David Arugete (3 April 1921 – 1 December 1968), commonly known under his stage name Darío Moreno, was a Turkish-Jewish polyglot singer, an accomplished composer, lyricist, and guitarist. He attained fame and made a remarkable career centred in France which also included films, during the 1950s and the 1960s. He became famous with his 1961 song Brigitte Bardot.

Darío Moreno was born to a large Jewish family. He was orphaned in early childhood when his father, who worked in a train station in Aydın, was shot dead under tragic circumstances. He was placed in the Sephardic orphanage of Izmir (Nido De Guerfanos) by his mother and remained there until he was four.

After a primary education in the Jewish educational establishments of Izmir, he had many odd jobs during his early youth. He put great effort into continuing his education while simultaneously working to make a living. He started working as an errand boy in the law firm of the city's prominent lawyers, and he was eventually trained to become a clerk in the office. In the evenings, he would study French in Izmir's Central Library. With a guitar that had fallen into his hands by chance, he also learned to play the guitar, mainly on his own with occasional tutoring from acquaintances.

He started singing at Bar Mitzva celebrations as a second job. In his early twenties, he had already become a well-known singer in Izmir, and particularly among the Jewish community. During his military service in the Turkish Army, he was employed as a singer in officers' quarters in various garrisons and became more focused on music. His first truly professional musical performance started in his hometown right after his discharge, and was arranged through connections established while in the army. When he started making money with his music, he moved to the better-off Jewish quarter of Karataş to a house in a street leading to the historical building of Asansör, one of the city's landmarks (and which literally means the "Elevator", people taking an actual elevator to go to the higher part of the quarter, this part being separated by the coastal strait with a steep slope). Nowadays this street is named Dario Moreno Sokağı (Dario Moreno Street) in his legacy.

A hyperactive personality, Darío Moreno died of a heart attack resulted from a discussion occurred between him and an airport gate staff in the Atatürk Airport. He was slightly late for one of his flights, on his way to Paris for a concert. He was also planning to attend the first "Turkish Night" planned to take place in Paris.The airport gate staff discretionary did not allow him to board the plane and this led to a serious debate which resulted with Moreno's heart attack. He was only 47. According to his will he wanted to be buried in İzmir, Turkey but he was buried in Holon, Israel, by his mother Madam Roza. ...

Source: Article "Darío Moreno" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Dario Moreno, de son vrai nom David Arugete, est un chanteur d'opérette et acteur turc, né le 3 avril 1921 à Aydın, près d'Izmir (Empire ottoman), et mort le 1er décembre 1968 à Istanbul (Turquie).

Sa carrière s'est déroulée simultanément en Turquie et en France. Polyglotte, il a connu un grand succès dans les pays francophones, du début des années 1950 à la fin des années 1960, en interprétant des rôles d’opérette et de nombreuses chansons latino-américaines.

Sa maison à İzmir est dans une rue qui porte aujourd'hui son nom, au pied du célèbre asansör (ascenseur) public.

Turc par son père, mexicain par sa mère, tous deux de confession juive séfarade, et de langue maternelle espagnole, Dario Moreno a commencé très jeune sa carrière de chanteur, chantant dans les bar mitzvah et à la synagogue d'Izmir. Il rencontre le succès grâce à sa voix de ténor. Engagé pour une tournée mondiale dans l'orchestre de l'Américain Mac Allen, il découvre Paris en 1948 et y enregistre, chez Odéon, son premier 78 tours, un boléro. Chanteur d'opérette au côté d'André Dassary, de Luis Mariano ou encore de Georges Guétary, il rejoint la société Polydor et chante les compositions des jeunes Charles Aznavour et Gilbert Bécaud. Il donne son premier concert en 1954, connaît le succès avec des chansons comme Quand elle danse (hymne des nuits parisiennes), Por favor (repris par la jeune Dalida), Si tu vas à Rio en 1958 ou Brigitte Bardot en 1961. Il tourne également de nombreux films, dans lesquels il joue toujours des personnages «exotiques». Toute sa vie, Dario Moreno a gardé la Turquie au cœur; il a enregistré plusieurs disques en turc.

En octobre 1968, il est le partenaire de Jacques Brel dans le spectacle musical L'Homme de la Mancha, créé à Bruxelles. Le spectacle devait être repris à Paris en décembre, mais le 1er décembre 1968, Dario Moreno meurt à 47 ans d'une hémorragie cérébrale à l'aéroport d'Istanbul, avant le décollage de son avion (ou, selon d'autres sources, d'un infarctus du myocarde, dans un taxi en route pour l'aéroport).

Il est enterré à Holon en Israël.

Il est cité dans le 228e des 480 souvenirs cités par Georges Perec dans Je me souviens.

Source: Article "Dario Moreno" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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