Tango Time Machine — Tango Decoder

With Teflon Soles, Maybe?

I took this on my last visit to Buenos Aires. I'd just had lunch and a spirited conversation with Michael Lavocah and La Belle Birgit at the Café Británico, and there was a bit of cobblestone-paved street outside.

It reminds me of the first stanza of SOY MUCHACHO DE LA GUARDIA:

I belong to the old guard!
I'm not afraid to dance on the cobblestones...
With my style and my reputation,
and my slouch hat cocked to one side,
I spin like a top
when I step on a polished floor.
I belong to the old guard!
Forgive me if I've stepped out of line.

Soy muchacho de la guardia! 
No me asusta el empedrao... 
Con mi estampa y mi cartel
Y el chambergo requintao, 
Me hago ovillo y carretel
Cuando piso el encerao. 
Soy muchacho de la guardia! 
Disculpen si me he bandeao.

Empedrao, requintao, hacerse ovillo y carretel, encerao, bandeao. Good vocabulary, especially if you want to speak 1920s hipster castellano....

Full lyrics, translation, notes and commentary...

 

Villa Malcolm with Biagi, Tanturi, and Laurenz

I love this 2012 shot of Cachirulo's milonga at Villa Malcolm because that's my Uruguayan maestra de tango, Mayra, in the red dress.  (Photo: © Tango Alejandro Gee)

14 February 1943

2 April 1944

14 May 1944

It's fun to remember that most of the great tango orchestras of the Golden Age played at Villa Malcolm at one time or another.

12 November 1944

A few of Villa Malcolm's ads from the El Mundo Dance Guide are shown below.

 

12 April 1943

 

Carlos Di Sarli Spins "The Wheel of Tango" (Part 1)

The month of April, 1944, saw a feverish upsurge of activity in the pages of the El Mundo newspaper's Dance Guide. At this time, we begin to see not only advertising for individual events, but a concerted effort to generate publicity and even what would today be called branding for certain key artists and clubs. Carlos Di Sarli, always zealous of his public image, was among the most active players in this scenario. 

First, a little background. Since the middle of 1943, soloist Alberto Castillo had been lauded and applauded almost daily in the El Mundo Dance Guide as "The Singer of The Hundred Barrios," eclipsing the orchestra of his former employer, Ricardo Tanturi. Beginning in December of that year, pianist Orlando Goñi, former mainstay of the Troilo orchestra, was featured day after day in large "anchor ads"* that included pictures of him and even a facsimile of his autograph, presumably something in great demand among his fans. On the day that Goñi ended his ten-week debut run at the bar El Nacional and began what was to be another long run at the Palermo Place, both venues ran anchor ads on facing pages. The farewell from El Nacional featured photos of Goñi and all eleven members of his band. Both acts, Castillo and Goñi, were attracting wide attention and adulation.

* "anchor ads" were large display ads that spanned the entire width of the newspaper, at the bottom of a page.

"You who know how to listen
will have by your side
starting Monday
DI SARLI at the MARABU
The Argentine musician who gave new life to the tango will appear before his grand orchestra Monday the tenth at 10:30 with
"THE WHEEL OF TANGO"... Extraordinary contest of musical compositions (tangos), excluding those by Carlos Di Sarli, to set new standards. The public will choose by the best Tango by a vote.
Monday the 10th at 10:30 in an unforgettable celebration, with performances by the best artists."
Sunday, 9 April 1944.

Then, beginning in early April of 1944, a third star rose on tango's horizon. The pages of El Mundo carried a series of eye-grabbing, daily ads heralding the debut of a unnamed singer dubbed "The Actor of Tango," framing his masked face inside a giant question mark. The campaign lasted all month. In fact, many readers knew or could guess that "The Actor," so named for the dramatic physical gestures and facial expressions he employed while singing, was in fact Roberto Rufino, who had until recently been the voice of Carlos Di Sarli's orchestra. But it was a clever campaign nonetheless. Rufino would make his solo debut at the Palermo Palace to much acclaim on 1 May.

Carlos Di Sarli himself had long been a frequent advertiser and self-promoter in the pages of El Mundo. From as early as 1942, it would not have been at all unusual for the readers of El Mundo to open the morning edition to a large ad bearing a photo of Di Sarli and some heartfelt, personal message from the great musician. He was patriotic, so he ran a large display ad conveying his personal good wishes to the citizenry on 25 May, Argentina's National Day. He was a populist, so he ran an ad saluting the country's working people on the first of May. He was a success, so he ran an ad each year to announce that he was fully booked for the coming year and to express his regrets that he could not accept further engagements. Di Sarli was the only bandleader of the period to conduct this sort of direct, ongoing, personal communication with his public through the medium of newspaper advertising. The messages were sincere, they were charming, and they were courtly, but they were also, clearly, self-serving and even, dare we say it, bombastic.

