is career was short, only ten years. He was one of those many boys who, despite a good vocal range and appealing style, inclined to romantic moods, was unable to stand out. Possibly this was due to his loyalty to the Osmar Maderna orchestra, an aggregation that for the strictly tango public was not a boom.

The rich period of the forties was not suitable for the one who had in his songbook numbers like “Lluvia de estrellas”, “Concierto en la luna”, “El vuelo del moscardón” (The Flight of the Fumbling Bee), “Escalas en azul” or (Monti’s)“Czardas” adapted by Maderna as «Fantasía en tiempo de tango» (Fantasy in tango beat). However, the orchestra had its followers, they were known as the «avant garde public», but unfortunately it did not turn out the best time for him. His was not an orchestra for dancing. He was far from Juan D'Arienzo, Aníbal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Ricardo Tanturi, Ángel D'Agostino, Carlos Di Sarli and some others.

Without previous studies, he had classes with Eduardo Bonessi and, at age 20, he started as professional with songs of the melodic genre. He appeared in a couple of groups that used to play in neighborhood clubs, they were known then as Orquestas Características.

Three years later he enrolled in a contest whose main attraction was the presence of Pedro Maffia. He turned out winner and as a prize he was singer of that orchestra for a month. He had already included some tangos in his appearances and by the end of that year Maderna summoned him because Luis Tolosa was to quit.

The orchestra leader changed the vocalist’s family name and created his stage name. Then the level of the appearances reached a wider acclaim, he appeared on the two most important radio stations: El Mundo and Belgrano. He also performed in venues of a better tango level and made a tour that included nearly all the provinces. Furthermore, there was a frequent visit to the Victor recording studios.

Dátila cut fourteen tracks on disc:

“Una vez”, October 31, 1946.
“Tarde gris”, November 23, 1946
“Rebeldía”, November 23, 1946
“Margarita Gauthier”, February 20, 1947.
“Inútil”, February 20, 1947.
“Alelí”, April 25, 1947.
“Volviendo”, May 30, 1947.
“Quién eres tú” (waltz), July 2, 1947.
“Se perdió el amor”, September 18, 1947.
“Pastora”, duet with Mario Pomar (Corrales), April 5, 1948.
“Para ti madre” (waltz), duet with Mario Pomar (Corrales) January 26, 1949.
“Cuando no te quiera nadie”, September 29, 1949.
“Nube gris” (waltz), December 14, 1949.
“Al compás de tu mentira”, February 2, 1950.

The latter recording was Dátila’s farewell to the Maderna’s orchestra. After the death of the leader, he stayed in the so called Orquesta Símbolo Osmar Maderna for some months.

Surely, disappointed with the irregular frequency of jobs and, possibly, for other reasons, in 1953 he completely changed his lifestyle: he withdrew from show business for good and began to work in the Post Office as employee. Furthermore, he married.

This is the story of one of the many good artists who brought his own contribution to the history of our popular music.