e was born in the neighborhood of Villa Crespo, in Buenos Aires —«the best neighborhood in the world»—, as the great Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese used to say.

Coco began to discover the secrets and the magic of the bandoneon at age four in his uncle’s workshop. His uncle was a luthier. He used to say that around age six his uncle taught him to glue pallets, later, at age eight, he began to play bandoneon. «It was love at first bandoneon-sight», he used to say when he recalled his beginnings. On one occasion, many years later, a young student asked him what he had to do to play as beautifully as he did, and Coco replied: «What you need is to deeply love your instrument, my dear, a great love».

At age twelve he was a complete professional musician and, until he was twenty, he played at the best cabarets and cafes in Buenos Aires by putting together orchestras with musicians of his family. Soon thereafter he formed an orchestra with his brother-in-law, Enrique Alessio, with which he traveled throughout Argentina.

He formed the Tritango, a group that successfully accompanied the best singers of that time: the great Polaco Goyeneche, Alberto Podestá, Floreal Ruiz, El Chocho Roberto Florio, Roberto Rufino and many more. Coco used to say laughingly: «Except for Gardel, I think I backed up them all».

In the sixties he made tours throughout the interior of Argentina. In 1972 he went to Colombia as special guest for a short season at the La Casa Gardeliana but his stay in Medellín lasted for three years and he reached wide acclaim and recognition among the best Colombian tango players.

Later he made a new tour of several countries of South America like: Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela. In the latter country he was based for two-and-a-half years and accompanied the great singer Agustín Irusta.

In 1979 he traveled to Mexico City and started a long and memorable career accompanying artists like: Leonardo Favio, Sonia Rivas, Tania Libertad, Armando Manzanero, Julio Iglesias, Alberto Cortez, among others.

In the early eighties when he was definitively based in Mexico City the Cuarteto Argentino de Tango was born. On piano was his cousin, the eminent pianist Osvaldo Potenza who, by the way, was the founder of the above quartet. They cut several recordings with tango artists based there: Enzo Peiret, Hugo Jordán, Raúl Medina and the passionate female singer Gogui Fontán. These latter recordings were produced by the Pentagrama record label which organized, as a promotion, appearances at the main theaters of the city. Thereafter they started a tour throughout the Republic.

Some years later he started the tour Celeste y Blanco with 22 players onstage and featuring his son Freddy Potenza.

He is recognized as the best tango figure in Mexico by the specialized media. And he appeared in the most famous TV and radio programs as well as the most important venues in the country.

As from 1994 he led the orchestra that accompanied Luis Miguel and recorded several discs with him. One of his great hits was “El día que me quieras”. Furthermore, they made an important tour that covered over thirty cities from the United States to Argentina.

In 1999 he recorded the album Mi bandoneón y yo with his son Freddy in which they paid homage to the bandoneon and his long career playing it.

In 2002 he was awarded for his fifty-year show business career and was regarded in the milieu as El Bandoneonista de América.

Among his compositions we may highlight: “Marrón, púrpura, galaxia” and “Acuarela gardeliana”.

Another outstanding and less known ability of his was his craft as luthier and he, generously, helped all his bandoneonist peers, by repairing their instruments each time they had a problem. He got very angry when somebody wanted to pay him for that and he absolutely rejected any payment. Because of that and for many other things he was loved by us and by the entire show business milieu.

On 16th, 2012, after fighting against a serious lung emphysema for several years, at 11:30 pm, at the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias (National Institute for Respiratory Diseases) of Mexico City, Coco said his last goodbye.