• Entry Category:Event

Josep Plaja, Gardel's secretary

GARDELIAN EVENT N°47 11/12/2022

87 years after the death of Carlos Gardel, the testimony of the personal secretary, the Spanish Josep Plaja, one of the two survivors of Medellín, delivers his postcard in the only two interviews he gave, about intimate details of coexistence, in the last year and a half of life and tragedy together with Carlos Gardel.

Carlos Gardel, Alfredo Lepera, Terig Tucci, Josep Plaja, Tito Lusiardo and the technical team in a backstage photo at the end of shooting the film Tango Bar.

Josep Plaja was one of the many who were tempted by the American myth and dream, a desire that came true when he began a fruitful friendship that would mark him for life with Carlos Gardel, the greatest Argentine myth and dream, who incorporated him into Éxito Corporación Inc. in 1934, in Manhattan. She would not only be his translator, then his personal secretary, but a friend who would accompany him on the most uphill stops, including the fateful one on June 24, 1935 in Colombia. 

He barely survived the accident on the track and only gave two interviews to those who wanted to know more about the intimacy of Zorzal Criollo, particularly about the last steps of the boy from Abasto whose star shone throughout the world. As a tribute to Carlitos and one of the values ​​he most appreciated, friendship, let us remember the figure of Plaja through his words, collected by the Argentine journalist Esteban Peicovich, and his incredible life: as a liquor waiter at hand Gardel's right.  

Josep Plaja emigrated to the United States of America with his brother at the age of 19 to try their luck. Her knowledge of English and his business notions allowed her to work in a bank for five years. He did everything, he was even a "lemonade waiter", as the waiter who only served liquor was called. Tired of going around different jobs, he proposed to his brother to return to Spain, however, he could not adapt to Catalan social life again, and he returned to New York.

A friend suggested that he join Éxito Corporación Inc. as a translator, in Long Island, a town located very close to Manhattan, a subsidiary of Paramount, of which Carlos Gardel was the shareholder. There, the producer Bob Snowdy introduced him to Gardel, who had taken advantage of the strength that his growing international fame gave him to put himself in the pocket of Paramount's partners and be able to eliminate intermediaries. 

It was March 1934 and Josep Plaja, who at first worked as a translator of letters, statements and film plots, ended up acting as a bridge so that the technicians who did not understand an iota of Spanish could communicate with Gardel, as well as with the actress Rosita Moreno. and Alfredo Le Pera, scriptwriter for the films.

After a while he went on to help the sound engineer, who was responsible for sound and dialogue. He also eventually participated as an extra in movies, playing the guitar, or rather pretending to be a guitarist, because the strings were locked. For this participation he received a payment of 50 dollars and when he helped with some letters, they gave him an additional 25 dollars more.

He participated as an extra in the four films filmed by Gardel. The two directed by the Frenchman Louis Gasnier ("Cuesta abajo" and "El tango en Broadway") and the two by John Reirthardt ("Tango Bar" and "El día que me quieras"). In "Cuesta abajo" she appeared in a very trivial scene, Josep recalled, “There is a stage with a piano and three guitarists with their instruments locked. Carlos enters furious because he has just had an altercation with his girlfriend (an anonymous actress who had not yet become a vedette) and seeing him excited, I tell him: "Acosta, you should not sing tonight", and his answer is: «Of course, if every night is mine». And that is where he sings: «If I dragged through this world the shame of having been (he sings it) .. (Music hums)… a tear appeared I could not contain (he laughs)»… »

Josep Plaja behind Carlos Gardel in a scene from the film Cuesta Abajo, 1934

On another occasion, Plaja recounts that, when Rosita Moreno was there, the man who was supposed to be the dance teacher failed and they put him to set the pace for the chorus girls. There the group disperses, and he said: Well, girls, enough for today. See you tomorrow», and she waited for Rosita Moreno to approach her and say: «Here I bring you the album so that you can choose the places and see where I have danced». José replies: «Very well, do you want to rehearse, what do you want to dance?», And before his answer: «a fox-trop», he answers: «Make it a fox-trop».

He remembered that Gardel was paid very well for the movies, between 12 and 15 thousand dollars. And to RCA that he recorded the songs, about 700 dollars for each one, in addition to the royalties that he charged for each film.

The jobs that Gardel entrusted to him gradually brought them closer as friends. On set, Carlos was very professional, somewhat distant, but outside of work he gave himself to everyone with tremendous generosity, like few others. He remembered that he was enthusiasm personified and he had them crazy with the plans for a Hispano-Suiza car that they were making for him in France. Plaja stated years later: "Gardel was a great friend where I saw all the virtues of Argentines. A simple man, as well as a great artist. A friend that he could always rely on.

