Cacho Tirao, 66; master guitarist was a musical envoy for Argentina

Cacho Tirao, 66, an Argentine guitar virtuoso whose wide travels made him one of his country’s leading musical ambassadors, died May 30 at Argerich Hospital in Buenos Aires after a stroke.

A radio star as a child, Tirao rose to greater prominence as a teenager as he got important solo engagements.

His most enduring early association came with the Astor Piazzolla Quintet, which he joined in the late 1960s. A signature of Tirao’s playing was the unpredictable and exciting chord changes encouraged by Piazzolla, the modern tango composer and bandoneon player who was Tirao’s musical mentor.

Tirao made 36 records as a solo artist, shifting among tango, jazz, samba, folklore, classical, pop and Jewish music. As a composer, Tirao created numerous tangos, milongas and sambas. One of his most remembered works was “Teresa, Mi Renacer,” named for his wife. Loosely translated, it means “Teresa, you are my renewal.”

Oscar Emilio Tirao was born April 5, 1941, in Berazategui, in Buenos Aires province. He began learning guitar at 4 from his father, a classical guitarist.