fter touring all the roads of his charrúa land with another famous Uruguayan, the payador (traveling country singer who improvised songs) Juan Pedro López, he arrived in Buenos Aires in 1920, with a fellow countryman, for a gig at the dancehall La Argentina and the theater Nacional, as a true artist of the guitar. He recorded guitar solos for Victor around 1922, and in duos with Enrique Maciel, and later with Pagés.

At the time of good guitarists he was among the best, and he was by the side of almost all the major vocalists of the period as their accompanist: Agustín Magaldi (and consequently the Magaldi-Noda duo), Ignacio Corsini (he was the first who accompanied him on records), Gómez-Vila, Pelaia-Catán, Alberto Vila, Adhelma Falcón, and among many others, Carlos Gardel with whom he traveled to Europe.

The unforgettable interpreter recorded from his production: “Añoranzas”, “Aromas del Cairo”, “Manuelita”, “Mala suerte [c]”, waltzes; “Manos brujas”, fox-trot; “Ofrenda gaucha”, estilo; “Las madreselvas”, zamba; “Milonguera”, “Flor campera”, “Trenzas negras”, “Al mundo le falta un tornillo”, “Tengo miedo” and “Lloró como una mujer”, tangos; compositions with his own lyrics or made in collaboration with José M. Macías, Eugenio Cárdenas, Juan P. López, Enrique Cadícamo and Celedonio Flores.

The following are worth mentioning, his tangos “El abrojal”, “A mi palomita”, “El gran técnico”, “Cuando me entrés a fallar”, “Perro”, “Entre dos luces”, “Esa es mi tipo”; his estilos “La espera”, “Al pie de la reja”, “El pañuelo de seda”, “El facón”, “La mañanita”, “Quejas”, “Luna gaucha”; his zambas “Las margaritas” and “El biguá”; his waltz “Cuando miran tus ojos”, with lyrics by Cele Flores, Francisco Brancatti, José A. Saldías, Ignacio Corsini, Atilio Supparo, Juan Velich, Eugenio Cárdenas, Salvador Riese, Cadícamo and those which were committed to record by Corsini, Magaldi, Rivero and other singers.

He was also a singer and by 1925 he formed the Aguilar-Fugazot duet.

In 1934 Gardel, who was shooting a film in New York, made his early accompanists, Barbieri and Riverol, be brought from Buenos Aires. With them also went Aguilar who miracolously saved his life in Medellín on June 24, 1935, when the successful tour made across Spanish America came to an abrupt end, cutting off his life and those of almost all his sidemen. Years later remembering Gardel and that tragedy, he said for the disappeared magazine Cine Argentino: «As soon as we were out of New York, we went to San Juan de Puerto Rico, where we arrived at 7 in the morning. In spite of the early hour, there was a so extraordinary crowd in the port waiting for his arrival, which was estimated between twenty and twenty five thousand people. Everybody shouting Gardel!... Gardel!..., he was given a triumphant greeting, and those nearer to him carried him speedily to the City Hall. There, after the insisting request of an employee of the organism, Gardel, who was not skilled for speeches, while looking at us –we were in a car- with an expression of anguish, said in an effort: «Dear people, I'm very happy of your coming to greet me, and... this evening I'll be expecting you at the cinema». Barbieri, Riverol and I couln't keep a straight face, and burst out laughing.

«Imagine they were around twenty five thousand people! On that afternoon, as we were lodged in different hotels, I went to see Carlos at the hour appointed for rehearsal; Le Pera, Barbieri and Riverol were already with him. On arriving, I was struck by the fact that the Argentine flag was hoisted, and to sense better the environment, I asked the waiter the reason of the event without telling him who I was. «How!... Don't you know? –he said-. It's because of Gardel», and as I went on ignoring it, he added in a conceited tone: «But, don't you know him?... He is the best singer in the world...» Later, when I told this to Carlos, he did not believe me, and then to Le Pera, he told him: «See if what el Indio says is true». When he knew that in reality I had not lied, he got very happy, and staring at us, he added: «Tonight, boys, we have not to let down our flag».

«When we arrived in Venezuela, the company which had hired Gardel, put a special train at his disposal. From La Guayra up to the capital, a distance of about 45 kilometers, the railroad was crowded with people ceaselessly shouting hurrah for him. Such was the craze he aroused in the town women, that the then president of the Republic, general Juan V. Gómez, enquired after the cause of those demonstrations. «It is because the Argentine singer Carlos Gardel has arrived», he was informed. The general, fond of artists, then invited him to present a recital at the Hotel Jardín, his private residence. There, Carlitos, who had extraofficially known that the presidente had an inclination for cockfights, to the point of having hundreds of those birds, so with his typical wit, he began singing the famous estilo “Pobre gallo bataraz”, soon obtaining the general's affection, to end his program with other two songs. Immediately I played on guitar the tango “La cumparsita” while I told him: «Excuse me, my general, I'm going to play the Uruguayan hymn». As soon as I finished, he thanked satisfied, and that evening he made delivered to Carlos, for his three songs, 10.000 bolívares as a gift.