Plaja's job consisted of reading the correspondence and writing to the people Gardel indicated, generally friends from Buenos Aires. She answered the phone and did bank paperwork. In addition, she taught the singer English every day, which he was interested in learning, but it was difficult for him. On the other hand, he dedicated some of his photos to his admirers and came to imitate his signature so well that Carlitos always joked: "Che, Plaja, you do it so well that one day you are going to withdraw the funds from the bank...".

“Another of the stories that we lived almost daily was that Gardel had to keep weight by contract and since he loved pasta, when they went to eat he said: "Come on Plaja, that's what he called it, I'm getting closer to danger." Since I was on a diet, I always ordered the same thing, a heart of lettuce with a little mayonnaise, a petite filet mignon and some fruit. He was very courteous and if he asked for something he would always say "please". Gardel was not very educated, but he was very refined and had excellent manners.

Josep said that the one who always made a fool of himself was director Gasnier because he was crazy about Mona Maris. When he entered a romantic scene, the kisses between Gardel and Maris seemed like lightning. Gasnier shouted: "cut right away" and then in the editing room, you had to work miracles to unite and match because celluloid was always missing in those sequences. 

talking about women 

There has always been talk of the relationship between Gardel and Mona Maris. According to Josep, it would only be sympathy, not love, and all the stories they made up about them would be false. And Rosita Moreno was engaged to be married to a Paramount executive, everyone knew this and no one messed with her. Of the two, Mona Maris was more sensual and Rosita Moreno more refined.

Plaja said that Gardel did not have a fixed woman for whom he felt true love. 

Just for the press, by way of publicity, a trick had been set up based on telegrams with a girl from Monte Carlo swearing eternal love. This was so because Gardel was more of a Don Juan than a possible husband. Although he was still young, he was not old enough for romances, he had lived a long time, too much, Gardel liked them all, and in life he was given them all. And he was very partying. That is why José was very upset and considered a scoundrel when, after what happened, barbaric things were written about his manhood.

Josep remembers that the singer's apartment was always full of visitors and also "torrantes", those Argentines who lived in the shadows, as he said, who did not know how to survive except by "slashing": "Gardel lived in a small hotel of Manhattan, I think the East Side, the most expensive part…”

Regarding Le Pera, Plaja considered some lyrics very good, he knew that the name "El día que me quieras" was not his, but the title of a poem by Amado Nervo and that he should have asked the family for permission to use it. He found Le Pera's lyrics very Argentine, perhaps a bit exaggerated, dramatic like the Argentines. They were always tragedies in which the men mourned the women and he suggested that "it was enough with so many widowers, that there should be widows."

Backstage photo of a scene filming for the film Tango Bar in which Josep Plaja can be seen seated attentively with the script in hand, next to the director and the technical team.

From teacher to secretary

The Spaniard had earned Gardel's trust. In addition to being his private English teacher, he worried about financial matters, and on more than one occasion, he had to take her chestnuts out of the fire. Since he spoke English correctly, he was highly educated and knew the world of finance well, the singer-songwriter hired him as his secretary, and from then on José was always known more as "the secretary" of the artist. Gardel, an uneducated man whom fame had quickly placed in the highest spheres, understood that Josep Plaja was the ideal person to act on his behalf.

Gardel's film projects were increasingly ambitious: he intended to film in English alongside renowned actors to consolidate himself as an international star, but he needed to overcome the language barrier. This reinforced the figure of José as a private teacher, a task that forced him not to be separated from him, in order to be able to constantly practice and ensure that Gardel acquired command of the language in the shortest time possible. In March 1935, a tour of Central America (Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Cuba and Mexico) was scheduled, which would allow the promotion of his films, but above all it would give the singer time to learn English. That explains the fact that Plaja, from Bisbala, also embarked on March 29 at a Brooklyn pier to accompany Gardel and his guitarists on their last tour.

After two months of highly successful, massive and warm performances received in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Curaçao, on June 4, 1935 Gardel and his entourage disembarked in Barranquilla, Colombia. Once again, in Medellín, the public demonstrations exceeded the predictions. The next destination was Bogota. Gardel and the musicians traveled by plane, while Plaja, Le Pera and Celedonio Palacios did so by steamboat on the Magdalena River. This experience left him very impressed, as reflected in this letter sent to his parents:

«Dear parents: I had written a letter to you on the river steamer that took me to Bogotá from Barranquilla, and when I went to receive Gardel, who was coming by plane from Medellín, I put it in my coat pocket. 

