Alfredo Zitarrosa was born on 1936-03-10, died 1989-01-17 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was a Uruguayan singer, composer, poet, writer and journalist. He is regarded as 1 of the most important figures in the popular music of his country and Latin America in general.

Zitarrosa was born as Alfredo Iribarne, illegitimate son of 19 year old Jesusa Blanca Nieve Iribarne (Blanca), at The Pereira Rossell Hospital, Montevideo.

He was raised by Carlos Duran, a man of many trades, and his wife, Doraisella Carbajal, then employed at the Council for Children, becoming Alfredo "Pocho" Duran. They lived in several cities and moved between 1944 and the end of 1947 to the town Santiago Vazquez. They frequently visited the countryside near Trinidad, capital city of the Flores Department, where Alfredo's adoptive mother was born. This childhood experience stayed with him forever, notably in his repertoire, the majority of which contains rhythms and songs of peasant origin, mainly milongas.

Alfredo briefly returned with his adoptive family, to Montevideo and in early adolescence, moved on to live with his biological mother and her husband, who would eventually give him his surname, the Argentine Alfredo Nicolás Zitarrosa. Together with his newborn sister, they lived in the area now known as Rincón de la Bolsa, on the old route to Colonia, San José Department. He commuted to study at the High School in Montevideo, where he eventually moved into his early youth. He worked, among other duties, as a seller of furniture, subscriptions to a medical society, clerical and in a print shop.

He began his artistic career in 1954, as a radio broadcaster, entering as a presenter and entertainer, librettist and informativist, or even as an actor. He was also a writer, poet, and journalist, working for the weekly magazine, Marcha.

In 1964-02-20 while he was in Peru, he made his professional debut as a singer on Channel 13, Panamericana Television. ("I had no money, but I had many friends. 1 of them, Cesar Durand, happened to manage an publicity agency and I was included in a TV program and forced to sing. I was paid $50 for 2 songs. It was a surprise for me and it allowed me to earn some money.")

Shortly thereafter, going back to Bolivia by Uruguay, he conducted several programs on Radio Altiplano of La Paz, debuting later in Montevideo, back in 1965, in the auditorium of SODRE (Radio Broadcasting ServiceOfficer ). His participation in this space served him as a stepping stone to be invited, in early 1966, at recognized Festival of Cosquín, in Argentina, again in 1985.

From the beginning, he was established as 1 of the great voices of Latin American popular song, with clear leftist and folkloric roots . He cultivated a contemptuous and manly style, and his thick voice and a typical accompaniment of guitars gave his hallmark.

It was the Frente Amplio of the Uruguayan left, which earned him the ostracism and finally exile during the years of dictatorship. His songs were banned in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay during the dictatorial regimes that ruled those countries. He lived then successively in Argentina, Spain and Mexico, starting from February 9, 1976.

After the ban on his music was lifted, he settled again in Buenos Aires, where he gave 3 memorable concerts at the Arena Obras Sanitarias in July 1983. Almost a year after he returned to his country, he had a massive reception in the historic concert of 1984-03-31, which was described by him as "the most important experience of my life".

Among the songs which became big hits are included "Miss Soledad", "It grows from the foot", "Remembering you", Stéfanie, "Adagio to my country", "Zamba for you", "Becho's violin" and the poem by milonga "Black Guitar".

As a poet, he was honored by the Inspectorate of Montevideo with the Municipal Poetry Award of 1959, for the book "Explanations". In 1988 his storybook "In case I remember", was published, containing stories written at various times during his life.

Like any creator, Alfredo Zitarrosa nourishes his work from several sources, in particular the autobiographical nature of his compositions. E.g. in "Rival Bird" he reflects a deep existential concern and even has an premoniton of his approaching death. The recording is included on birds and souls, published posthumously in 1989.

He paid tribute to the same Carlos Duran, who had been, among other trades, police ("milico"), with 1 of his most emblematic, "Chamarrita song about soldiers".

Many of his songs reflected also his knowledge of the countryside and rural areas, acquired during his childhood in his frequent visits to his mother's adoptive brothers, especially his uncle Jose Pepe Carbajal.

In his early youth, and as tired announcer on the radio, in Montevideo, his artistic call begings to awake and passion for Boheme, and the night and its ghosts. The core of that stage of his life takes place in the Barrio Sur (South Suburb in Montevideo), where he lives in a house in front of a square, which al so neighbors the cemetery; that black neighbourhood with its candombe, carnival, call, humble people, solidarity and fraternal, left its mark on the sensitive young Alfredo Zitarrosa Over time, and in his profession as a singer, he always presented himself dressed in the traditional manner, wearing a suit and a tie and having a strictly formal appearance.

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