Norberto Gradilone

Norberto Gradilone by People of Tango
Norberto Gradilone. Bandoneon player. Photographed at Caminito in La Boca, Buenos Aires, 2016.

I’ve been playing here for just three years but my story with the bandoneon began a long time ago. I was born listening to a bandoneon because my father played. When I was 11 I learned to play myself.

I had an argument with my mom because she didn’t want me to learn. She said: “bandoneon players are lazy; they don’t study; they become drunks.”

You could be a priest and still do those things. You’re not a saint because you’re a priest; nor are you a lost cause because you’re a musician.

NORBERTO GRADILONE

Not all of them, I told her, just some. But whether she was right or not, I kept my promise to her: I worked for 54 years in another job, nothing to do with this. I put the bandoneon aside. When I was 42 I stopped practicing altogether; I wasn’t interested anymore. But after 20 years, I came back. My parents had passed away 30 years before.

I continued doing things the same way as when I was working. I didn’t start doing those things some people do without even having to be an artist, a musician or a poet. One learns a certain conduct and it becomes a part of who you are. I avoided those things that go against your finances and against your health. You could be a priest and still do those things. You’re not a saint because you’re a priest; nor are you a lost cause because you’re a musician. Now I can proudly say that I’ve been a working man for 57 years.