Daniel Rabinovich
Daniel Rabinovich was born on November 18, 1943, in Buenos Aires. His full name was Daniel Abraham Rabinovich Aratuz, although his real paternal surname was Halevy. His great-grandfather, who came to Argentina from Bessarabia (today Moldova) had not done military service because he was a rabbi, so he bought the document of a dead man - surnamed Rabinovich - to be able to leave his country.
In his childhood he lived in the Palacio de los Patos, a housing complex located at Ugarteche 3050 and Las Heras, in the Palermo neighborhood, where he lived until he was 18 years old. He was known as Neneco, a nickname he received in his childhood. "There were several folklorists there, who let me attend their meetings. It was where I first heard singing and playing the guitar." But music had been present in his home since his birth. His mother had studied piano, and his father, a criminal lawyer who defended personalities like Hugo del Carril and Tita Merello, had the habit of singing and whistling tangos.
From the ages of 7 to 13 he studied violin. He took classes with Ljerko Spiller, Vera Graf and Enrique López Ibels.
From the age of 14, he began studying guitar with José María de los Hoyos. He wanted to play like Ernesto Cabeza, the guitarist of “Los Chalchaleros,” Neneco said. In his high school years, he formed a folkloric group called Los Amanídos.
At the age of eighteen, while studying Law at the University of Buenos Aires, he joined the Choir of the Faculty of Engineering, where he met Gerardo Masana and the other future members of Les Luthiers. With them he participated in the staging of “Il figlio del pirate” (1964) and the “Cantata Modatón” (later called Laxatón), in 1965. Then he participated in “I Musicisti” and was one of the four members who separated. of the group in 1967 to found Les Luthiers. In 1969 he obtained the title of public notary, a profession he practiced for 3 years.
At the beginning of the group he sang and played the guitar and Latin (Les Luthiers' instrument that parodies the violin), although he quickly gained acting prominence. A columnist from the Argentine magazine Panorama even compared him to Peter Sellers. "I read that note, but I think it was an exaggeration," Rabinovich said. "The transformation was gradual. I didn't have any previous humorous streak. Little by little I started doing some funny improvisations, and they turned out well."
Parallel to Les Luthiers, he made some acting forays into film and television. He worked on Espérame mucho, by Juan José Jusid (1983). He also participated as an actor in the miniseries Los gringos (1984) and La memoria (1985), both directed by David Stivel. And he acted in the Colombian soap opera Leche, directed by Víctor Mallarino.
Later, he participated in an episode of the television series Tiempo final (2002) and played the role of Néstor Craken in the series La familia potent (2003).
References and Photographs:
https://www.lesluthiers.com/daniel-rabinovich.php
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Rabinovich
https://www.clarin.com/teatro/rabinovich-ultimo-acto-artista-enorme_0_HygJVNtw7l.html
08/2021
In 2011 he participated, along with Marcos Mundstock, in the film Mi Primera Boda, and in Extraños en la noche. And in 2014, in Papeles en el viento.
She also dabbled in writing. He is the author of the books “Seriously Tales” (Ediciones de La Flor, 2003), with a prologue by Joan Manuel Serrat, and “The Silence of the End, new serious stories” (Ediciones de La Flor, 2004). In his later years, he was writing a novel.
In 2017, the book “Neneco (Daniel Rabinovich beyond Les Luthiers)” (Editorial Planeta) was published, written by journalist Pablo Mendelevich.
Among the awards they have received with the group Les Luthiers throughout their career are the Max Prize for Performing Arts (2001), awarded by the SGAE, the Latin Grammy for musical excellence (2011), the Princess of Asturias Award of Communication, in addition the Spanish Government has granted them the Commandery of the Order of Isabel la Católica (2007) and, in 2012, Spanish nationality by letter of nature. Also in 2007 they were distinguished as illustrious citizens of the city of Buenos Aires.
In December 2012, while Les Luthiers was on tour in Uruguay, Daniel suffered an acute myocardial infarction that left him out of the final performances. But these heart problems had nothing to do with his death, which was due to cancer with which he battled in recent years. He passed away on August 21, 2015, at age 71.
