Life and work

Larrea was born in Bragado

Bragado

Bragado is a city in the center-northwest province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the head town of Bragado Partido. The city is 210 km west-southwest from Buenos Aires City, not far from the Salado River.-Etymology and Legend:...

, Buenos Aires Province

Buenos Aires Province

The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

, in 1938. He lost his father at age nine, and found comfort with his mother in radio broadcasting

Radio in Argentina

Radio in Argentina is an important facet of the nation's media and culture. Radio, which was first broadcast in Argentina in 1920, has been widely enjoyed in Argentina since the 1930s. Radio broadcast stations totaled around 150 active AM stations, 1,150 FM stations, and 6 registered shortwave...

, particularly Tango shows. He participated in high school plays, and following graduation, attended the Institute of Higher Radio Broadcasting Studies (ISER) in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

. He met his first wife, Leonor Ferrara, at ISER, and earned a degree in broadcasting in 1962. He debuted on the radio at LOR Radio Argentina

LOR Radio Argentina

Created by Enrique Telémaco Susini, LOR Radio Argentina was the first national broadcast radio station in Argentina. It operated continuously from 1920 to 1997.- First Broadcast :...

, and shortly afterward on television as co-host with Nelly Raymond of La campana de cristal, a talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

.

Larrea later worked the presenter on El show de Sandro (a musical program hosted by popular crooner Sandro de América

Sandro de América

Roberto Julio Sánchez , better known by his artist names Sandro/Sandro de América , Gitano , and the Argentine Elvis, was an Argentine singer and actor.-Biography:...

), as well as for numerous Tango orchestras. He inaugurated what would become his signature radio program, Rapidísimo, in 1967. Larrea designed the format for the show, which in English would translate as "Promptly," to air a variety of music in its 30 minute morning rush hour slot. He became known to listeners for his hurried, yet precise, speech, and the show was among the first in Argentina to include on-air caller requests and participation. Rapidísimo won the host numerous Martín Fierro Awards, making him among the broadcasters most so honored.

He remained active in television, and hosted the comedy sketch show, Humor redondo, in 1968, the children's show, El mundo de Calculín (based on Manuel García Ferré

Manuel García Ferré

Manuel García Ferré is a Spanish Argentine animation director and cartoonist.-Biography :García Ferré was born in Almería, Spain, in 1929. He arrived in Argentina in 1947, and worked for advertising agencies while studying Architecture. In 1952 his character Pi Pío was accepted and published by...

's cartoon

Cartoon

A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

 characters) in 1976, and the sitcom, Totalmente, in 1999, among other programs. Larrea, who lost his second wife to breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

, underwent a number of surgeries to remove polyps in 2000 and 2001, and to repair a broken meniscus

Meniscus

The meniscus is the curve in the upper surface of a liquid close to the surface of the container or another object, caused by surface tension. It can be either convex or concave. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules have a stronger attraction to each other than to the material of the...

 suffered in a fall in 2004. He recovered, and hosted the Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 premiere of Juan de Dios Filiberto

Juan de Dios Filiberto

Juan de Dios Filiberto was an Argentine violinist, conductor, poet and composer who became prominent in the Argentine tango genre.-Life and work:...

's Quejas de Bandoneón

Bandoneón

The bandoneón is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the orquesta típica, the tango orchestra...

. Disputes with the new management at Radio Rivadavia forced Larrea to cancel the long-running Rapidísimo in 2004, however, though he continued as host of Una vuelta Nacional, which he launched at the public LRA Radio Nacional

LRA Radio Nacional

LRA Radio Nacional, also known as Radio Nacional Argentina, is the Argentine national radio, and part of the national public media system. It started transmitting in 1937 as LRA Radio del Estado changing its name to the current one in 1957...

in 2003.