Di Sarli, according to these self-published proclamations, was "the ace of tango," "the Argentine musician who gave new life to tango"; his music was "the most Argentine in the land." But now, the incipient superstars Castillo, Goñi, and Rufino with their elaborate ads were hogging much of the limelight that had formerly shone upon him. How could Maestro Di Sarli regain the fire that these upstarts, one of them his own former employee, were stealing from him? Di Sarli and his publicists had an idea. They called it La Rueda Del Tango, "The Wheel of Tango."

Argentines of this epoch loved contests of all kinds. Raffles, lotteries, quizzes, popularity contests, and the like—with prizes for the winners, of course—were a regular feature of radio, newspaper, and many public gatherings, including dances. They were a time-tested way to capture the interest, imagination, and attention of the public. Di Sarli's "Wheel of Tango" was to be all of that, and more.

Results of the first Wheel of Tango, 13 April 1944.

The upscale Marabú nightclub at Maipú 365 was Di Sarli's headquarters in Buenos Aires; he and his orchestra appeared there nightly from April through December. The first "Rueda del Tango" was held at Marabú. Di Sarli's orchestra would play a selected group of new compositions, and audience members would vote for their favorite. (Compositions by Di Sarli himself were excluded from the competition.) The stated intent was to identify the best composers and lyricists from each barrio of Buenos Aires—a possible shot at Castillo, with his somewhat exaggerated barrio pretensions—and more specifically imponer valores nuevos,  "to set new standards" or "to spread new values." (Christian Martinz informs me that the use of the verb imponer, "to impose," is poorly chosen by contemporary standards. It sounds rather pushy and pompous.) The implicit message was, in the first case, that Di Sarli's barrio credentials were as valid as anyone's, and in the second, that while artists like Castillo, Goñi, and Rufino might be stars for the moment, it was he, Di Sarli, who would set the standards for tango.

We don't know how the contest was conducted, or exactly why they called it "The Wheel of Tango," but we do know that the cumulative results were recorded over the course of several nights of performance at the Marabú. The first night's results included six songs in the following order: Cero al as (350 votes), Que Solo Estoy (322), Nada (315), Otra Noche (311), Llueve otra vez (160), and Boedo y San Juan (117).

It is interesting to note that the results of the first Wheel of Tango were published in El Mundo on the morning or 13 April; Di Sarli recorded the four top songs later that same day. The wheel of tango turned rather quickly, it seems!

The cumulative results after the fourth vote, which took place on the evening of 14 May, showed Cero al as holding onto its lead, Otra Noche rising to second place, Que solo estoy dropping from second to third place, Nada holding steady in fourth, with Boedo y San Juan and Llueve otra vez trading places. The four soon-to-be-released songs were holding their lead.

"View of a part of the crowd that didn't get in"

On the evening of the 15th, The Wheel of Tango spun for a fifth time and, according to an ad placed the following morning by the Marabú, the program was so popular that they had to turn people away from the door. The ad featured a photo of a group of disappointed fans standing in front of the club under a huge poster showing Di Sarli seated at his piano. The ad says:

"The boite Marabú begs your pardon if you couldn't get in to hear The Wheel of Tango with Carlos Di Sarli... and begs your pardon because, although you may have visited other places, it would have been difficult to achieve the happiness you sought... The happiness of the ear and eye, with the best music and the best show!... in the best "boite" of the Republic, MARABU, Maipú 365, Buenos Aires.

[Read Part 2 of this article.]

 

 

 

Alfredo Gobbi at San Souci, 1944

I recently watched Monica Paz's delightful interview with the late, great milonguero Alberto Dassieu. In it, Dassieu recounts how, at age fourteen, he met the violinist, composer, and bandleader Alfredo Gobbi at the Confitería San Souci, and how Gobbi acted as his mentor for many years afterward.

San Souci was one of those well established venues in the Centro that didn't advertise much—the swift current of the Calle Corrientes was enough to fill the place—and Gobbi held court there for years. As a result, he doesn't appear much in the ads in the El Mundo Dance Guide. But as I watched and listened to the interview, I kept thinking there must be some special Gobbi artifact in the Tango Time Machine archives. I did a little searching, and found this quite impressive ad from 1 April 1944. This would have been the debut of Gobbi's second orchestra, I believe.

