Tango Time Machine — Tango Decoder

Subtitled Tango #48: VENTARRÓN ("Strong Wind") Ada Falcon, 1933

We've all danced to this bouncy, arrastre-drenched number as recorded by the Orquesta Típica Victor. It's pure tango joy! But what do the words say? Ventarrón is easy to decode, a "Strong Wind" (as illustrated by the cover of the sheet music, right). But who is this Strong Wind? And what are they saying about him? Turns out, he's a well known barrio character; his tough-guy exploits have been on everyone's lips for years. But maybe he's not such a tough guy after all....

Our original English-language version of VENTARRÓN was published three years ago. This updated version was created with the indispensable advice and insight of María Rosa Braile. Our subtitled video of the song with lyrics in Spanish and English is below, followed by face-to-face text and explanatory notes.

We chose the Ada Falcón/Francisco Canaro performance of VENTARRÓN for our subtitled video because it is delightful, and because it contains the full lyrics, unlike the more familiar danceable version from the Orquesta Típica Victor. We hope it will enhance your enjoyment of the song as you listen and as you dance!

Ventarrón (1933) 
Music: Pedro Maffia*
Lyric: José Horacio Staffolani
Tango Decoder version: Michael Krugman

Por tu fama, por tu estampa, sos el malevo mentado del hampa; sos el más taura entre todos los tauras, sos el mismo Ventarrón. ¿Quién te iguala por tu rango en las canyengues quebradas del tango, en la conquista de los corazones, si se da la ocasión?   Entre el malevaje, Ventarrón a vos te llaman... Ventarrón, por tu coraje, por tus hazañas todos te aclaman... A pesar de todo, Ventarrón dejó Pompeya y se fue tras de la estrella que su destino le señaló.      Muchos años han pasado y sus guapezas y sus berretines los fue dejando por los cafetines como un castigo de Dios. Solo y triste, casi enfermo, con sus derrotas mordiéndole el alma, volvió el malevo buscando su fama que otro ya conquistó.      Ya no sos el mismo, Ventarrón, de aquellos tiempos. Sos cartón para el amigo y para el maula un pobre cristo. Y al sentir un tango compadrón y retobado, recordás aquel pasado, las glorias guapas de Ventarrón.

By your looks, by your reputation, You’re a gangster, a made man.* You’re the toughest of the tough guys, You’re the same Ventarrón! Who can equal your distinction in dancing bawdy, brazen tangos,* in the conquest of hearts, if you get the chance? Among the thugs and thieves, Ventarrón, they call you.... "Strong Wind," for your courage, for your exploits, everyone applauds you... Despite all that, Ventarrón left Pompeya* and went behind a star that his destiny led him to. Many years have passed, and his flashy suits and his wild delusions  he has left behind in the gin-mills* like a scourge of God. Now, sad and alone, past his prime, with his defeats eating at his soul, the tough guy has returned, looking for his reputation that's already taken by someone else. Now you’re not the same Ventarrón of those times. You’re an empty suit to a friend,*  And a nobody to a good-for-nothing.* And when you hear an edgy, swaggering tango you recall that past, the glamorous glories of Ventarrón.

Notes:

* Pedro Maffia: Check out Julio Nudler's bio of Maffia at TodoTango.com.

* gangster, made man: El malevo mentado del hampa. (Lunfardo) A malevo is a criminal or malefactor; mentado means noted, accepted, recognized; hampa denotes the criminal underworld. Hence, a man accepted and recognized among the criminal underworld.

* bawdy, brazen tangos: Canyengues quebradas del tango. Canyengue is an early, erotically-charged style of tango music and dance closely associated with the arrabal. A quebrada is a canyengue-inspired figure in which the woman bends backward at the waist, tosses her head back, and inclines toward a horizontal position. This was considered lewd or suggestive. Rarely practiced in social dancing today, the quebrada is sometimes seen in tango shows.

