Darío Moreno

David Arugete 3 April 1921 1 December 1968 commonly known under his stage name Darío Moreno was a TurkishJewish polyglot singer an accomplished composer lyricist and guitarist He attained fame and made a remarkable career centred in France which also included films during the 1950s and the 1960s He became famous with his 1961 song Brigitte Bardot Darío Moreno was born to a large Jewish family He was orphaned in early childhood when his father who worked in a train station in Aydın was shot dead under tragic circumstances He was placed in the Sephardic orphanage of Izmir Nido De Guerfanos by his mother and remained there until he was four After a primary education in the Jewish educational establishments of Izmir he had many odd jobs during his early youth He put great effort into continuing his education while simultaneously working to make a living He started working as an errand boy in the law firm of the citys prominent lawyers and he was eventually trained to become a clerk in the office In the evenings he would study French in Izmirs Central Library With a guitar that had fallen into his hands by chance he also learned to play the guitar mainly on his own with occasional tutoring from acquaintances He started singing at Bar Mitzva celebrations as a second job In his early twenties he had already become a wellknown singer in Izmir and particularly among the Jewish community During his military service in the Turkish Army he was employed as a singer in officers quarters in various garrisons and became more focused on music His first truly professional musical performance started in his hometown right after his discharge and was arranged through connections established while in the army When he started making money with his music he moved to the betteroff Jewish quarter of Karataş to a house in a street leading to the historical building of Asansör one of the citys landmarks and which literally means the Elevator people taking an actual elevator to go to the higher part of the quarter this part being separated by the coastal strait with a steep slope Nowadays this street is named Dario Moreno Sokağı Dario Moreno Street in his legacy A hyperactive personality Darío Moreno died of a heart attack resulted from a discussion occurred between him and an airport gate staff in the Atatürk Airport He was slightly late for one of his flights on his way to Paris for a concert He was also planning to attend the first Turkish Night planned to take place in ParisThe airport gate staff discretionary did not allow him to board the plane and this led to a serious debate which resulted with Morenos heart attack He was only 47 According to his will he wanted to be buried in İzmir Turkey but he was buried in Holon Israel by his mother Madam Roza Source Article Darío Moreno from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30