The large dressing room of the Politeama theater is the ideal space for meeting the actor and comedian Ariel Tarico. In that relaxed and sacred atmosphere, which only artists have access to, this “man of a thousand voices” prepares for a new performance. “Sean De Termos and Mabeles”the show where they, together with David Rotemberg, travel through 40 years of democracy, through the voices and events that marked an era.
He started very young, in his native Santa Fe, in journalistic programs, where he dedicated himself to trying to relax reality and the news a little with humor. At the same time he made the big leap, moved to Buenos Aires and developed a dizzying career, not without ups and downs. It was difficult for him to find his place in the media, but he won the battle with his own merit. He worked with Argentine radio figures such as Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú, Néstor Ibarra, Lalo Mir, Santo Biasatti, and Juan Carlos Mesa. On television he was alongside Germán Paoloski, Dominique Metzger and Diego Sehinkman. For his work, among other awards, he won 4 Martín Fierro.
In person, he contrasts with the display that we usually see and hear on a daily basis, when he is responsible for surprising us with the characters he imitates. He is very cordial, although somewhat shy and serious. He is married to Ana, with whom he had two children, Camila and Lisandro.
News: What was your childhood like?
Ariel Tarico: With much happiness. My mom and dad had met while working in a shoe store downtown and always going there was like a party. Walking along the pedestrian San Martín and buying sugar cane, are those simple things that I have engraved. Every time I go I relive them and it’s a little like being with my old man again in that childhood of many uncles, grandparents and friends.
News: Did your dad also do imitations?
Tarico: Yes, he was an amateur, he really liked voiceover and he hosted a couple of beer festivals in Santa Fe. He also liked drawing, but he never pursued it professionally. With him we watched the newspaper El littoral and he showed me the illustrations. That’s how I met Dobal, Lino Palacio and local artists like Sergio Fazola, one of the creators of Canal K on TV. Those people nourished me. My old man had them as a client or he had an acquaintance who knew them, so he would ask them for a drawing dedicated to me. That world of art was always present. He died in 90, at the age of 39, from a brain aneurysm and we were left alone with my mother because I was the only child. Well, that was like another story, I was 6 years old.
News: Was humor always present?
Tarico: Yes. Also, on TV I liked to watch Carlitos Balá and it was only when I grew up that I was able to discover Alberto Olmedo because my mother said he was very degenerate. He never liked those types of programs and they banned me from watching them. Television was a family ceremony. Today everything has changed and my children, for example, do not watch TV, but they are aware of the networks and Tik Tok.
News: Was there anyone histrionic in the family?
Tarico: Aunt Lala, my grandmother’s stepsister and the one who always dressed up for birthdays and events and liked to invent characters, things, crazy things. Many years later, her sister was the one who welcomed me with great affection here in Buenos Aires when I started testing at radio Rivadavia. She lived in Floresta, in front of the Gran Rivadavia cinema theater. To think that eventually I got to perform there!
News: How was the impact of the big city?
Tarico: Very strong. The first time I came was with high school and I was fascinated to see the Colón Theater, the Stock Exchange and different companies where they took us. From then on I always had it in mind to settle here. It was the place where I wanted to live.
News: Did Chiche Gelblung have anything to do with the decision?
Tarico: He interviewed me for the radio because at that time there was a controversy about the possibility of returning to military service so that some young people could carry out community tasks. It was a topic of debate and people from all over the country were called by phone. Chiche asked me what he did, I told him that he was an imitator, he asked me to do a couple on the air, he congratulated me and that was where the communication ended. After a while, José Luis Pagano, director of Radio 10, called me and told me that he had heard me and that he asked me to send him a demo. I did, but there was no response.
News: And Hector Larrea?
