Diego Verdaguer

Diego Verdaguer stands out as a multi-platinum Argentine performer who sings pop, composes songs, plays trumpet and bandoneon, and produces records, drawing comfortably from folk traditions and Mexican regional styles through to Latin pop. After becoming a naturalized Mexican citizen, he surpassed 20 million records sold, earned three Latin Grammy nominations, wed vocalist Amanda Miguel, and helmed nine of her albums.

Born Miguel Atilio Boccadoro Hernández in Buenos Aires during 1951, Verdaguer showed an early pull toward music and first attempted to copy the folk sounds of his surroundings. At age 14 he encountered singer Larry Moreno, and together they launched the duo Reno and Rino, cutting six singles for CBS through the mid-1960s. That partnership supplied the 17-year-old Verdaguer with enough practical knowledge to launch a solo career; his 1968 RCA Victor debut single “Lejos del Amor” carried production by Moreno and arrangements by Jorge López Ruiz.

He joined the III Festival Buenos Aires de la Canción at Luna Park stadium in 1969, sharing the stage with Spanish vocalist Dyango on “Yo, Solamente Yo.” The strong reception from that appearance led El Trece to contract him exclusively for the youth program El Sótano Beat, while the same track appeared on the compilation Sótano Beat, which moved more than half a million units.

March 1970 found him representing Argentina at the Latin Song Festival inside Mexico City’s Teatro Ferrocarrilero. After parting ways with RCA Victor and El Trece, Moreno brought Verdaguer to the Festival de Canciones de la Ciudad de la Plata, where he captured first place. The MH label promptly signed him, and his first single for them, “Yo Te Amo,” gained airplay on Argentine radio. Working with musical director and producer Roberto Montiel plus lyricist Rubén Lotes, he issued seven number-one singles whose combined sales topped two million copies inside Argentina.

International recognition arrived with his 1976 debut album Volveré, which reached multi-platinum status after selling more than five million copies across Mexico and Argentina. Additional hits such as “Yo, Pescador de Amor” and “El Pasadiscos” followed. Melody offered a multi-album contract that granted complete creative control.

In 1979 Verdaguer joined Argentine lyricist Graciela Carballo for El Secreto Callado, recorded in New York under orchestral direction from Jorge Calandrelli and yielding four chart-topping singles. He next delivered 1981’s Estoy Vivo, tracked in Los Angeles and produced by José Quintana, which generated further number-one entries including “Corazón de Papel,” “Que Suras Más,” and the international smash “La Thronroa.” That track climbed the charts in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, the United States, Spain, and Italy. The 1982 release Coco Loco blended Latin rhythms with pop, rock, soul, and funk; despite disrupted promotion after Melody’s acquisition by Televisa, it still surpassed half a million copies sold.

Ahead of their daughter’s arrival, Verdaguer and Miguel cut the hit duet “Simplemente Amor.” Bebu Silvetti produced 1986’s Estoy Celoso, which featured songwriting input from Argentine composers Roberto Livi and Alejandro Vezzani; the single “Pájaro Que Comerió, Voló” reached number one on the Latin charts in both the United States and Mexico.

Verdaguer established his own imprint, Diam Music, in 1987. Its inaugural release, 1989’s Sigo Vivo, was produced by Horacio Lanzi, Lorenzo Toppano, and Graciela Carballo. Every subsequent project has appeared under the Diam Music banner. In 1990 he co-wrote “La Cara del Amor” for Pope John Paul II’s second Mexican visit, then issued a second duet with Miguel, “Vamos a Empezar de Nuevo,” whose video led rotation on MTV Latin.

Lágrimas, released in 1993, mixed ballads with an array of Latin rhythms such as salsa and merengue. Between studio work, Verdaguer toured extensively, filling festival and concert venues throughout Latin America and Europe, while continuing to produce for Miguel. The 1999 album Inolvidable, recorded in Los Angeles with Mexican musician Gustavo Farías, earned double-gold certification.

Verdaguer and Miguel undertook two national tours together. Their 2003 concert at Mexico City’s Metropólitan Theater, titled “Siempre Fuimos Dos,” was documented in an audio-video package that charted in both Mexico and the United States. They performed again at the Auditorio Nacional de la Ciudad de México in 2007; the resulting release, El Mejor Espectáculo Romántico en Estados Unidos, attained double-gold status and stayed inside Mexico’s Top Ten sales charts for six weeks.

In 2009 Verdaguer shifted toward ranchero with Mexicano Hasta Las Pampas, produced by Joan Sebastian, who also wrote most of its singles. “Voy a Conquistarte” and “Quién de los Dos Será” both performed strongly on Mexican radio, and the album reached platinum in Mexico and the United States. It garnered two Latin Grammy nominations that year—for Best Ranchera Music Album and Best Mexican Regional Song (“Voy a Conquistarte”)—plus two Oye award nods in the categories Best Ranchero Soloist and Album of the Year, and a Premio Lo Nuestro nomination for Best Ranchero Artist of the Year. Three consecutive live albums followed: Mexicanísimos, Vol. I and Mexicanísimos, Vol. II (with Miguel) in 2010 and 2011, and Pregúnteme in 2011, the last of which earned platinum certification in Mexico.

Marking four decades in music, Verdaguer issued Juego de Valientes in 2012, containing twelve previously unreleased original songs. His second ranchera effort, Mexicano Hasta Las Pampas 2, arrived in 2014 under production from Chucho Rincón and Fabián Rincón and included two co-writes with Joan Sebastian. Videos for the singles “Cuando él No Está,” “Te Voy a Demandar,” and “Para No Pensar en Ti” were filmed in Durango and released simultaneously. The project earned Latin Grammy nominations for Best Ranchera Album and Best Regional Song (“Cuando él No Está”). Two years later he unveiled “Gluten Free,” the lead single from his eleventh studio album Organic, captured live at home with younger collaborators and spawning two charting versions of “El Marinero” in banda and pop arrangements. The covers collection Retrohits appeared in 2018.