In the airfield such a crowd and crowd formed that the pickpockets made their vintage. The friend Azzaf, who was carrying the product from the last show in Medellín in his pocket, had his wallet stolen with the money, some 700 Colombian pesos, plus the identification papers and the papers to return to the United States. I don't have to tell you the upheaval we are going through. They stole the letter I had addressed to you. Perhaps they will still receive it, having no monetary value.

I am going to make a very interesting trip along the Magdalena River, but very uncomfortable. It's six days of slow and hot sailing, but the scenery is beautiful. You see pieces of virgin tropical forest that I had never seen before. We didn't have much luck with the fauna, I can only count seeing about five alligators and a dozen monkeys. We see, however, numerous flocks of parrots and other tropical birds, fruit trees of all kinds, and in recent days, the Central Cordillera of the Andes a short distance away. In Villeta, it was so hot that it was coughing and three hours later, here in Bogotá (2.300) meters high) it was quite cold. I don't know how many days we will still be here; then we will go to Cali, where we will spend about two days: then we will embark in Buenaventura towards Panama, where we will spend about five days; Then we will continue to Havana and we plan to arrive in New York in the first days of July […]».

His parents had not yet received the letter dated June 15, when Radio Nacional de España announced the tragic accident of the king of tango.

Farewell to Tito Lusiardo on his return from New York after finishing his work on the film Tango Bar. Standing on the left in the photograph, Josep Plaja.

The last tour, Don Josep

“We left New York by boat. We were eight in total: Gardel, Le Pera, José María Aguilar, who was their main guitarist, an academic who in recitals, during intermissions, played Creole melodies, Guillermo Barbieri and Angel Riverol, also guitarists. Alfonso Azaff, who I think was Venezuelan and did public relations; He made sure that in the places where Gardel sang, cars with loudspeakers would come out shouting: "Go to the theater tonight for the great recital...", then Corpas Moreno would come, who was Gardel's servant, and finally me. The itinerary, more or less, was by boat to San Juan de Puerto Rico, La Guayra. Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo, Lagusillas, Curacao.

From there we went in a small plane with a wooden fuselage to Aruba. It was scary to take it. What comforted me the most on that trip was the pilot, a Dutchman tall as a cathedral, who gave me a sense of security. 

Gardel was a bit apprehensive about the plane, like everyone, somehow, but it was the fastest way to travel.

Well, we were, as I was saying, in Barranquilla, and later in Bogotá, one recital after another, a lot of people, a lot of fervor for Gardel... We got ready to continue the trip and Medellín came... I'm going to explain what happened there. The night before there was a game of poker that took a long time. The captain of the plane, Morrison, had told us to leave very early, that way we would not have to make a stopover in Medellín, because the central massif of the Andes would not be covered in fog. Then I could fill the tanks with gas to the top and not stop; he could fly over and see everything and give the plane maximum roof. Leaving later, the itinerary stood out risky.

We left late for that poker thing and the pilot had to change his plan, add less fuel because there would already be thick fog and, therefore, descend in Medellín.

—They were there for a very short time, I was the last to enter the plane; I had to go to the toilet and I told the boys to sit first, in the front, that I was going to sit in the back seat so that when the flight started the toilet could be opened. So I sat in the back and picked up "La Vorágine" by Rivera, which I was reading. Gardel was with Le Pera in front, behind the pilot.

—An important issue is that I was not wearing a seatbelt and I think that saved me, and also the fact that I was in the back. I have always thought that if an accident occurs, those in front have less chances of surviving. The plane began to taxi down the runway; it was piloted by Samper, who wanted to have the honor of taking Gardel. I don't really know how the catastrophe came about, it seems that Samper, when leaving, was caught by a crosswind that pushed him towards the hangars. He tried to fly over them, but the engine did not hit him, the wind swirled and became a vertical wind that prevented him from jumping, let's put it that way, and after rising shortly we plummeted onto the other trimotor that was already waiting its turn with its engines on to take off

The Ford F-31 plane began to taxi, there was a strong wind, then there was the crash, I was thrown from my seat and I fell into the side aisle, but in such a way that I burned evenly. The fingers were not usable and it was necessary to cut them. I fell from the plane and was saved by a man from Medellín, who continues to write me a letter or a postcard every year, since it was he who put out the fire in which he was involved when he fell to the runway with a fire extinguisher. I was with Aguilar at the La Merced clinic, for the first cures, and from there my brother took me to New York, to the Medical Center. The nuns of this great hospital told me that he had been very lucky, but when I later saw what was left of me…

About the speculations that you hear years later, they are all more than nonsense, barbaric, I did not understand why so many speculations.