Text: "Confitería San Souci invites you to dance from now on to the new Grand Orchestra presented by Alfredo Gobbi (The Romantic of Tango)."

Subtitled Tango #28: CERO AL AS (Di Sarli/Podestá, 1944)

For your musical and poetic enjoyment, we present one of Carlos Di Sarli's most beautiful songs with Alberto Podestá in our subtitled, YouTube video. The lyrics are an extended metaphor based on generala, a type of dice-poker game using five dice thrown from a cup (cubilete) that is popular in Latin America. The song uses several specialized terms from the game; they are explained in the notes. Full Spanish/English text of the lyrics, including unsung third verse, follows the video.

CERO AL AS ("Zero to the Ace") 1944
Words: Francisco Bohígas
Music: Arturo (Hércules) Gallucci
Recording by Di Sarli and Alberto Podestá.

Full-text, with English-language version by Tango Decoder:

Agitando el cubilete con los dados del cariño, comenzó la generala pasional de nuestro amor. Yo seguí tu amante juego con la ciega fe de un niño porque vi que interpretabas el concepto del honor. Te confié en la gran partida el papel de anotaciones, convencido que, amorosa, lo sabrías respetar; y al hacerte la escalera, mi escalera de ilusiones a la altura de tu alma yo soñé poder llegar. ¡Cariñito!... Cariñito de mi vida, me embrujaste en la partida con el “full” de tu pasión. ¡Cariñito!... Me embriagaste de embelesos y en el póker de tus besos se enredó mi corazón. Continuando el desarrollo de la clásica partida comprobé tu noble juego y orgulloso me sentí; y ante el cielo de tus ojos, que a vivir hoy me convida con un beso, en mi locura, la partida interrumpí. Para gloria de mi gloria, de tu amor haciendo gala, me brindaste el paraíso de adorarte más y más; y tirando en favor mío le serviste generala a mi alma, que en la vida, ¡se encontraba cero al as!*

Shaking the dice-cup of affection, the impassioned gamble of our love began.* I played your love-game with the blind faith of a child because I saw that your intentions were honorable. In the great game I trusted you with the scorecard, convinced that, lovingly, you would know how to handle it; and while making you the “staircase,” my staircase of hopes* I dreamed of being able to reach the height of your soul. Sweet darling!... Sweet love of my life, you bewitched me in the game with the “full house” of your passion.* Sweet darling!... You got me drunk on enchantment and in the “poker” of your kisses* you confused my heart. Continuing the development of the classic game you proved generous in your play and I felt proud; and before the heaven of your eyes, that even now invite me with a kiss, in my madness, I interrupted the game. For my glory of glories, making a gift of your love, you gave me the paradise of adoring you more and more; and tossing the dice in my favor, you threw a generala to my soul, which in life always drew “zero to the ace”!*

 

A scorecard for the game of generala, with "zero to the ace." Note the scoring range: from 1 to 6, plus the combinations Escalera, Full, Poker, Generala, and Double Generala. (See notes for details.)

NOTES:

* gamble of our love: Generala pasional de nuestro amor. Generala (lit. 'call-to-arms' or 'general alert') is name of a game of chance similar to Yahtzee in the US or poker-dice in England. The song takes the play of generala as a metaphor for love. Since the song was written during WWII at a time when Argentina's newspapers were dominated by war news, it seems possible that the literal meaning of the word generala may have carried more weight than is reflected in my translation. Hence, an alternate interpretation of this phrase might be "our love's call-to-arms began."

* stairway: escalera. Literally, the word means stairway, but in generala it denotes a throw of five dice in consecutive order.

* full house: full, two dice the same, plus three dice the same, as in poker.

* poker: póker, four equal dice.

* zero to the ace: cero al as. The generala scorecard is a grid, in which each player's score each throw of the dice is recorded (see illustration). The first score of the game is entered in first numbered row of the card, which is called the "ace." To enter a zero in the first row is called "zero/zed to the ace." It means beginning the game at a disadvantage. As a slang term it also means “broke.”

November 1944: Wartime shortages impact tango advertising

BEFORE: Bold type, photos, and Odeon logos distinguish the ads in the "El Mundo Dance Guide" for Saturday, 4 November 1944.

