(Elsa Bragato es dueña de la marca Bragato)

Mi hermana, mi nieta, mi padre y yo

THE BRAGATO´S FAMILY IN ARGENTINA

THE BRAGATO´S FAMILY IN ARGENTINA

Enrico Bragato, was born in 1881 and grew up in Udine, province of Venezia Giulia, Italy. He loved carving artistic works and worked as a carpenter. He used play the flute also, in Contarena and the Orchestra of the Army of the First War World. He was a restaurateur of artistic objects of the Udine´s Castle. In 1906, he got married with Erminia María Castronín, who was born in 1885, in Cividale del Friuli. Zio Bruno was born on that year. While the First War World was destroying all Europe, the Bragato family had three children: Bruno, Vera and Dina.

Al finalizar un concierto en su honor

Foto que le tomé a mi padre en 1960

Con el cuarteto Buenos Aires

 During those tragic war episodes, my father Giuseppe Bragato was born in 1915. After that, Enrico Bragato his youngest brother. Also on that year, another Giuseppe Bragato, my father’s uncle, died. He was an erudite and worked in the Udine`s Archive. Moreover, he used to give Udine and Venezia Giulia a lot of books as the First Guida of Udine. Because of him, my father was named Giuseppe. In those years, my grandfather Enrico bought a big house, belonging to the family, in Giovanni d’Udine 10. This happens to be an historic place because of the famous painter of the same name. As a consequence of this decision, the relationship between members of the family broke down.

 At the end, grandfather had to stay alone with his wife and children. After the visit of Mussolini to Udine in 1922, the Fascists wanted to involve all the Bragato family. In 1927, Bruno was enrolled into the Army and my grandfather, very disappointed with the news, decided to escape with him. During the stay in Udine, all the family used to play music as a hobby. Throughout the evenings, all the Bragatos were accustomed to play music: my grandfather Enrico played the flute with Bruno, Giuseppe played the piano, and the youngest Enrico played the violin. When my grandfather and Bruno chose to live in exile, they considered the chance of travelling to Brazil, as well as the other family members, but then, and because of the family situation, they decided to come to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

While they were living alone here, my grandmother Erminia and her four other children, Vera, Dina, Giuseppe and the youngest Enrico were living in Udine. My grandfather made his living by working wood, but then, he began to play the flute as a job. It was hard to survive here. Uncle Bruno was really good with the flute, though, and he performed as a soloist in the Colon theatre of Buenos Aires in 1930. In that year, a big hurricane occurred, the waters of the Rio de la Plata flooded the city, and the Bragato family, who had arrived a few years ago, lost everything: the house and the piano. That was hard and meant a new beginning… from the start.

My father, who arrived in Buenos Aires as well, began to play the cello under the instructions of the Master Ernest Pelts, uncle’s friend, in the Colon Theater’s Orchestra. He gave my father an ancient cello, a Galeano of 1767; a beautiful antique. On the other hand, Uncle Enrico began to play the violin again. Vera and Dina were good as hairdressers. Vera was the girlfriend of a good man hairdresser and Dina became the girlfriend of the first Coiffeur of Buenos Aires, uncle Miguel Scalese, from Sicily. He opened a good business of hairdressers to artists in the downtown of the city. It was a fine place. They were living in Saavedra, a location far away from the downtown. In the meantime, my father was in the Buenos Aires Music Conservatoire, as uncle Enrico.

In the Colon Theatre, Uncle Bruno met Beba, a girl of the Chorus Theatre, from Montevideo, Uruguay. Finally, they got married. After some time, my cousin Luis María Bragato was born. After that, Vera went to Montevideo with her sister in law, Beba. Unfortunately, she was very ill and died. It was the year 1935. She was 25 years old, and she knew she was passing away and gave her brothers a gift… The family Bragato was shocked. They decided to leave the old house of Saavedra, and went to live to an apartment situated in the downtown, 2053 Córdoba Avenue, 3rd floor.

 Dina got married with Miguel, and Vera Scalese was born. Quite by chance, my father (who was named José, the Spanish way of Giuseppe) met my mother Herminia Domínguez in the same building; she was living in the 1st floor.

They got married in 1943 and after that, Adriana and I were born. The first child was Juan José, who was born in 1945 but died just 15 days later. I was the second daughter of José and Herminia, in 1946, and after me, Adriana came to the world in 1948. The last wedding was between Enrico Bragato and Zulema, another violinist of the Colon Theatre. They had only a daughter, Elba Bragato, who died at the age of 46 years because of a virus originated in the south of the country, the Patagonia, where she was living with her second husband. She had two children. In those times, the 30`s and the 40`s, the Bragato brothers were good musicians. My grandfather couldn’t play in the Colon Theatre because of his age. But he was playing in different ensembles of classical music and tango, as the Juan de Dios Orchestra.

My father could go into the theatre Colon in 1946 as soloist and in the Philharmonic in 1948. My uncle Enrico was really good playing the bassoon, which he preferred to the violin. He was a soloist of the Police Station Orchestra, Federal Police Band, which was the best in those times. Furthermore, he became also the soloist of bassoon of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra. During the 40s and 50s, my father José was the first cellist of Buenos Aires and Latin America. He worked on behalf of the music of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. He was also the conductor of several orchestras here. In 1954, he became a composer and arranger of the incredible and well known Astor Piazzolla as well as other musicians all around the world. Bruno and Enrico had other careers, also as soloists.

 The three Bragato Brothers founded the Bragato Style of playing music. Bruno Bragato was the first teacher of flute in our city and Enrico was the best bassoon, but he always refused to teach. José Bragato had few pupils. Moreover, he was working in several orchestras and founded several ensembles of classical and tango music in classical fashion, for instance: The First Quartet of Strings of Tango. My cousin Luis Maria Bragato is a good singer of the Colon Theatre Chorus up to now. He has two sons, Mauro and Bruno Bragato. The girls Vera and Elba are housewives. Adriana, my sister, is teacher of the Buenos Aires University as Master in Education Sciences. I got a degree of Literature, Greek and Latin. As the time went by, I became a journalist and critic of show business. I got married with Carlos Pierre, a good writer of lyrics. He is a great specialist in classical music and has edited five books. He has been a TV producer for the last 46 years. We have a daughter, Laura Pierre, and two grandchildren: Natalia and Leonardo Grandi Pierre. My daughter Laura is Master in Geography of the Buenos Aires University.

**************

 The nonno Enrico died in 1963, about his 82 years old.

My nonna Erminia died in 1972.

My aunt Dina died in 1975. My uncle Bruno died in 1986.

My beloved mother Herminia died in 2001 and my uncle Enrico in 2003.-

Nowadays, my father José is 91 years old and up to date writing music. He gave up playing the cello in 1996, after a heart attack. Fortunately he is fine now.

The Bragato Legacy in Argentina is the Bragato Style Music. People come here from all the world (USA, Europe and Japon) to learn this Bragato Style.

Traducción: Ariel Marini Edited: Mr Leslie Ackerman

Junto a Atilio Stampone y Enrique Mario Francini

Con Astor y un reconocido músico norteamericano, además de G. Gandini

Con Horacio Salgán y Carlos García el dia de la presentación del CD del conjunto de 12 cellos de la Filarmónica de Berlín en Buenos Aires.

Una foto del octeto Buenos Aires