El cuarteador: Stuck in the mud of love

"In the street of desire, the love of a woman sunk my heart in a pothole... Now, not even my dappled mare can pull me out of this deep ditch!" 



"In Argentina, el cuarteador was someone who drove one or a team of horses that towed vehicles in trouble—typically stuck in mud or needing help getting up a hill. The poets and lyricists of tango have made the figure of the Buenos Aires cuarteador a symbol of the city at the beginning of the 20th century. Enrique Cadícamo's tango El cuarteador (1941) is the most well known work that describes and extols the Argentine cuarteador. Another is the milonga El cornetín de cuarteador by Alberto Vacarezza. Borges mentions it in his poem La Chacarita and in his story El muerto. In 1977 an Argentine tele-novela El cuarteador was aired, starring Rodolfo Bebán and Gabriela Gil. It was inspired by the Cadícamo song."—source, Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. Translation, Tango Decoder. 

El cuarteador
(The Tow Man of Barracas)
Tango, 1941
Music & lyrics: Enrique Cadícamo*

On YouTube:
Orquesta típica Aníbal Troilo c. Francisco Fiorentino
Angel D'Agostino y su orquesta típica c. Angel Vargas

Yo soy Prudencio Navarro, el cuarteador de Barracas. Tengo un pingo que en el barro cualquier carro tira y saca. Overo de anca partida,  que en un trabajo de cuarta de la zanja siempre aparta ¡Chiche! La rueda que se ha quedao.  Yo que tanta cuarta di, yo que a todos los prendí a la cincha de mi percherón, hoy, que el carro de mi amor se me encajó, no hay uno que pa' mi tenga un tirón. En la calle del querer el amor de una mujer en un bache hundió mi corazón... ¡Hoy, ni mi overo me saca de este profundo zanjón! Yo soy Prudencio Navarro, el cuarteador de Barracas. Cuando ve mi overo un carro compadreando se le atraca. No hay carga que me lo achique, porque mi chuzo es valiente; yo lo llamo suavemente ¡Chiche! Y el pingo pega el tirón.

I am Prudencio Navarro, the tow man of Barracas.*  I’ve got a fine horse that can pull any wagon and get it out of the mud. Dappled horse with a split rump,* that on every towing job always pulls out of the ditch... Easy now! ...the wheel that's got stuck. I, who did all that towing,  I, who roped everyone to the saddle strap of my Percheron,*  now that the cart of my love is stuck,  there’s no one who can give me a pull. In the street of desire,  the love of a woman  sunk my heart in a pothole... Now, not even my dappled mare  can get me out of this deep ditch! I am Prudencio Navarro, the tow man of Barracas. When my dappled horse sees a wagon, capering, he comes alongside. There’s no load I’ll shrink from, because my whip is unafraid; I who softly call, Easy now! And the horse gives a pull.

* Enrique Cadícamo: Enrique Domingo Cadícamo (June 15, 1900 – December 3, 1999) was a prolific tango poet, lyricist, and novelist. From an initial Symbolist bent, he developed a distinctive, Lunfardo-rich style from an early age, and by 1925 he had his first piece, Pompas de jabón, sung by Carlos Gardel. Other notable compositions include Madame Ivonne, Che, papusa, oí, Anclado en París, Muñeca brava, Pa' que bailen los muchachos and Los mareados ("The tipsy ones"). (Wikipedia)

* Barracas: Barracas is a barrio in the southeast part of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.... The name Barracas comes from the word barraca, which refers to a temporary construction of houses using rudimentary materials.... In the 18th century, "Barracas" began to grow on the banks of the Riachuelo River, becoming a slave quarter, as well as an area for leather tanneries, and abbatoirs.... Throughout most of the 19th century, the neighborhood was home to some of the wealthiest families of the city. Santa Lucía avenue was the principal center of activity and contained many of the city's most famous stores at the time. However, an 1871 yellow fever epidemic that swept through many southern parts of the city forced most wealthy families and the area's middle class to relocate to the north of the city, leaving the neighborhood to become the working-class area that it remains today. (Wikipedia)

* Split rump: anca partida. The term describes a horse with a marked cleft between its haunches.

* Percherón: The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. (Wikipedia)