in
my life«
Rolando «Rolo» Rivas (MCBA 33705)
About La Rolando Rivas it may have been said:
«Mechanical reproduction of music during the XX Century has led to a
reduction in the number of real musicians needed to keep the art alive.
At this pace, we'll end up with just one, and then none... But since history
flows back and forth, in future centuries this trend will be inverted and
the increase of the number of real performers will be formidable.
We feel La Rolando Rivas is part of such wonderful cohort» (Doctor Aira).
«The 'gauchos' speak in verse, and the workmen stutter» (Richard Piglia).
«A struck of luck will never rule out randomness» (Esteban Melearme)
«Let's gamble then this tango to the darts» (Guillermo Apoliye)
«... they are a bizarre counterpoint» (Rosalinda Quiroga)
«We are from the same suburb» (Tita Merezco)
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