«After a stay of 22 days in Venezuela, we went to Curazao, by car. His driver, Roberto, as the roads were extremely narrow, was, while driving, carefully looking at the road, to avoid the risk of falling into a ditch. Carlos, who was with me at the back, watching his maneuvers, told him: «Be careful, brother, don't get us killed, you're carrying two national glories, and the Argentines will never forgive you». At that location we stayed for three days, completing his performance with the movie (1) Noches de Buenos Aires shot in Buenos Aires with Tita Merello. Afterwards we went to Barranquilla, and from there to Cartagena, visiting most towns. At 11 in the morning we arrived at this location, undergoing an excessive heat. Carlos, completely exhausted by the weather, put on a pajama, just like we all did, unwilling for any visits. We were doing that, when the hotel porter told us that a complete school was coming to greet him. Carlitos was cursing. «A whole school! What shall I do?» At last, on an impulse he said: «Tell them to wait». He dressed up the best as he could, and out he went to greet them. They were around 300 girls. That was something extraordinary. After chatting for a few minutes and having apologized for not signing autographs because of the unbearable heat, they began to say goodbye, thanks to my suggestion. Carlos was staring at me as saying «Try to save me, Indio», and, even it was late, I did it. Only one, almost a young lady, and, no doubt, the most audacious, stayed looking at him, while she said: «As you have not signed an autograph for me, let me shake your hand. Carlos smiled and, when he was about to do it, she, in a quick movement, held his face and kissed him, and then run away. Surprised by her attitude, he could not help laughing at the incident; the poor girl was horribly ugly...

«In Medellín we were then four days, and Carlos sang in the most important bullring of that place, with an amazing success, then to Bogotá, where we arrived on June 12 and stayed eight days. During the trip, one of his secretaries, Corpas Moreno, an Argentine boy we met in New York –where he had arrived as a pugilist, and whom later Gardel included in the troupe-, took a picture at more than a thousand meters high, this picture is now popular in the show business, where all of us who underwent the catastrophe were photographed. It is not true that that picture had been taken by other people, as it was said on more than one occasion. I perfectly remember that, as soon as it was taken, Corpas Moreno had the bad idea to tell Carlos: «Image if the airplane falls down». Gardel, who was frightened by this kind of aircrafts, was very angry and reprimanded him.

«Towards Cali, where we never got to, we were going after performing in Bogotá for eight days, which turned out wonderful, when a failure in the three-engined airplane, possibly due to excess weight, made us forcibly land in Medellín, and thanks to the skill of the great pilot Ernesto Samper, who succeeded in stabilizing the aircraft, we did not die then. This happened an hour before the accident took place.

«When in Medellín, we had lunch to later resume our trip to Cali. So we did, we began to find our place in the following order: first, Mr Celedonio Palacios, owner of a Barranquilla cinema; next Henry Swart, Universal Pictures manager in Colombia; Alfredo Le Pera, Guillermo Barbieri, Corpas Moreno, Riverol, Plajas, the copilot, the pilot Samper Mendoza, Carlos Gardel and then I. I recall that at the moment of taking off, Carlos turned around to tell me: «Come on, Indio, we still have an hour and a quarter, and afterwards, even though these bugs do their best we won't ever get on any of them». Poor Carlitos! How far he was to imagine becoming ashes in a couple of minutes! The last to get in was Mr Flit, who was who closed the doors. Before doing that, twelve movie reels to be projected that evening together with Gardel's performance, were brought. Samper tenaciously refused to carry them, alleging it was too much weight for the three-engined airplane, but in spite of his negative, and after much arguing, it was decided to carry them. Immediately, Flit took to fasten everybody's safety belts. I was the only one who refused to do that; that is why I managed to get off the aircraft. The last words said by Gardel were to ask me some candy and a little cotton for his ears. «What are you eating, Indio?» —he told me when he realised it was some candy. «Chewing gum» I answered. «All right, give me»; —adding— «Have you got some cotton?»

«As soon as he put it in, the plane, which had started its run, was unable to take off. I don't know because of what strange intuition I thought we all foresaw the catastrophe. Samper, who was making desperate efforts, was unable to avoid the crash of his F.31 three-engined airplane with the super aircraft Manizales. A big muffled sound was heard, and the two flying birds burnt immediately. Through an opening, I don't know how or when, I jumped from the plane, already aflame, because of the instinct of preservation, but I couldn't do it but for an instant. The shouts of Riverol, Azaff and Plajas —Carlos' languages teacher- were so tearing, that, maddened by desperation, I threw myself into the flames to help them; after much effort, I managed to do it, protecting myself with a piece of my coat which still re_toped. Corpas Moreno, poor fellow, was the only one I was able to see amid the fire, and he already had his head severed from his body. That was a hellish and Dantesque scene; we were burning alive, our flesh was blazing, and the public, though numerous, did not dare to do anything, petrified by terror. I, who didn't lose consciousness but after 48 hours, was begging by shouting that someone brought an automobile. People, stunned, not knowing what to do, did not understand me, making it more difficult to help them. When I was able to walk, much later, I came to know that there, taxi cabs were called «carros». So the misunderstanding.

«In the Manizales plane they all died; in ours, only Flit, Plajas and I re_toped. According to what I was told, the former is blind and lost both hands,and the latter, mad. An impression which I shall never be able to forget was the one produced by Riverol; we were placed at different rooms, the good partner had a terrible agony. He asked me, he implored me not to let him die. If only had I managed to do it! «I've got eight children, Aguilar; eight children and a wife; ask for a consultation of physicians, don't let me die!» All in vain; two days later, it was the 26 at three in the morning, in a fit of madness, he jumped off bed and started to wildly run around the sanatorium. He horribly bleeded ; when he was brought back he was already dead...»

Gardel gave him the nickname Indio, then he gave him a mascot with an Indian head as a gift and told him: «Hold it, here's your portrait.»

He left an unpublished titled Yo acompañé a Carlos Gardel (I accompanied Carlos Gardel).

Aguilar was born on May 7, 1891, in San Ramón (Canelones, Uruguay) and died on December 21, 1951 in Buenos Aires.