* Pompeya: A poor barrio to the south of Buenos Aires, often called the birthplace of tango. Memorialized in Homero Manzi’s lyrics for Barrio de tango (1943) and Sur (1949).

* gin-mills: Cafetines, lower class bars.

* flashy suits and wild delusions: Guapezas y berretines (Lunf.)

* empty suit: cartón. María Rosa Braile points out that cartón is a shorthand way of saying cartón pintado ("painted cardboard") or ser pintado ("to be painted"), expressions that denote a person who isn't authentic, someone whose exterior appearance conceals a lack of inner substance. Hence, an "empty suit." The architect Horacio Chiesa tells me that the expression cartón pintado is often used in the profession to describe substandard housing: "painted cardboard."

* a nobody to a good-for-nothing. A pobre cristo ("poor Christ") is a nobody, someone who has been betrayed and condemned, someone everybody makes fun of. A maula is a useless person, a good-for-nothing, a coward or a traitor.

Subtitled Video #47a: VEINTICUATRO DE AGOSTO ("The 24th of August") Laurenz/Podesta, 1943

A couple years back we pondered The Mystery of "August 24th." The mystery is this: bandleader and composer Pedro Laurenz and poet/lyricist Homero Manzi wrote a song called "The 24th of August." No mystery there. Laurenz recorded the song with his band. No mystery there, either. Bandleader Ricardo Malerba recorded the song, too. Sure, why not? And the date of the song's title, August 24th, is Ricardo Malerba's birthday. There's your mystery. Was the song written for/about him? Does it reference something that happened in his life? No one seems to know....

At the time I documented that puzzle, I didn't publish my English-language version of the song. Why? Simply an oversight, I suppose. I happened upon the text today, and of course, I just had to make a subtitled video, too! As usual, it is our hope that the video and our English-language text version will enhance your enjoyment of the song as you listen and as you dance!

Speaking of mysteries, both recorded versions of the song (Laurenz/Podestá and Malerba/Medina) omit Manzi's third verse, leaving the listener in the dark as to why the song's protagonist has been left loveless. That mystery is solved in the unsung third verse, offered below the video, in our face-to-face text version, for those who want to know.... Note that the bandoneón variation wasn't long enough to allow us to insert the unsung verses as subtitles, as is our custom.

The cover of "Radiolandia" (right) is from 1937, several years before the recording featured here. I apologize for the anachronism, but gosh, he was guapo, wasn't he? I just couldn't resist. Laurenz and Tyrone Power, separated at birth?

VEINTICUATRO DE AGOSTO ("August 24th") was one of the first two songs that Alberto Podestá recorded with Laurenz, on 16 April 1943. The other was NUNCA TUVO NOVIA. The ad shown in the video is more or less contemporaneous, as indicated by the presence of singer Alberto Podestá. He joined the Laurenz orchestra in March 1943 after stints with Di Sarli and Caló, and he stuck around until April 1944, when he rejoined Di Sarli's outfit. In May, he was still singing a few gigs with Laurenz under the assumed name "Alberto Ravera," probably with the intention of helping his former boss promote the last recording they made together, the aptly named MUCHACHOS... MI ÚLTIMO TANGO ("Boys... My Last Tango").

PS: Subtitled video #47b will be, you guessed it: Ricardo Malberba's recording of VEINTICUATRO DE AGOSTO.

VEINTICUATRO DE AGOSTO
("The 24th of August")Tango, 1943
Words: Homero Manzi
Music: Pedro Laurenz

The twenty-fourth of August ... it's been a year now, that I don’t miss a single night at the café, and afterwards I go out with the guys, to dance, to drink, and I don’t know what... A year that I haven’t touched a tool, that I talk to my mother every month, that I wake up during the siesta hours, and go to bed with the factory whistle at 6 a.m.* With her love it was another life, Another life, more full of hope, Enjoying my work and being off The café, the corner, and the dance hall. With her love it was sweeter, The shirt ironed and starched, The jacket brushed on Sundays And a rose covering my heart. Twenty-fourth of August, and in one year How ones existence changes without love! Without any reason I raised my hand And later, I guiltily wept for her sake. My life isn’t the same. Everything’s sad. It’s so sad that I don’t even want to think about it, It’s been a year, a year since you left, But it’s no use, I think of you more than ever.

