Hector Valera (real name Salustiano Paco Varela) was born on January 29, 1914 – died  January 30, 1987) was an Argentine tango bandleader and composer. He was born and raised in Avellaneda in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, where he trained as an accountant. He played in several bands and from the age of 16, including those of Alberto Gambino and Juan d'Arienzo. In 1929 he was a member  In 1929 he joined Salvador Grupillo and then progressively moved on to other top line bands.

 He went on to form his own tango orchestra in 1939, but never recorded but it did perform on Argentine radio and television in the 1950s and 1960s. He worked with several singers, including Rodolfo Lesica, whom he met in a taxi, and Argentino Ledesma. His orchestra was hired to perform in Rio de Janeiro and other cities in Brazil. From there he brought some compositions that he put into tango rhythm

The decline of tango in the 1960s found him performing on television programmes. It has been written that he was  was a musician who was discussed by the avant-garde but loved by lovers of dance and popular tango. His best artistic period was in the early 1950s,

On this week’s show we are featuring one of his tango compositions which is titled Champagne Tango and was first performed in September 1952. This brass band arrangement is by Svein Henrik Giske and played by the Eikanger Bjorsvik Band conducted by Reid Gilje in 2007.