listening to his recordings she learned to sing and love Tango so passionately . While working on Radio Belgrano she met Homero Manzi , with whom she had a long and prohibited romance . Manzi was married . From then on , she was Malena . Nelly denied her relationship with Homero Manzi . “ It was something of his , not mine . I liked him , he was a talented man you could have interesting chats with . But I wasn ’ t in love with him , but he did love me , he was madly in love with me . He chased me for years . He used to send me presents , once he showed up with a suitcase full of gold , jewelry , precious stones . I got so angry , I told him : ‘ you think you can buy me with that ? Go give them to your wife , let her enjoy and leave me alone ’.” During the couple ’ s comings and goings , Homero Manzi never left his wife , although he stayed with Nelly Omar until he died .
There are a lot of theories going on around Malena ’ s real identity . The most feasible one , is that the poet , being in Brazil , had listened a singer called Malena de Toledo , that reminded him of Nelly Omar . “ throughout our years together , because of our type of relationship , we had many breakups , I won ’ t deny that , and every time we were apart he wrote tangos as a means of communication , to let me know he missed me . Malena , Sur , Ninguna , Fuimos , Solamente ella , Después ,
Torrente , all those were for me . All of his friends knew that his verses were dedicated to me . And we always got back together ...” Much has been speculated around Malena , but Nelly Omar always said : “ I am Malena ”.
Tiempos Viejos , from Canaro and Manuel Romero : La Rubia Mireya .
Was this poem inspired by a real woman , or was it a brilliant product of the poet Manuel Romero ’ s romantic invention ? Did this woman who inspired the tango that immortalized her as the “ Rubia Mireya ”, the one who had a tragic and unfortunate destiny , actually exist ?... She was such a beauty that “ they made circles to see her dance ” and as years went by , she became “ a poor beggar dressed in tatters ”.
It is likely that this Rubia Mireya did exist , and it was a bit of the poet ’ s ideal woman . Many claim she was Margarita Verdier , alias “ la Oriental ”, alias “ la rubia del firulete ” because of her dancing style , alias “ La Rubia Mireya ”. A woman keen on nightclubbing , born in Uruguay , but from a French family that established in San Telmo . To Julio Cortázar , the inspiration was Mireille , a character of a poem by Frédric Mistral ; a French prostitute , that Toulouse Lautrec painted , and had been around Buenos Aires . Another path in the research
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