Veinticuatro de agosto... Ya hace un año Que no falto ni una noche del café, Y que salgo después con los muchachos A bailar, a tomar y a no sé qué... Un año que no toco una herramienta Y que hablo con la vieja cada mes, Que despierto en las horas de la siesta Y me acuesto con el pito de las seis. Al lado de su amor era otra vida, Otra vida, más llena de ilusión, Placer de trabajar y estar cortado Del café, de la esquina, del salón. Al lado de su amor era más lindo La camisa planchada al almidón, El saco cepillado en los domingos Y una rosa tapando el corazón. Veinticuatro de agosto, y en un año ¡Cómo cambia la existencia sin querer! Sin ninguna razón alcé la mano Y después, por culpable la lloré. Mi vida no es la misma. Todo es triste Es tan triste que no quiero ni pensar, Hace un año, hace un año que te fuiste Pero inútil, te recuerdo mucho más.

* factory whistle: pito. Many factories in Buenos Aires and other cities had steam whistles that sounded when production began, usually at 6 a.m., and at noon to announce the lunch hour. The song's protagonist "hasn't touched a tool" for the year since his woman left him, suggesting that he himself may have been a factory worker, an interesting detail that suggests a class context for the lyric. How he supports himself during this year of nostalgic lethargy is another question. Maybe that's the "I don't know what" that's named as one of his late-night activities? Let the reader decide.

Subtitled Tango #43: CASCABELITO (Pugliese/Maciel, 1955)

Cascabelito ("Little Jingle Bell")
Tango, 1924
Music: Jose Bohr
Lyrics: Juan Andrés Caruso

Our subtitled video of CASCABELITO ("Little Jingle Bell") as recorded by Orquesta Típica Osvaldo Pugliese with vocal by Jorge Maciel, 1955. Spanish lyrics plus our English-language version and explanatory notes follow the video. We hope our video and text versions will enhance your enjoyment of the song as you listen and as you dance!

Entre la loca alegría volvamos a darnos cita misteriosa mascarita de aquel loco Carnaval. Donde estás Cascabelito, mascarita pizpireta, tan bonita y tan coqueta con tu risa de cristal. Cascabel, Cascabelito; ríe, ríe y no llores que tu risa juvenil tenga perfumes de tus amores. Cascabel, Cascabelito; ríe, no tengas cuidado que aunque no estoy a tu lado te llevo en mi corazón. Mascarita misteriosa, por tener mi alma suspensa me ofreciste en recompensa tu boca como un clavel. Y cuando nos despedimos llenos de dulce embeleso, el ruido de nuestro beso lo apagó tu cascabel.

Amidst the wild celebration, let's meet again mysterious little masquerader of that crazy Carnaval! Where are you, Little Jingle Bell,* flighty* little masquerader, so pretty, so flirtatious, with your crystal laugh? Bell, Little Jingle Bell; Laugh, laugh, don’t cry, may your childish laughter hold the perfume of your romances. Bell, Little Jingle Bell; laugh, don’t have a care, Though I’m not beside you, You’re always in my heart. Mysterious little masquerader, for holding my soul in suspense, you rewarded me with the carnation of your lips. And as we parted, full of sweet delight, the sound of our kiss drowned out your jingling bell.

