Around the world

Gardel around the world

Born in France or in Uruguay, a star in Spain, a film actor in New York, killed in Colombia. These are the places beyond Argentina that keep his memory alive.

Toulouse France
Tacuarembó and Montevideo Uruguay
Madrid and Barcelona Spain
New York United States
Medellín Colombia

France: Toulouse

According to the version most historians accept, Gardel was born on 11 December 1890 at the Hôpital de La Grave in Toulouse, as Charles Romuald Gardès. In 1893 he arrived in Buenos Aires with his mother. A document he signed in 1931 reads: “I am French, born in Toulouse on 11 December 1890”.

Birthplace

4, rue du Canon d'Arcole

A plaque unveiled in 1997 records that “Charles Romuald Gardes, who became famous worldwide as Carlos Gardel” was born here. The house is private.

Compans-Caffarelli Gardens

About 200 m from the house

A 1983 stele with a medallion by Madeleine Tezenas du Montcel, and a statue by Sébastien Langloÿs.

Place du Capitole

Central Toulouse

Under the arcades is a portrait of Gardel by Raymond Moretti. The So Tango association runs guided walks through the city's Gardel sites.

Uruguay: Tacuarembó and Montevideo

In Uruguay another version is widely held: that Gardel was born in Tacuarembó between 1883 and 1887, the son of Colonel Carlos Escayola, and was raised by Berthe Gardès. In 1920 Gardel himself registered at the Uruguayan consulate in Buenos Aires, stating he was born in Tacuarembó in 1887; the record was found in 2025. Many Argentine historians see it as a declaration of convenience, perhaps to avoid French military service during the First World War. We present both versions without taking sides.

Carlos Gardel Museum, Valle Edén

Tacuarembó, about 20 km from the city

It displays documents that, according to the Uruguayan thesis, prove his nationality, along with photos and music. In 2026 it added a room about Colonel Escayola. The village school has carried his name since 1998.

Carlos Gardel Tango Festival

Tacuarembó, in December

Held around 11 December at the Teatro Escayola, the Valle Edén museum, squares and bars, with free admission.

Gardel having coffee

Av. 18 de Julio 1249, Montevideo

A statue by Alberto Morales Saravia outside Bar Facal, unveiled in 2015, 80 years after his death. The same sculptor made the 2013 statue at Gran Parque Central.

Spain: Madrid and Barcelona

Gardel made his Madrid debut on 10 December 1923 at the Teatro Apolo, still in a duo with José Razzano, and returned in 1927 and 1929. In Barcelona he sang at the Teatre Goya, which in 2025 celebrated the centenary of his first concert in the city, and at other theaters. He was an honorary member of FC Barcelona and a friend of footballer Pepe Samitier, to whom he dedicated the tango Sami.

United States: New York

In 1934 and 1935 Gardel lived in New York. At Paramount's Astoria studios he made Cuesta abajo, El tango en Broadway, El día que me quieras, Tango Bar and Cazadores de estrellas, and he sang on NBC radio. There he met a young Astor Piazzolla. In 2011 the United States Postal Service honored him with a stamp in its Latin Music Legends series, alongside Selena, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz, calling him “the man with a tear in his voice”.

Colombia: Medellín

On 24 June 1935, at Las Playas airfield, today Olaya Herrera airport, Gardel's plane veered during takeoff and hit another aircraft waiting on the runway. 17 of the 20 people on board died, among them Gardel, Alfredo Le Pera and guitarists Guillermo Barbieri and Ángel Domingo Riverol. His remains traveled by ship via Panama and New York and reached Buenos Aires on 5 February 1936. Colombia's Foreign Ministry keeps documents on the crash.

Casa Gardeliana

Carrera 45 # 76-50, Manrique

Founded in 1972 as a tango club, it is now a museum and a historic monument of Medellín. It holds photos, posters, records and a fragment of Gardel's passport that survived the fire.

Carrera 45 monument

Opposite the Casa Gardeliana

A 1968 statue with steps inscribed with lines from Volver. The Medellín International Tango Festival was born that same year and is held every June.

Sources

Gardel's birthplace is still debated. If you have information or a correction, it helps us improve this page.