Raúl Lavié

Raúl Lavié, born Raúl Alberto Peralta on August 22, 1937, in Álvarez, a town in the Rosario Department of Santa Fe Province, Argentina, is an Argentine entertainer known primarily as a tango vocalist. Nicknamed El Negro, Lavié built a career spanning radio, television, film, and theatre across several decades, with Broadway appearances between 1985 and 1999.

Lavié's professional beginnings trace to 1955, when he first performed on a local radio station. That early exposure led to engagements on two prominent Buenos Aires stations, Radio Belgrano and Radio El Mundo. By July 1957, he had secured his first recording contract with Columbia Records, cutting tracks alongside tango orchestra leader Héctor Varela. He toured Argentina during this period with fellow vocalist Rodolfo Lessica, and it was during these years that he became publicly known under the name Raúl Lavié. In 1959 he recorded for Phillips with orchestra leader Héctor Stamponi, and the following year Radio Libertad launched the Raúl Lavié Show, marking his debut as a broadcast host.

In 1962, Lavié joined El Club del Clan, a television musical comedy series aimed at a teenage audience. His role called for a self-assured, socially outgoing character, and he performed Spanish-language interpretations of songs associated with artists such as Paul Anka. The series drew wide viewership during its 1963 season and was adapted for cinema in 1964, though the television program was canceled that same year after losing its audience. His participation in the film opened further opportunities in cinema, and Lavié went on to appear in 17 films, among them Lautaro Murúa's Un guapo del 900 in 1971 and Leopoldo Torre Nilsson's Boquitas pintadas in 1974.

Returning to tango following the cancellation of El Club del Clan, Lavié recorded with orchestra leaders Osvaldo Fresedo and Horacio Salgán. He also moved into stage work, making his theatre debut at the National Comedy Theatre in Gregorio de Laferrère's Locos de verano. That performance led to an invitation to Mexico City, where he took the title role in a local production of Man of La Mancha in 1968. He later accepted leading roles in Argentine productions of Bob Fosse's Pippin and Nikos Kazantzakis' Zorba the Greek.

In September 1962, days before El Club del Clan's first episode aired, Lavié was interviewed by television news anchor Lidia Elsa Satragno, widely known by her nickname Pinky. Recently separated from his first wife at the time, Lavié pursued a relationship with Satragno, and the two married in 1965. They had two sons together before separating in 1974. He subsequently married Laura Basualdo.

Lavié's Broadway career began in 1985 when he joined the international tour of Tango Argentino, produced by Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli. He returned to Broadway with Tango Argentino again in 1999. Between those two engagements, he joined tango dancer Juan Carlos Copes and the cast of Manuel González Gil's De Borges a Piazzolla on an international tour in 1997. That same year, Lavié represented Argentina at the OTI Festival 1997, performing the song "Sin tu mitad."

In 2005, Lavié reprised the role of Don Quixote in a Buenos Aires revival of Man of La Mancha, for which he received the Golden Ace, an Argentine theatre award. Two years later, he took on the role of Toddy, a homosexual character, in a 2007 Argentine production of Victor/Victoria.