NOTES

* Cascabel, cascabelito: A cascabel is a bell, a sleigh bell, or more particularly a jingle-bell. (Note the sheet music, with the lovers’ kiss reflected on the surface of a jingle-bell.) Girls sometimes sewed one or more jingle-bells into the hem of their skirts to make a flirty jingling sound when they moved—that fact is not directly referenced in the lyric, but it is suggested. However, cascabel also has a negative connotation as in ser un cascabel, to be scatter-brained, flaky, or flighty, which the girl in the song does seem to be. Finally, a cascabel is a rattlesnake, although that doesn’t seem to be at issue here. The girl in the song isn’t venomous; she’s just young, flirtatious, and possibly a bit of a tease. "Cascabelito," then, has a double meaning. It is a term of endearment, but it's also a veiled comment on the girl's character, depending on how it's taken.
    In our English-language subtitles, Cascabel and Cascabelito are translated more or less literally. We leave it to the reader to ponder exactly how the terms ought to be interpreted in context.

*flighty: pizpireta, meaning high-spirited, also fickle or provocative. I used flighty, which to my mind says all of that in a word.

Our tango lyrics in Spanish and English, indexed by title

For your convenient reference, we've added a new index of our English-language versions of tango, vals, and milonga lyrics. To access it from any page on this blog, please use the link in the navigation bar above:

"Songs indexed by title"

Feel free to browse! We hope it will be helpful to you. Let us know if we can improve it in any way.

Subtitled Tango #46b: CANTA, PAJARITO ("Sing, little bird") Di Sarli/Rufino, 1943

Here's our subtitled video of CANTA, PAJARITO ("Sing, little bird") as recorded by Carlos Di Sarli on 10 March 1943. We hope it will enhance your enjoyment of the song as you listen and as you dance.

For complete lyrics in Spanish and English, including the unsung third verse, please see our previous post.

To view our subtitled video of CANTA, PAJARITO as recorded by Orquesta Típica Lucio Demare with vocal by Raúl Berón, click here.

NOTE: Be sure to enable "CC" (closed captions) when viewing the video. You should see introductory subtitles at the beginning of the video.

Subtitled Tango #46a: CANTA, PAJARITO ("Sing, little bird") Demare/Berón, 1943

As promised, here's our subtitled video of CANTA, PAJARITO ("Sing, little bird") as recorded by Lucio Demare with vocal by Raúl Berón on 10 June 1943. We hope it will enhance your enjoyment of the song as you listen and as you dance.

For complete lyrics in Spanish and English, including the unsung third verse, please see our previous post.

For our subtitled video of CANTA, PAJARITO as performed by Carlos Di Sarli with Roberto Rufino, click here.

Be sure to enable "CC" (closed captions) when viewing the video. That way, you should see introductory subtitles from the moment the video begins.

Sing little bird! Help me soothe my anguish!

CANTA, PAJARITO
("Sing, little bird")
Music: Oscar Rubens
Lyrics: Juan José Guichandut

Tango Decoder's English-language version is dedicated to Lauranne Thompson.

Some months ago I was dancing at one of Juancito Lencina and Daniel Rezk's milongas at Club Gricel, and during their charmingly kooky intervalo act they announced that the next tanda would be made up entirely of songs with music or lyrics by Juan José Guichandut (1909-1979). I thought that would be pretty cool, since Guichandut's LLUEVE OTRA VEZ ("It's Raining Again") is one of my favorite tangos and since he also co-wrote (with Oscar Rubens) the words and music to TARAREANDO ("Humming"). Both songs had the great distinction of being recorded by Di Sarli (the former with Podestá and the latter with Rufino), and both songs have also been featured here on Tango Decoder, thus adding greatly to their luster! (/snark)
    Those two songs were heard in the subsequent tanda along with the one decoded here, CANTA PAJARITO, which was also recorded by Di Sarli with Rufino, as well as by Demare with Berón. I can't for the life of me remember exactly which versions of those three fine songs were included in the tanda, because I got flummoxed by the fourth, YO ("I") performed by Di Sarli with Jorge Durán. To me, it didn't mesh at all with the other songs in the tanda.
    In any event, we now have a nice Guichandut trilogy here on Tango Decoder: LLUEVE OTRA VEZ, TARAREANDO, and CANTA, PAJARITO. Maybe we'll even look at YO some time. Here's Tango Decoder's version of CANTA PAJARITO.

