Leonardo Favio

Leonardo Favio
Favio in 1968
Background information
Birth name	Fuad Jorge Jury
Also known as	El Juglar de América (The Troubadour of the Americas) La voz del pueblo (The Voice of the People)[1]
Born	(1938-05-28)28 May 1938 Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Died	5 November 2012(2012-11-05) (aged 74) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Genres	As a filmmaker: Drama historical biopic fantasy musical focumentary As a singer: Pop music latin ballad
Occupations	Singer actor screenwriter filmmaker
Years active	1958–2012

Fuad Jorge Jury (28 May 1938 – 5 November 2012), better known by his stage name Leonardo Favio (Spanish pronunciation: [leoˈnaɾðo ˈfaβjo]), was an Argentine singer, actor and filmmaker. He is considered one of Argentina's best film directors and one of the country's most enduring cultural figures, as well as a popular singer-songwriter throughout Latin America.^[2][3]

Much beloved in Latin America, Favio was one of the most successful Argentine singers in the 1960s and 1970s, with big hits like "Ding, dong, estas cosas del amor" (with Carola Leyton), "O quizás simplemente le regale una rosa", "Fuiste mía un verano", "Ella ya me olvidó", "Quiero aprender de memoria", "Mí tristeza es mía y nada más", "Para saber cómo es la soledad", "Mi amante niña mi compañera", "Ni el clavel ni la rosa", "La foto de carnet", "No jueges más", "Chiquillada" and "La cita". He also starred in many films before establishing himself as a director.^[4]

At the time he began his singing career (mid-1960s), Favio was already an established film director. His first feature movie – Chronicle of a Boy Alone – and the second one – El Romance del Aniceto y la Francisca – are considered to be some of the best Argentine movies of all times.^[1] He continued writing and directing, releasing the now-classic films El Dependiente (1969),^[1] Juan Moreira (1973) and Nazareno Cruz y el Lobo (1975).^[1] In 1976, he released the comedy-drama Soñar, soñar, with Gian Franco Pagliaro and Carlos Monzón, which had a mixed critical reception at the time of its release; it is currently considered a cult film. That same year, right after the beginning of the Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983),^[1] Favio was forced to go into exile to save his life from the State-sponsored terrorism which prevailed in the country.^[1] He returned to Argentina after democracy was reestablished during the 1980s onwards, later breaking a 17-year gap without filming when he released the successful biopic Gatica, el mono,^[1] before embarking in the making of his colossal six-hours' documentary Perón, sinfonía del sentimiento.^[1] Favio's last film was Aniceto (2008), a musical remake of El romance del Aniceto y la Francisca, refashioned as a ballet-inspired drama.