He began his career singing música criolla, a Latino folk genre of music that exists in many countries throughout Latin America.

His father, Col. Reinaldo Parravicini,[1] was the director of the penitentiary and his grandfather had been an Italian marquis who owned a large landed estate.

At the age of 20, he inherited a fortune from his parents and squandered it in Paris on parties and in casinos,[2] He worked in various trades, including as a tour guide, as a comic in a coffee house[1] and in venues singing música criolla.

[2] He helped many actresses get their start in the business including Amelia Bence,[5] Olinda Bozán,[4] Mecha Ortiz,[6] Paulina Singerman[7] and others.

[1] He opted to try his hand at politics and ran in the 1926 municipal elections on the ticket of the "Partido Gente de Teatro" (Party of Theater People) and actually won a seat.

In 1931, when he tried to perform a serious role at the Broadway Theater, the minute he appeared on stage, the audience began laughing in anticipation of his double entendres.