To view our subtitled videos of this song in Spanish and English, you may click below:

• CANTA, PAJARITO by Orquesta Típica Carlos Di Sarli with vocal by Roberto Rufino
• CANTA, PAJARITO by Orquesta Típica Lucio Demare with vocal by Raúl Beron

En la soledad sufriendo está mi corazón. Y qué triste estoy desde esta noche cruel que el cielo la llevó. La casa entera enmudeció, su risa se apagó... ¡Sus pasos y su voz extraño! Se ha marchitado aquel rosal, testigo familiar de nuestro amor de tantos años. ¡Todo ha cambiado desde que se ha ido! ¡Todo está triste desde que no está! Y el pajarito tan cantor, unido a mi dolor ahora ya no canta más. Canta, canta, pajarito... Canta, canta tu canción... ¡Ayúdame a calmar mi angustia y mi dolor, ayúdame a soñar que está a mi lado! Canta, canta, pajarito... Canta, canta, tu canción... Ya no alumbra el sol con su fulgor mi triste hogar. Ya no besaré ni nunca gustaré sus labios de coral. Ya nunca más he de escuchar su voz angelical, ni el timbre de su risa franca, ni he de sentirme acariciar con esa suavidad de aquellas sus dos manos blancas. ¡Todo ha cambiado desde que se ha ido! ¡Todo está triste desde que no está! Y el pajarito tan cantor, que sufre como yo ahora ya no canta más.

In solitude my heart is suffering. And how sad I am since that cruel night when heaven took her away. The whole house fell silent, her laughter was extinguished... I miss the sound of her footsteps, her voice! That rose bush has withered, familiar witness of our love of so many years. Everything’s changed since she has gone! Everything’s sad since she's not here! And the little bird, such a singer, joining in my sorrow, now sings no more. Sing, sing, little bird... Sing, sing your song... Help me soothe my anguish and my pain,* help me dream that she’s by my side! Sing, sing, little bird... Sing, sing your song... The sun no longer shines with its brilliance on my sad home. Now I won't kiss, won't ever taste her coral-colored lips. Never again will I hear her angelic voice nor the sound of her uninhibited laughter, nor feel myself caressed by the softness of those two fair hands. Everything’s changed since she's gone! Everything’s sad since she’s not here! And the little bird, such a singer, who is suffering like me, now sings no more.

 * my anguish and my pain: The sheet music gives the line as mi angustia y mi dolor, and Berón sings it as given. Rufino sings mi pena y mi dolor ("my sorrow and my pain").

 

Tango Spiral Locomotion: Explore the movement, enhance the dance & enjoy the moment...

Tango is the unique, improvisational partner-dance of Argentina and Uruguay. With a 150-year history, it is currently danced by millions worldwide for enjoyment, for exercise, as therapy, and as an art. Tango’s special appeal and value lies in its rhythmically varied, expressive movements and pauses that are shared by two partners moving as one.

Tango Spiral Locomotion is a two-day, guided tour of the supple, spiraling movements of tango via the Feldenkrais Method® of movement education.* Recognize and nurture the naturally perfect tango movements that are already there, inside of you, just waiting to be discovered. Experience your body, your movements, and your dance in a new and pleasurable way.

[Photo: Florence Walton and Maurice Mouvet, Paris 1911.]

Tango Spiral Locomotion offers valuable insights and experiences for anyone who moves. The program is geared for dancers of all levels, from expert to beginner, and those without prior dance experience. The benefits of Tango Spiral Locomotion are as follows:

All participants will...

    •    Experience a non-judgmental learning environment emphasizing pleasure and ease in movement.
    •    Combine familiar movements in new and surprisingly pleasurable ways.
    •    Achieve enhanced self-awareness and dynamic coordination for dance and life.
    •    Acquire a vocabulary of basic movements that you can use to create your own improvised tango dance. (This provides an excellent somatic foundation for subsequent tango learning!)