Tarico: I was lucky enough to have a first experience in Santa Fe, on LT 10 where journalist Jorge Vaccaro who was commenting on shows on Larrea’s program heard me. They made me an appearance on the air in which we interacted in a brief chat, Héctor liked it and told me that we would continue in contact. Jorge Marchetti, its historical scriptwriter and producer, contacted me, asked me for a demo and invited me to a radio audition. I came from a calm rhythm, although previous experience helped me in some way to adapt to a world of adults. Here it was total vertigo, everything had to be short and with a punchline. Larrea was the one who told me: “think that your future is here and that you are going to have to come and settle.” I also did a test with Rony Vargas for Cadena 3. The issue was that I was 18 years old and maybe that made them a little afraid to achieve something stable. So every now and then they would call me and I would go out on the phone.
News: How did the big opportunity come about?
Tarico: I read an advertisement in Clarín that cited comedians for “important media,” thus enigmatic. I put together another demo with Martín Rueda, LT10 operator, and I thought it was like throwing a bottle into the sea because a lot of people were going to send something like that. For me it was an unattainable radio because they had another style, a little more structured with Pedro Saborido and Omar Quiroga. Time passes and Alejandra Medina, production manager at Miter, writes to me and tells me that they were looking for me. Imagine, I didn’t have a cell phone. I went to a very cold interview and I thought I didn’t fit. I waited a couple of months until they called me again and it was to tell me that he had been chosen as the new comedian for the Magdalena (Ruiz Guiñazú) and Néstor Ibarra programs. They made it clear to me that it was a three-month trial.
News: Did your legs shake?
Tarico: Of course, they were two thick people and in the studio they explained to me that they were not bitter but that it had taken them a long time to arrive and when someone new appeared they could feel a little uncomfortable at first. In a hallway we ran into Ibarra who was very serious and he asked me to play some characters for him, he listened to me and told me: “Well, we’ll see you on the air.” David Rotemberg, with whom we now share the show, worked with them and asked me to record the imitation of Néstor Kirchner for the program screening. Everything that came later exploded there. Afterwards with David, we did the two Fernández (Aníbal and Alberto) who were the two officials and we were the cover of Clarín. That was the hinge that helped me become better known.
News: What is humor for you?
Tarico: From my personal story, it is what gives meaning to life. Without humor we would not be able to process everything that happens to us. For me, humor was always the filter through which I passed all the negative things I experienced.. With the death of my old man we experienced many economic limitations and since I was somewhat shy I was bullied. Deep down, comedians are like healing doctors. It is something that accompanies me and it is what comes out of me in the face of a horrible situation or tragedy. Always the joke as a kind of catharsis.
News: Are there risks in satirizing politicians?
Tarico: The risk today is those who harass you on the networks. In other times they could censor you or threaten you in the theater. Opinion, which was previously limited to the home or a small circle, is today expressed on the networks and is strengthened. At first I was hooked and responded, but then I accepted it because they are part of this 21st century and we have to adapt to that. Curious things also arise because I met many of my last friends through Twitter (X).
News: Could it be that the comedian becomes a kind of sniper…
Tarico: As is. The solemn always lowers its pants and sometimes, for the fan of something, that is not good.
News: With which imitations do you feel like a fish in water?
Tarico: I really enjoy when I play Carlos Pagni, Nelson Castro, Luis Ventura or Moyano. Carlos told me that on the street they tell him: “tell the jokes on the radio.” For the audience, Pagni is that other guy who makes jokes and adopted him.
News: Is it imitated from the vocal cords, the brain or the heart?
Tarico: Very good question. (Think) I think all of that influences because it’s like getting into someone else’s skin to play and take them to another level as if they were a plasticine doll. But I don’t have a specific method nor can I explain exactly how I get it. I know that first I have to get my voice out and then I incorporate the gestures, but it is something that takes months to emerge.. Sometimes I throw a draft in the air to see how my teammates react.
News: Did you have a conflict with anyone you have caricatured?
Tarico: No, in general they congratulate me and say they have fun. Some more than others. For example, Luis Juez liked to engage in a dialogue. Others, like Facundo Manes, confess that it is difficult for them to see each other because it seems strange to hear each other.
News: Did someone ask you to be imitated?
Tarico: (Smiles) They send you an invitation or a message through someone else to have a coffee, but I don’t usually accept. I can’t plan a character, each imitation is born from listening and observation.
