Isaco Abitbol: the bandoneon that led the chamamé

That name never goes unnoticed in the melodic and  chamamé world.  Isaco Abitbol  was born on November 29, 1917 in Alvear,  Corrientes . His beginnings in music were at a young age, performing  the bandonica , a hybrid instrument between the accordion and the bandoneon. What is noteworthy is that  he learned to play it alone , and then  enter the piano and later on the bandoneon . Later, in 1935, he settled in Buenos Aires to study music with Bellavistense Antonio Giannantonio. During this stage he came to venture into  tango  by integrating an orchestra of young ladies.

However, at the time he met Emilio Chamorro, another porteño chamamecero master. The latter invited him to be part of the set “Los Hijos de Corrientes”. Then we jumped to seven years later, when he decided to form a band with Don Ernesto Montiel, which was called  “Cuarteto Correntino Santa Ana” . The duo stepped on so hard that they recorded historical songs, such as “La Calandria”, “Nostalgia Guaraní”, “Siete Higueras” and “Estancia Miraflor”, among others. They performed together until 1951, reunited in 1956 for some special performances.

 Amiguero and artistic 

When the Santa Ana Quartet disarmed, Isaco Abitbol  organized his own group  that went through the stage of trios, quartets and quintets. The musician shared stage and studios with artists of immense stature. Some of them were Tránsito Cocomarola, Samuel Clauss, Emeterio Fernández, Antonio Niz and Roberto Galarza. He also helped many friends and ensembles on the recordings without their names sometimes appearing on the records. So his humility and passion stood before any kind of ego.

In the 70's he created the  “Golden Trio” . He did it with Julio Lorman, on the bandoneon, and Roberto Galarza, on guitar and vocals. In their union they left several albums testifying to their talent. It should be noted that Isaco received three gold albums for titles such as “La Taba”, La Zurda” or “Paraje Bandera Bajada, to say some. In fact, his discography consists of countless works that marked the way for the musicians who came after, for example, he recorded 21 full-length albums and composed more than 150 songs. The latter earned him the Minimum Copyright that SADAIC grants to those figures with permanent trajectory.

Not for any reason they call him  the patriarch of Correntina music . It's just that his contributions to art made him a real star of traditional festivals. To the point where people hailed him when he went out to play and received many tributes in life. Even, its name represents the Major Stage of the Chamamé Festival in Villa del Rosario (Chajarí), Entre Rios. Also a street of Gobernador Virasoro in the Province of Corrientes is named after him.

 Blood pulls more 

Isaco Abitbol's love for his correntino soil was such that he was immortalized during a tour in Brazil. It happened when a group of estanciers liked their music so much that they wanted to give him 2,500 hectares with 2,000 heads of cattle. The idea was for him to stay there. Despite this, with his characteristic humility he thanked the gesture and declined it to return to his coastal land.  He said goodbye to this world on March 6, 1994 in Corrientes, after battling with a disease . Not without first leaving a mark on everyone who knew him and embraced his  chamamé  with tears.