Experienced tango dancers will gain new and often surprising insights into familiar tango movements. You will:

    •    Experience greater pleasure, precision, variety, and ease in dance.
    •    Improve dynamic coordination of head and neck, chest and ribs, hips and legs.
    •    Enhance non-verbal communication with your partner.
    •    Discover a wider range of emotional expression in your dance.
    •    Acquire new strategies for sharing and teaching tango and other dances.

The Tango Spiral Locomotion curriculum includes a mix of classic Awareness Through Movement® lessons, original movement experiments and games, improvisational movement based on tango. Each module of the course includes learning material for dancers and movers at all skill levels. It is informative, fascinating, and fun.

Tango Spiral Locomotion will visit selected cities in North America in Fall 2016 and Europe in Spring 2017. Contact Michael Krugman to schedule a program in your area.

Instructor:

Michael Krugman has been a movement teacher and trainer for over twenty-five years. He has taught the Feldenkrais Method® of movement education since 1987. He founded the Sounder Sleep System® in 1999 and has trained over 300 teachers of the system in 15 countries. His book, The Insomnia Solution, was published by Warner Books in 2005.

[Photo: Michael Krugman and friend, TangoAmadeus, Vienna 2015]

An avid learner and dancer of tango dance since 2009, Michael has recently returned from a year of teaching, study, and research in Argentina and Uruguay, where he now makes his home. He is a member of the Argentine Feldenkrais Association, Argentina's professional organization for teachers of the Feldenkrais Method®.

* Feldenkrais Method® and Sounder Sleep System® are registered trademarks of the Feldenkrais Guild of North America® and Michael Krugman, respectively.

Of Tango Lyrics, Sung and Unsung

Sheet music for "Mandria," 1926, music by Juan Carlos Rodríguez, lyrics by Brancatti and Velich. Note the three stanzas at the bottom of the page.

A reader writes: "Thanks so much for your video of MANDRIA! I love having subtitles for the lyrics. But I'm not sure why they continue during the musical break, when the singing has stopped. Can you explain?"

 

And we answer: Great question! The lyrics you see during the instrumental section are the verses that the lyricists Velich and Brancatti wrote, but that were not sung on this recording. Almost all tangos had three verses; they were included in the sheet music for the song. In early tango-orchestra recordings (pre-Troilo) most songs were sung with only one verse or a fragment of a verse, which was called an estribillo, a refrain. The singer, consequently, was called an estribillista, a refrain singer. At the same time, there were other recordings in the tango canción ("tango song") style that were recorded for listening, not for dancing, and which included all three verses, often with a repeated chorus. Aníbal Troilo's band was probably the first tango dance orchestra ("orquesta típica") to allow the singer to sing two full verses of the song, and the idea caught on fairly quickly with other orchestras, too. That gave greater importance to the singer, who now came to be called un cantor de orquesta, "an orchestra singer," although the term estribillista was still used on record labels for many years after.

    In this 1939 version of MANDRIA, Echagüe sings the first verse and then, after an instrumental interlude, the second half of the third verse. It's a bit more than an estribillo, but not quite a full orchestra singer's part. However, the intention of this subtitled video is to present the full narrative of the song. Therefore we included the unsung verses in brackets, as we have done on several other subtitled videos.
    We believe these unsung verses do a lot to illuminate the meaning of the song, even on recordings all of the lyrics aren't heard. They may also reveal a lot about tango culture and tango history. They are part of the song's identity, its DNA. Keep in mind that many listeners at the time would have been familiar with the lyrics of MANDRIA via the tango canción version recorded by Rosita Quiroga in 1927. Keep in mind also that it was not unusual for a popular tango to be sung on the radio by any number of different singers over the years, and also to be played from the sheet music (or by ear) by small groups or solo performers in a live setting like a home, a cafe, or a bar.

