Leonardo Favio, Argentine Film Director, Dies at 74

One of Argentina's best known film directors, Leonardo Favio, has died in Buenos Aires. He was 74 and had been in poor health for years, according to the BBC.

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Favio also was a much-loved singer-songwriter who had a number of hits in Latin America in the '60s and '70s.

He rose to fame with such ballads as “She Already Forgot Me” (Ella ya me olvido), “You Were Mine One Summer’ (Fuiste mia un verano) and "Or Perhaps I'll Just Give Her a Rose” (O quizas simplemente le regale una rosa).

"Music allowed me to live with dignity," he once told an interviewer.

But Argentine critics consider him first and foremost a film director.

With more than 10 films to his name, he quickly stood out as a quality filmmaker who enjoyed great popularity, said the BBC.

His most successful movie, Nazarene Cross and the Wolf (Nazareno Cruz y el lobo), was released in 1975.

More than 3 1/2 million people watched the film in Argentina, a record for a local movie.

His final film, Aniceto, was released in 2008. It was a remake of his 1966 release The Romance of Aniceto and Francisca. It won nine awards from the Argentine Film Critics Association, the Silver Condors, including best film and best director.

Two years ago, Favio was appointed Argentina's ambassador of culture by the president.