Atahualpa Yupanqui performing for Radio Nacional, Buenos Aires. Source: Argentine National Archives

Atahualpa Yupanqui (22 January 1908 - 23 May 1992) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century. Atahualpa Yupanqui performing 1940s at Radio Nacional Argentine National Archives This work is copyrighted. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... LeAnn Rimes singing in concert A singer is a type of musician who uses his or her voice as an instrument to produce music. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ...

Yupanqui was born as Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu in Pergamino (Buenos Aires Province), in the Argentine pampas, about 200 kilometers away from Buenos Aires. His family moved to Tucumán when he was ten. In a bow to two legendary Incan kings, he adopted the stage name Atahualpa Yupanqui, which became famous the world over. Pergamino is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. ... The Buenos Aires province (IPA: , Spanish: Provincia de Buenos Aires) is the largest, wealthiest and most populated province of Argentina. ... San Miguel de Tucumán (usually referred to as simply Tucumán) is the largest city in northwestern Argentina, with a population (2001) of 525,853. ...

In his early years, Yupanqui travelled extensively through the northwest of Argentina and the Altiplano studying the indigenous culture. He also became radicalized and joined the Communist Party of Argentina. In 1931, he took part in the failed uprising of the Kennedy brothers and was forced to seek refuge in Uruguay. He returned to Argentina in 1934. The Altiplano (Spanish for high plain), where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on earth outside of Tibet. ... The Communist Party of Argentina (Spanish: Partido Comunista de la Argentina) is a communist party from Argentina. ...

In 1935, Yupanqui paid his first visit to Buenos Aires; his compositions were growing in popularity, and he was invited to perform on the radio. Shortly thereafter, he made the acquaintance of pianist Antonieta Paula Pepin Fitzpatrick, nicknamed "Nenette", who became his lifelong companion and musical collaborator under the pseudonym "Pablo Del Cerro". Buenos Aires (Good Airs in Spanish, originally Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires meaning City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as...

Because of his Communist Party affiliation (which lasted until 1952), his work suffered from censorship during Juan Perón's presidency; he was detained and incarcerated several times. He left for Europe in 1949. Édith Piaf invited him to perform in Paris in June of that year. He subsequently toured extensively throughout Europe. To meet Wikipedias quality standards and appeal to a wider international audience, this article may require cleanup. ... Juan Domingo Perón (October 8, 1895 – July 1, 1974) was an Argentine military officer and the President of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (December 19, 1915–October 11, 1963) was one of Frances most loved singers and a national icon. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

In 1952, Yupanqui returned to Buenos Aires. He broke with the Communist Party, which made it easier for him to book radio performances.

Recognition of Yupanqui's ethnographic work became widespread during the 1960s, and nueva canción artists such as Mercedes Sosa recorded his compositions and made him popular among the younger musicians, who referred to him as Don Ata. Ethnography (from the Greek ethnos = nation and graphein = writing) refers to the qualitative description of human social phenomena, based on fieldwork. ... Nueva canción (Spanish for new song) was a movement in Latin American music that emerged in the mid-1960s, taking root in South America, especially Chile and other Andean countries. ... Mercedes Sosa (born 9 July 1935) is an Argentine singer immensely popular throughout Latin America. ...

Yupanqui alternated between houses in Buenos Aires and Cerro Colorado, Córdoba province. During 1963-1964, he toured Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, and Italy. In 1967, he toured Spain, and settled in Paris. He returned regularly to Argentina, but these visits became less frequent when the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla came to power in 1976. Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the centre of the country. ... Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo (born August 2, 1925 in Mercedes) is a former Argentine soldier and politician. ...

Yupanqui died in Paris in 1992 at the age of 84; he was buried in the Cerro Colorado Cementery.

Best-known songs

Yupanqui's best known compositions include Viene clareando, El arriero, Zamba del grillo, La añera, La pobrecita, Milonga del peón de campo, Camino del indio, Chacarera de las piedras, Recuerdos del Portezuelo, El alazán, Indiecito dormido, El aromo, Le tengo rabia al silencio, Piedra y camino, Luna tucumana, Los ejes de mi carreta, Sin caballo y en Montiel, Cachilo dormido, and Tú que puedes vuélvete. (Some in collaboration with Nenette and others.)

Books

• Piedra sola (1940)
• Aires indios (1943)
• Cerro Bayo (1953)
• Guitarra (1960)
• El canto del viento (1965)
• El payador perseguido (1972)
• La Capataza (1992)