    As an example, I recently read a biography of Borges that describes frequent gatherings in the early to mid-1920s at the home of Nora Lange, a fiery redhead of Nordic ancestry who Borges loved, but never managed to possess. Nora used to play old-time instrumental tangos on the piano, and Borges and his intimate friends danced late into the evening. Then they'd go to a nearby bar where a tango orchestra was playing—Juan De Dios Filiberto was mentioned as one of them—and after a few drinks they'd sometimes pick fights with the other patrons, who were fans of the newly emerging style of sung tango, with its mournful lyrics, which Borges deemed to be, "the effeminate whinging of jilted pimps."

 

To hear MANDRIA in all its glory, with the original Spanish and English-language subtitles, please use the links below:

 

MANDRIA performed by Orquesta Típica Juan D'Arienzo with vocal by Alberto Echagüe, 1939.

MANDRIA performed by Rosita Quiroga with guitar by Vicente Spina, 1927.

Subtitled Tango Video #45: MANDRIA (Rosita Quiroga - 1927)

Too funny! I've been listening to Rosita Quiroga's 1927 recording of MANDRIA with guitar accompaniment by Vicente Spina. It's great, and of course she sings all three verses, not just one and a half like on the D'Arienzo Echagüe version. One small difference, though. The sheet music says:

Pa' matar
o pa' morir
vine a pelear...

(To kill or die, I come to fight), and that's how Echagüe sings it in the D'Arienzo version. But not our Rosita! She sings very clearly:

Pa' matar
NO pa' morir
vine a pelear...

(I come to kill, NOT to die...) Well, it's pretty clear that this woman is de agaya ("gutsy"), maybe more so than her male counterpart. Yes indeed, she's got quite a pair of "oak apples"!

Subtitled Tango Video #45: MANDRIA (Rosita Quiroga, 1927)

Too funny! I've been listening to Rosita Quiroga's 1927 recording of MANDRIA with guitar accompaniment by Vicente Spina. It's great, and of course she sings all three verses, not just one and a half like on the D'Arienzo Echagüe version. One small difference, though. The sheet music says:

Pa' matar
o pa' morir
vine a pelear...

(To kill or die, I come to fight), and that's how Echagüe sings it in the D'Arienzo version. But not our Rosita! She sings very clearly:

Pa' matar
NO pa' morir
vine a pelear...

(I come to kill, NOT to die...) Well, it's pretty clear that this woman is de agaya ("gutsy"), maybe more so than her male counterpart. Yes indeed, she's got quite a pair of "oak apples"!

Subtitled Tango Video #44: MANDRIA ("Worthless") D'Arienzo-Echagüe, 1939

Here's our subtitled video of MANDRIA as performed by the Típica Juan D'Arienzo with vocal by Alberto Echagüe, recorded 9 August 1939. We hope it will enhance your enjoyment of the song as you listen and as you dance (and even as you sing in the shower!).

For face-to-face Spanish and English text, notes, a commentary on MANDRIA, please see our previous post.

[Photo: Montevideo, summer 1940.]

 

Subtitled Tango #44: MANDRIA ("Worthless") D'Arienzo/Echagüe, 1939

Here's our subtitled video of MANDRIA as performed by the Típica Juan D'Arienzo with vocal by Alberto Echagüe, recorded 9 August 1939. We hope it will enhance your enjoyment of the song.

For face-to-face Spanish and English text, notes, a commentary on MANDRIA, please see our previous post.

[Photo: Montevideo, summer 1940.]

 

Mandria: A Gaucho Leaves His Mark (1939)

Mandria (Worthless)
Tango, composed 1926
Music: Juan Rodríguez
Words: Francisco Brancatti & Juan Velich

This high-intensity tango never fails to energize the dancers at a milonga, especially in the version recorded by Juan D'Arienzo with Alberto Echagüe in 1939. Part of that effect is produced by the lyrics, which are laced with 100% pure, gaucho testosterone--for better or for worse. We present here a face-to-face Spanish and English-language version of the complete lyrics with notes and commentary. (Lyrics sung in the D'Arienzo/Echagüe recording of 1939 are in bold type.) We welcome your comments.