Those of the planes did not pay insurance or anything. Those were other times: what they gave us was very little. What I had I sold. I calculated everything very well: dying without having anything, not even a penny. The perfect destiny of man is to live with everything and die with nothing…”

The Argentine journalist Esteban Peicovich, author of the report, says that when he said goodbye at the door of his house, he hugged him and asked for "a souvenir photo." With small irritated eyes and more alive than ever, Don Josep Plaja looked at him and said: "Please take off my cap, because I want to greet all of Gardel's followers with the respect they deserve."

Synopsis of the plane crash, which contextualize the story from the book Sucesos Gardelianos 

The pilot Samper Mendoza, president of the SACO airline, despite his few flight hours, and having been drinking at the social club all morning; He decides to relieve the crew, flying the aircraft himself, using an 18-year-old boy with no experience as co-pilot. These negligence added to the weather were the cause of the accident.

While the SACO plane was heading to the southern head of the aerodrome, from where it would start its takeoff run, the SCADTA Ford Trimotor "Manizales" was also preparing in the cargo area to start its journey to the city of Bogotá, commanded by German aviator Hans Ulrich Thom, co-pilot Hartmann Fürst (Fuerst). 

The German aviator was preparing his departure, when Ernest Modrow, also a German aviator, warned him of the wind conditions and the imprudence of the aviator Ernesto Samper Mendoza heading towards the southern headland, with an airplane that was observed overloaded with weight and taking off with wind tail. 

 Given this, the aviator Hans Ulrich Thom speeds up his maneuvers in order to be able to observe the movements of Ernesto Samper Mendoza. He asks the airfield captain for authorization to remove the wheel chocks. He starts taxiing to the side of the runway making a sharp turn, almost 180 degrees on his left wheel to put the nose of the plane to the south, remaining in the SCADTA loading and unloading zone; then the airplane advances a little more and places it very close to the line demarcated with white stones, which separates it from the emergency zone, some 75 meters from the center of the gravel runway.

At this point, he had better visibility of Samper's plane, since the corn field to his left blocked his view of the southern headwaters. The SCADTA employee, with their flags down, waiting for the "F-31" of La Saco to take off, to authorize the entry of "Manizales" to the runway by means of its yellow and blue checkered flag.

Ernesto Samper Mendoza continued to check his Ford Trimotor at the southern head of the aerodrome. Sitting in the passenger seats in the first line, Carlos Gardel. Samper, intoxicated by the success of managing him, can't think straight.    

Observe how Antonio Arango, from the other side of the runway, lowers the red flag and raises the yellow and blue checkered flag, indicating that he is authorized to start his takeoff. 

The SACO plane begins its run through the center of the gravel runway with the stabilizer positioned "nose down" to be able to lift its tail in the first part of its run and to have better control of the plane. The great weight accumulated in the back of the plane, where it had been necessary to accommodate part of Carlos Gardel's luggage, made up of a large suitcase that blocked the exit door and others in the bathroom, as well as rolls of film and the curtain that had to be to take from Medellín to Cali and that the Uribe brothers brought at the last minute, added to the speed of the tailwind and the failure to relocate the tail stabilizer to its "nose up" position when the plane had managed to gain momentum, made the plane aircraft to reseat its rear wheel and take an erratic course. These adverse conditions increased the effort of aviator Ernesto Samper Mendoza to find the grouper and try to lift the plane.

The plane runs crooked on its longitudinal axis with no defined direction. It deviates in a large curve to its right side, more than 30 degrees from its initial course, invades the grass in the emergency area, parallel to the main runway, and continues without a defined direction towards the SCADTA hangars. The Ford Trimotor “F-31” already without directional control quickly loses speed; obeying only the strange and incomprehensible forces of fate.  

The SCADTA banderillero, Jesús M. Guerra, seeing that the SACO plane was heading towards them, waved his red signal flag, but then dropped both banners and ran terrified towards the center of the gravel runway, trying to avoid get hit by the plane. The Ford Trimotor “F-31” manages to rise a few centimeters leaning to the right, when it finds the other Ford Trimotor, the SCADTA “Manizales” in its trajectory. A thud follows the thunderous crash; The planes, full of fuel, catch fire and in a gruesome bonfire, mercilessly end with the dreams and illusions of the vast majority of the passengers, including the life of Carlos Gardel. 

After the terrible crash, the fuel tanks exploded, the voracious fire claimed the lives of the pilots, Carlos Gardel, some of the members of his artistic entourage and national and international passengers, leaving a final balance of 17 deaths among the two aircraft.

 

Walter Santoro – Fund. Inter. Carlos Gardel

Josep Plaja in photos of the note I gave in 1969.