Armando Cupo

Orquesta de Armando Cupo was directed by Oscar Armando Cupo (1921–1990), a pianist, composer and bandleader active during Argentina’s golden age of tango. Rather than maintaining a permanent ensemble, Cupo followed the milonguero tradition of forming orchestras on demand to accompany prestigious singers including Roberto Rufino, Alberto Morán, Miguel Montero and Roberto Goyeneche. His first major collaboration was with Rufino from 1954 to 1959, yielding 46 recordings, followed by 24 additional recordings between 1968 and 1970. In 1960, Cupo created “Estrellas de Buenos Aires” with violinist Hugo Baralis, bandoneonist Jorge Caldara, and bassist Kicho Díaz. His partnership with baritone Alberto Morán produced approximately 70 total recordings across two periods. In 1972–1973, Cupo co-founded Sexteto Mayor, serving as pianist until 1975, contributing to the ensemble that would later gain international recognition through the show Tango Argentino. Cupo’s compositions include “Con este corazón,” “Siempre a tiempo,” “Una vida más,” and “Y no puedo olvidarte” (co-composed with Abel Aznar), establishing his legacy as both an accompanist and composer of the tango repertoire.

Sources note: Source discrepancies: (1) Sexteto Mayor founding date — Wikipedia lists 1972 as when Cupo was “one of the founders,” but other sources cite official founding as April 29, 1973. (2) Piano player succession in Sexteto Mayor — sources vary on whether Juan Mazzadi was founding pianist or Cupo was founding pianist; sources agree Cupo served until replaced by Oscar Palermo around 1975. (3) Roberto Rufino’s Wikipedia biography does not mention Armando Cupo despite clear evidence from multiple sources (Todotango, Spanish Wikipedia, recordings) that they recorded 46 titles from 1954–1959 and 24 more from 1968–1970.