Armando Discépolo

Armando Discépolo (1887–1971) was an Argentine playwright. His most productive writing time spanned from 1910 to 1934 and thereafter, he produced theatrical performances of his plays. He is credited with creating and developing the Argentine version of grotesque literature known as Criollo Grotesque or Creole Grotesque, which is characterized by a mixture melodramatic tragic satire and domestic discord.

Biography Armando Discépolo was born on 18 September 1887 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to parents of Italian heritage. His mother, Luisa Delucchi, though Argentine by birth descended from Genoan immigrants and his father, Santo Discépolo was a musician from Naples. Discépolo was the eldest of five children, all of whom became artists, but he and his younger brother, tango writer Enrique Santos Discépolo were the most well known. He quit school in the sixth grade and had early dreams of becoming an actor. After his father died in 1906, he debuted in a play by Félix Alberto de Zavalía but quickly got bored with the repetitive performance required for acting. After his mother discovered a notebook filled with dialogue and suggested he try writing his own works, he began composing around 1909. but a very important element is usually that the exterior or environmental aspects are in total disharmony with the internal or human emotional aspects of the work. The play premiered in 1921 at the National Theater by the company of Pascual Carcavallo.

Selected works

Solo theatrical productions Entre el hierro (1910) La torcaz (1911) La fragua (1912) El reverso (1916) El vértigo (1919) Mateo (1923) Hombres de honor (1923) Giacomo (1924) Muñeca (1924) Babilonia (1925) Patria nueva (1926) Stéfano (1928) Levántate y anda (1929) Amanda y Eduardo (1931) Cremona (1932) Relojero (1934)

Collaborative theatrical works Espuma de mar (1912) with Rafael José de Rosa Mi mujer se aburre (1914) with Rafael José de Rosa El novio de mamá (1914) with Rafael de Rosa and Mario Folco El patio de la flores (1915) with Federico Mertens El guarda 323 (1915) with Rafael José de Rosa El movimiento continuo (1916) with Rafael de Rosa and Mario Folco Conservatorio La Armonia (1917) with Rafael de Rosa and Mario Folco El clavo de oro (1920) with Rafael de Rosa and Mario Folco Mustafá (1921) with Rafael José de Rosa L’Italia unita (1922) with Rafael José de Rosa Giacomo (1924) with Rafael José de Rosa El organito (1925) with Enrique Santos Discépolo

Filmography El movimiento continuo (1916) screenwriter Mateo (1937) author Giácomo (1939) screenwriter En la luz de una estrella (1941) screenwriter Babilonia (1987) author