Following the tragic airplane accident of June 1935, in which great Carlos Gardel perished, the interest for the Rio de la Plata song notably increased by the worldwide commotion caused by such an accident.
Then, in Portugal and at the Universidade do Porto[Oporto], not even two years after that tragic June, some students and elements from Orfeão Académico do Porto and Tuna Académica do Porto felt themselves impelled to tango and founded the ORQUESTRA UNIVERSITÁRIA DE TANGOS.
This orchestra first appeared in public in the evening of
April 13th, 1937, at Teatro Rivoli, Porto, in a gala performance
organized by Orfeão and Tuna Académica do Porto at
the First Centennial Commemoration of the Academia Politécnica
and Escola Médico- Cirúrgica (University of Porto).
This first orchestra was composed by eight students playing 2 violins,
3 guitars, 2 accordions and 1 piano. One of the guitar payers was
also the vocalist. The piano player later became a Professor of
the Medical School and is the only member of the group, as from 1937,
still alive in 2007. The show performed tangos from Carlos Gardel.
But La Cumparsita was the opening and closing piece. It still is nowadays.
From 1937 to 1940, the orchestra continued in association with
Orfeão and Tuna Académica do Porto. In the meantime,
the activities of the two later organizations were suspended,
causing a short interregnum of the orchestra.
In 1943 the Orquestra Universitária de Tangos was reorganized
and since then faced the public again in concerts at Porto and
others cities in Portugal.
In 1945 the Orchestra merged Orfeão Universitário do Porto (OUP)
and adopted the name of ORQUESTRA DE TANGOS DO ORFEÃO UNIVERSITÁRIO
DO PORTO, where successive young generations of students of the
Universidade do Porto joyfully played the songs of Carlos Gardel.
In 1973 its public activities were suspended.
The Associação dos Antigos Orfeonistas da Universidade do Porto
(A.A.O.U.P.), founded in 1967 by former students and members of OUP
had the merit of supporting the rebirth of the orchestra within
its own associates, under the present designation of
ORQUESTRA DE TANGOS DA ASSOCIAÇÃO DOS ANTIGOS ORFEONISTAS DA
UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO.
This orchestra is fully active and performs regularly at
countless Portuguese cities. It also spread the rioplatense
song in countries such as Argentina and Uruguay, and also Angola,
Mozambique, South Africa, Spain, France, Brazil, and United States
of America.
A considerable number of shows have been recorded on tape,
and a couple of shows were broadcasted in radio and TV stations.
Discography is composed by three 45 rpm's (ed. Valentim de
Carvalho,1961; ed.Valentim de Carvalho, 1964;
ed. Valentim de Carvalho, 1966), one LP (ed. Rangel & Fortes,1989),
and two CD's (ed. Rangel & Fortes,1997; ed. Rangel & Fortes, 2007).
The most recent CD was edited in commemoration of the 70th anniversary
of the orchestra.
Florêncio de Vasconcelos
Music director
December 2007
Address:
A. A. O. U. P.
Rua dos Bragas 289
4050-123 PORTO
PORTUGAL
Tel. 351 - 222084890
Fax. 351 222084890
e-mail: aaoup@sapo.pt
