{{Short description|Argentine singer-songwriter and composer (1934–2023)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Chico Novarro | image = Chico novarro retrato.jpg | caption = Novarro in 1975 | birth_name = Bernardo Mitnik | birth_date = {{Birth-date|4 September 1934}} | birth_place = [[Santa Fe, Argentina|Santa Fe]], Argentina | death_date = {{Death-date and age|18 August 2023|4 September 1934}} | death_place = [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina | occupation = | spouse = | children = }}
'''Bernardo Mitnik''' (4 September 1934 – 18 August 2023), best known as '''Chico Novarro''', was an Argentine singer-songwriter, composer, musician, television presenter and actor. He was specialized in [[tango]] and [[bolero]] compositions.
==Life and career== Born in [[Santa Fe, Argentina|Santa Fe]], the son of a Ukrainian shoemaker and a Jewish housewife of Romanian origin, Novarro started studying music at young age; as an adolescent he moved to [[Córdoba, Argentina|Córdoba]] to cure his asthma, and there he began playing drums in a jazz band and in an orchestra.<ref name="pag">{{cite news |last1=Giordano |first1=Santiago |title=Chico Novarro, amo y señor de la canción popular |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/580272-chico-novarro-amo-y-senor-de-la-cancion-popular |access-date=7 September 2023 |work=[[Página 12]] |date=19 August 2023 |language=es}}</ref> In 1956 he joined the jazz ensemble Agrupación Nuevo Jazz, which also included [[Gato Barbieri]].<ref name="pag"/> In 1961, he moved to [[Buenos Aires]], where he briefly joined the jazz band Swing Timers,<ref name="bio"/> and formed the duo Los Navarros with Raúl Bonetto, recording an album for [[RCA Records|RCA]].<ref name="pag"/>
Novarro had his breakout as a cast member of the 1962-4 [[El Trece|Canal 13]] musical show {{Interlanguage link|Club del Clan (television program)|es|Club del Clan|lt=''Club del Clan''}}, which gave him immediate notoriety and made him a teen idol.<ref name="pag"/><ref name="bio"/> He soon started releasing successful albums, and authoring hits for other singers including [[Palito Ortega]] and [[Violeta Rivas]].<ref name="pag"/>
Between late 1960s and 1970s Novarro collaborated several times with [[María Elena Walsh]].<ref name="pag"/> In 1975 he was in a big musical named "Corrientes de Lujo" in the European style Sans Souci Music hall, with Estela Raval, [[Marty Cosens]] and [[Jorge Perez Evelyn]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Corrientes de Lujo |url=https://www.alternativateatral.com/obra85783-corrientes-de-lujo |access-date=7 September 2023}}</ref>. In the early 1970s, he collaborated with [[Eladia Blázquez]], who introduced him to the [[tango]] composition.<ref name="bio"/> Another notable collaboration was with [[Rubén Juárez]], who starting from 1983 recorded several of his songs, also duetting with him in "Cordón" and "El último round".<ref name="pag"/> Starting from the late 1980s he had a large stage success with the show ''Arráncame la vida''.<ref name="pag"/><ref name="bio"/>
Among Novarro's major hits were "Carta de un león a otro", the [[OTI Festival 1979]] winner "Cuenta conmigo", "Algo contigo", "El camaleón", "Cómo".<ref name="pag"/><ref name="bio"/> During his career he composed over sixty hundred songs, as well as film scores and incidental music.<ref name="bio">{{cite news |last1=Redacción |title=Murió Chico Novarro, uno de los grandes compositores de boleros y canciones románticas |url=https://www.clarin.com/espectaculos/musica/murio-chico-novarro-grandes-compositores-boleros-canciones-romanticas_0_lOUnFJxdGP.html |access-date=7 September 2023 |work=[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]] |date=18 August 2023 |language=es}}</ref> Beyond boleros and tangos, he also composed pop, rock, jazz, and [[Argentine cumbia|cumbia]] songs.<ref name="tn">{{cite news |title=La carrera de Chico Novarro: del "Club del Clan" a los grandes boleros |url=https://tn.com.ar/musica/noticias/2023/08/18/chico-novarro-del-club-del-clan-a-los-grandes-boleros-y-el-origen-de-su-nombre-artistico/ |access-date=7 September 2023 |work=[[Todo Noticias]] |date=18 August 2023 |language=es}}</ref> He also appeared in several films, mostly comedies.<ref name="bio"/> He died on 18 August 2023, at the age of 89.<ref name="pag"/><ref name="bio"/>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons}} * {{Discogs artist}} * {{IMDb name}}
{{OTI Festival winners}} {{Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novarro, Chico}} [[Category:1933 births]] [[Category:2023 deaths]] [[Category:Argentine singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Argentine composers]] [[Category:Argentine people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]] [[Category:Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires]] [[Category:People from Santa Fe, Argentina]] [[Category:OTI Festival-winning songwriters]]