Rosita Melo

• Name — Rosita Melo • Birth Name — Clotilde Mela Rosa Luciano • Born — July 9, 1897 • Birthplace — Montevideo, Uruguay • Died — 12 August 1981 • Place of death — Buenos Aires, Argentina • Occupation — Composer, pianist, poet, writer • Genre — Tango, Waltz, Creole Waltz, Pasodoble, Polka, March

Rosita Melo was born in Montevideo on July 9, 1897, as the youngest child of Italian immigrants Michele Mela and Rosa Luciano de Mela, from Rionero in Vulture, Basilicata. She was baptized at the cathedral of Montevideo. Shortly after, the family migrated to Argentina in 1900. They settled in Buenos Aires when Rosita was three years old. On February 23, 1922, she married the young poet and writer Victor Piuma Vélez who would write the lyrics for all her compositions.

Throughout her life, she created a body of work that includes tango, waltz, classical and Creole (vals criollo) waltzes, pasodobles, polkas and marches. Among them: "Oración", "Tatita" and "Aquel entonces" as well as the waltzes "Yo te adoro", "Por el camino", "Una lágrima para papá", "Cuando de ti ya lejos" and "Aquellos catorce años". The poems of Melo were published in newspapers and cultural magazines of her time. Her poems were published in the book "Antología de poetas jóvenes" ("Anthology of Young Poets") alongside those of Alfonsina Storni and other famous contemporary poets. She gave many concerts of both classical and popular music in different cultural centers in Buenos Aires, earning medals and awards. She was appointed as a representative of music in a ceremony held at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

In 1911, at the age of 14, Melo composed her first and now world-famous Boston-style vals criollo "Desde el Alma" ("From the Soul"). Other sources date the composition between 1911 and 1917. Melo is quoted saying it was the work of an adolescent. The waltz's theme is dedicated to the love of a mother. Vélez would write the first set of lyrics for it, years later. By 1921, Roberto Firpo had recorded four instrumental waltzes of Melo. In 1948, Homero Manzi wanted to include the waltz in the movie "Pobre mi madre querida", but with different lyrics rewritten by himself which would be sung by Hugo del Carril. Vélez and Melo initially opposed the idea, and requested that if Manzi wrote new lyrics, Vélez's name should be included as co-author. Manzi ultimately agreed, the lyrics became famous and the waltz, already a classic by the time, became universally famous. Manzi's lyrics remain the most famous ones and are often reinterpreted in different versions of the song when performed by other musicians:

After her husband died in 1976, Melo died in Buenos Aires on August 12, 1981, and was buried at the "Rincón de las Personalidades" ("Corner of Personalities") in the Chacarita Cemetery there. Her two daughters had a monument erected in her memory there.