Original lyrics taken from the sheet music as seen on TodoTango.com. English-language version and notes by Michael Krugman and María Rosa Braile for Tango Decoder. For our subtitled video of this song, please see our next post.

Tome mi poncho... No se aflija... ¡Si hasta el cuchillo se lo presto! Cite, que en la cancha que usté elija he de dir y en fija no pondré mal gesto. Yo con el cabo de mi rebenque tengo de sobra pa' cobrarme... Nunca he sido un maula, ¡se lo juro! y en ningún apuro me sabré achicar. Por la mujer, creamé, no lo busqué... Es la acción que le viché al varón que en mi rancho cobijé... Es su maldad la que hoy me hace sufrir: Pa' matar pa' morir vine a pelear y el hombre ha de cumplir. Pa' los sotretas de su laya tengo güen brazo y estoy listo... Tome... Abaraje! si es de agaya, que el varón que taya debe estar previsto. Esta es mi marca y me asujeto. ¡Pa' qué pelear a un hombre mandria! Váyase con ella, la cobarde... Dígale que es tarde pero me cobré.

Take my poncho...Don’t worry... Why, I’ll even lend you my knife! Just tell me when, and in the field you choose, I’ll be there, and that's for sure, I won't object.* With the butt of my horsewhip,* I’ve got more than enough to avenge myself. I’ve never been cowardly—I promise you that! You’ll never see me shrink from a tight spot. As for the woman, believe me, I wasn't looking for her. It’s the deed I spied you doing, the man I sheltered in my shack. It’s your evil deed that galls me: I come to fight, To kill or be killed, and the man needs to do his part. For bums like you I’ve got a good arm and I’m ready. Take that... Counter it, if you’ve got guts!** because the worthy man* has to be prepared. This is my mark and I’m holding back.* Why bother fighting a worthless weakling! Go with her, the coward... Tell her it’s late, but I’ve had my revenge.

NOTES:

* I won't object: no pondré mal gesto. Poner mal gesto is an idiomatic expression meaning to make a rude gesture, to frown, to object to something by non-verbal means.

* horsewhip: rebenque. A short leather whip with a long, rigid handle, typically used by gauchos. (See photo, right)

* Take that... Counter it: Tome... Abaraje!  The protagonist lunges with his knife (Take that!) and defies his opponent to parry, to deflect the blow, and to counter it with another.

* if you've got guts: agayas, oak apples, are a spongy spherical gall that forms on oak trees in response to the developing larvae of a gall wasp. Possibly for that reason, men who are de agaya are men who have "guts." (See photo, right)

* the worthy man: el varón que taya. Taya (or talla) is moral stature or standing. Un hombre que taya is a man who is brave, worthy, or of high moral standing. One who "measures up."

* my mark... holding back: me asujeto (regional var. of sujetar). Most duels among gauchos were not fought to the death. Once one of the combatants was wounded, usually on the face, he was considered dishonored and the fight ended there. In keeping with that tradition, the song's protagonist has left his mark on his opponent, and refrains from further combat, deeming his opponent an hombre mandria, a worthless, wretched weakling. An urban variant of this theme is described in Pintín Castellanos' milonga El Cicatríz:

De matón tenés la fama ya no te queda ni la sombra del que has sido en el barrio de la Aguada tu furor ya se acabó. Conformate a balconearla, que ya en la cara te dejaron como muestra, con el filo de un facón la cicatriz como un recuerdo te quedó.

You've got a bad-ass reputation, but not a shadow of your former self remains; in the barrio of La Aguada you're no longer all the rage. Be satisfied with watching from a balcony 'cos with the blade of a dagger, they left on your face as proof the scar like a memory that never fades.