AFTER: Smaller, lighter, sans-serif type without photos or logos reflects wartime shortages of paper and printer's ink. Saturday, 18 November 1944.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November, 1944, wartime shortages of paper and printer's ink necessitated a major change in the appearance and the content of the El Mundo Dance Guide. The poor-quality newsprint available in this period did not have sufficient opacity for the Guide's densely printed layout. As a result, the ink tended to bleed through to the verso page. [Article continues below the appeal...]

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18 November 1944. Odeon artist listing with reverse type at the header and footer. The poor-quality newsprint used in this period did not have sufficient opacity for this type of densely printed layout. Type from the verso page is plainly visible in the white areas of this ad.

In early November 1944 (above left), the Dance Guide was composed in a variety of large, bold, eye-catching type in both serif and sans-serif fonts. Many ads included artists' photographs. And the  logo of the Odeon record company dotted the page here and there, identifying artists who recorded for the label. There was a lot of ink on the page.

On 18 November (above right), there was a sudden and very noticeable change. Beginning in that morning's edition the ads were smaller, and they were composed in very light, mostly sans-serif type, without photographs or logos. There was very little to visually distinguish one ad from the next.

The new format would persist through 1945. (Worldwide paper and ink shortages continued even after the war's end.) The pages of the Dance Guide from this period still contain much valuable data about the music and dance of the period, but it is almost exclusively in text form.

Unable to continue its logo-placement program within the individual Dance Guide ads, Discos Odeon began to place display ads (right) listing all the Odeon artists that were appearing that day, with the names and addresses of the venues. Each ad also named a "Record of the Moment," which in this example is Odeon No. 8393 with two tangos recorded on 24 October , De seis a siete and Fantasma by Miguel Caló's orchestra with the singer Raúl Iriarte.

The Odeon listing sometimes appeared on the same page as the Dance Guide, sometimes on a preceding or following page. (One potential advantage to the present-day researcher is that these listings include out-of-town and international engagements, which were only occasionally mentioned in earlier ads.)

The Odeon ads were created by the innovative Santa Cruz publicity agency. The first few ads employed reverse type (white on a black background) at the header and footer, as seen here. A week later, there was a switch to plain black-on-white type, possibly in response to further restrictions imposed by the newspaper. We'll have more to say about these listings in a future post.

 

 

My Little Pony!

Look! It's Manoblanca! White forefeet and all. Gives you a good idea of how, to this day, a proud Buenos Aires cart driver decorates his horse.

(I shot this in June at the Feria in Mataderos.)

Avoid problems...?

Here's a curious item that appeared in the Dance Guide for 9 April 1944:

T. E. M.
Negotiates dance permits for clubs - Avoid problems - Consult us
Carranza 2139 - U. T. 71-7991

Mysteries of "Manoblanca"

On Rick McGarrey's site, Tango and Chaos, there's a very creditable English-language version of the lyrics to Manoblanca, the romantic portrait of a Buenos Aires cart-driver that was originally recorded by the Two Angels, D'Agostino and Vargas, in 1941. When I first read it, there were a few bits that puzzled me, however, so I resolved to do my own version and a bit of tango decoding, just for fun. I don't know, maybe it was a fool's errand, too geeky to be believed. But I did it, and since it's done, I publish it here, with explanatory notes as indicated. Maybe it adds something to our understanding of the song. See what you think.

Manoblanca ("White-hand")
Tango 1941
Música: Antonio De Bassi
Letra: Homero Manzi

Dónde vas carrerito del este castigando tu yunta de ruanos, y mostrando en la chata celeste las dos iniciales pintadas a mano. Reluciendo la estrella de bronce claveteada en la suela de cuero, dónde vas carrerito del Once, cruzando ligero las calles del Sur. ¡Porteñito!... ¡Manoblanca!... Vamos ¡fuerza, que viene barranca! ¡Manoblanca!... ¡Porteñito! ¡Fuerza! ¡vamos, que falta un poquito! ¡Bueno! ¡bueno!... ¡Ya salimos!... Ahora sigan parejo otra vez, que esta noche me esperan sus ojos en la Avenida Centenera y Tabaré. Dónde vas carrerito porteño con tu chata flamante y coqueta, con los ojos cerrados de sueño y un gajo de ruda detrás de la oreja. El orgullo de ser bien querido se adivina en tu estrella de bronce, carrerito del barrio del Once que vuelves trotando para el corralón.

