Ignacio Corsini

Andrea "Ignacio" Corsini (February 13, 1891 – July 26, 1967) was an Italian-born Argentine folklore and tango musician.

Life and work Andrea Corsini, such his real name, was born in Troina, a village in the Enna Province of Sicily, in 1891. He was the foster son of Soccorza Salomone. Ms. Salomone left Italy for Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1901, and settled in the middle-class Almagro section of the city. They settled in Carlos Tejedor, then a small pampas town where Corsini would spend the remainder of his childhood, finding work as an ox cart driver and herdsman.

Corsini returned in 1907 to the Almagro section of Buenos Aires, where he was influenced by folk singer José Betinotti and a circus performer, José Pacheco. Pacheco introduced him to the theatre and to his own daughter, Victoria Pacheco, whom Corsini would marry in 1911. He went on to perform in numerous theatre companies and circuses, and in 1912, he was awarded a recording contract by RCA Victor. His interpretation of traditional folklore standards earned him singing roles in numerous Argentine films in subsequent years, mostly in period pieces set during Argentina's pastoral 19th century. These included: Santos Vega (1916), ¡Federación o muerte! (1917) and Milonguita (1922). His performance of the album's title track, "La pulpera de Santa Lucía," was critical to its being aired on the radio. This return to folklore was followed by similar performances on film, including Rapsodia gaucha (1932), Ídolos de la radio (1934, memorable also for a duet between two standards of tango, Ada Falcón and Carlos Gardel), and the western movie-styled Fortín alto (1941), where he was featured with Agustín Irusta and a then-unknown Edmundo Rivero.

These successes were dealt a bitter turn by the death of his wife Victoria, on May 28, 1949, following which he retired as a performer. Corsini penned his memoirs the following year, in which he wrote that "in her I found the great partner of all my life, who encouraged me in my uncertain hours and to whom I owe a great part of my success" (the autobiography was never published).

Corsini reappeared in 1961 for a Channel 7 special, "Volver a vivir" ("To Live Again"). This would be his last public performance, however, and on July 26, 1967, the 'gentleman singer' died at age 76.