Oscar Marcelo Alemán (20 February 1909 – 14 October 1980)[1] was an Argentine jazz multi instrumentalist, guitarist, singer, and dancer.

He was the fourth child of seven born to pianist Marcela Pereira, a native Argentine, and Jorge Alemán Morales, of Uruguayan descent, who played guitar in a folk quartet with his children Carlos, Juan, and Jorgelina.

[2] At the age of six, Alemán joined the family ensemble, the Moreira Sextet, and played the cavaquinho, a chordophone related to the ukulele, before taking up the guitar.

[3] The group travelled to Buenos Aires to perform at the Parque Japonés, Nuevo Theater, and at the Luna Park.

When he saved enough money, he bought a guitar and started to play professionally at party venues in a duo called Los Lobos (Les Loups) with his friend, Brazilian guitarist Gastón Bueno Lobo.

The duo moved to Buenos Aires in 1925 to work under contract for the comedian Pablo Palitos.

"[4] Throughout the 1930s Alemán toured Europe, both as a member of Josephine Bakers' band and independently, playing with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington before forming a nine-piece band which would performed nightly at the Le Chantilly in Paris.

[2] He established a residency at the Alvear Palace Hotel, and had a hit with "Rosa Madreselva" ("Honeysuckle Rose").

[citation needed] Alemán's life is depicted in the documentary Oscar Aleman: Vida Con Swing, directed by Hernan Gaffet[6] and in the graphic novel (in French) Le Roi Invisible by Gani Jakupi.