José Gobello
José Gobello was an Argentine writer, poet, and essayist, especially known for his work on lunfardo. He was the founder, member, and president of the Academia Porteña del Lunfardo.
Life
Born into a poor family of Italian immigrants, he completed his secondary education as an adult. He supported Peronism and was elected national deputy in 1951, representing the labor branch.
When the 1955 military coup that overthrew the government of Juan Domingo Perón took place, he was imprisoned and held for two years. While in prison, he wrote his second book, Historias con ladrones, and the poem “El presidente duerme.”
From then on, he dedicated himself to journalism and to the study of tango and lunfardo, promoting and successfully founding the Academia Porteña del Lunfardo together with León Benarós and Luis Soler Cañas in 1962.
Works
Lunfardía, 1953Historias con ladrones, 1956Breve diccionario lunfardo, 1960, in collaboration with Luciano PayetPrimera antología lunfarda, 1961, in collaboration with Luis Soler CañasLas letras del tango, de Villoldo a Borges, 1966, in collaboration with Eduardo StilmanNueva antología lunfarda, 1972Palabras perdidas, 1973El lenguaje de mi pueblo, 1974Diccionario lunfardo, 1975Conversando tangos, 1976Etimologías, 1978Tangos, letras y letristas, 1979, in collaboration with Jorge BossioNuevo diccionario lunfardo, 1990Tangos, letras y letristas, II, 1992Tangos, letras y letristas, III, 1993Tangos, letras y letristas, IV, 1994Tangos, letras y letristas, V, 1995Tangos, letras y letristas, VI , 1996Aproximación al lunfardo, 1996Vocabulario ideológico del lunfardo, 1998, in collaboration with Irene AmuchásteguiBreve historia crítica del tango, 1999Tangueces y Lunfardismos del rock argentino, 2001, in collaboration with Marcelo OliveriMujeres y hombres que hicieron el tango, 2002Los ángeles afeitados y otros poemas, 2002Ascasubi lexicógrafo, 2003Diccionario gauchesco, 2003Paratangos, 2004Novísimo diccionario lunfardo, 2004, in collaboration with Marcelo OliveriCurso básico de lunfardo, 2004, in collaboration with Marcelo Héctor OliveriCostumbrismo lunfardo, 2004Blanqueo etimológico del lunfardo, 2005Letras de tango. Selección , 2007Diccionario del habla de Buenos Aires, 2006, in collaboration with Marcelo Héctor Oliveri¿Cómo era Gardel?, 2009, in collaboration with Marcelo Héctor OliveriPoesía lunfarda, del burdel al Parnaso. Antología, 2010Historia de la Academia Porteña del Lunfardo, 2011, in collaboration with Otilia Da Veiga