Where are you going, cart-driver from the east, urging onward your team of roans and showing on the sky-blue wagon the two initials painted by hand?* With the studded bronze star gleaming on the leather harness,* where are you going, cart-driver from Once, crossing swiftly the streets of the South? Porteñito!... Manoblanca!...* C’mon, pull, ‘cos here comes a hill! Manoblanca!... Porteñito!... Pull! C’mon, we’re almost there! Good! Good!... We made it!... Now give me some more of the same, because tonight her eyes they await me at the corner of Centenera and Tabaré. Where are you going, carrerito porteño, with your snazzy, freshly-painted wagon, your eyes closed as if dreaming, and for luck, a sprig of rue behind one ear.* The pride of being well-loved is foretold in your star of bronze, carrerito of the barrio of Once, who comes trotting back to the timberyard.*

NOTES:

* sky blue wagon...initials painted by hand. The horse-drawn, flatbed cart or chata (literally, "flat") was a typical feature of life in Buenos Aires from the mid-1800s until the early 20th century. These simple wagons were often elaborately decorated with colorful geometric or floral designs and the name or initials of the operator. Those decorations are said to be the origin of the fileteado style of lettering and decoration that is seen to this day on many Buenos Aires signs. The photo at the top of the page depicts a one-horse chata being used to transport people, but it's probably more or less the same as the cart in the song, right down to the decorative paint and the hand-painted initials "J C" on the upper rail.

* Studded bronze star...leather harness. Thesense of this poetic phrase depends somewhat on how it is parsed in Spanish. My take on it is:

Reluciendo (Gleaming)...
la estrella de bronce claveteada (the studded bronze star)...
en la suela de cuero (on the leather strap or sole)...

Or, in idiomatic English, "With the studded bronze star gleaming on the leather strap/sole, where are you going, cart-driver from Once, as you swiftly cross the streets of the South."

And what is the mysterious leather suela, the strap or sole? Una suela can be the sole of a shoe, or it can be any stout leather strap. So it might be that the cart-driver has a studded-bronze star on the sole of his boot or shoe as Rick McGarrey speculates, although I've seen no historical example of such a thing. It seems more likely to me that the star gleams on the "face-piece," a part of the harness seen in the drawing at the right, which actually is shaped very much like the sole of a shoe. Alternately, the decorative studded-bronze star might have been on the "saddle" of the harness, like the studded heart that hangs from the saddle at the right. (Click to enlarge.)

In the end, I avoided this issue entirely, translating suela more generally, as harness, same as Rick McGarrey, because the word suela almost certainly refers to some part of the harness. But I had to do my little Tango Decoder two-step before I settled on that.

* Porteñito... Manoblanca: The horses are named Manoblanca ("White-Hand") and Porteñito (Little Porteño).

* a sprig of rue behind one ear. Ruda, rue, is an herb to which magical protective or curative powers are sometimes attributed. Here it seems to act as a lucky charm for the cart-driver as he goes to meet his lady-love.

* timberyard: corralón. I know, it sounds like this would be a big corral. And of course a corral is a place where you put horses. But the reality is that the main employers of the arrabal were blacksmiths and timberyards, and in Argentina a corralón is just that, a timberyard. When, at the end of the work day, you drive a horse-drawn chata to a corralón, as do the protagonists of both this song and of No te apures Carablanca,  it's quite clear that you are driving a flatbed wagon to the timberyard. Same goes for Cadícamo's lyric for Tres Esquinas, with the famous last line, Y bajo el cielo de luna llena, duermen los chatas del corralón  (And under the full moon sky sleep the flatbed wagons of the timberyard).

 

 

SPANISH LYRICS TEXT

English lyrics text

Best Milonga Gear for 1944!

Are you or your football club planning to start your own baile con grabaciones (dance with recorded music)? Here's everything you'll need in the way of equipment!

LOUDSPEAKER with excellent tone

"ALTAVOX"

Great variety of systems from $28 per month*

With full written guarantee

Request a descriptive brochure

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DANCE RECORDS

The best recordings on ODEON records with artists of the moment.

Join our plan

 

* About $84 per month in today's US dollars.

The rise of the orchestra singer, 1943-44

Former Di Sarli orchestra singer Roberto Rufino launched his solo career with a ten-week engagement at the Palermo Palace beginning on 1 May 1944. In addition to Rufino this unusually elaborate ad depicts bandleader Attilio Bruni and eleven band members.

Bandleader Lucio Demare and his orchestra singer Raúl Berón ("Al compás del corazón") received equal billing and photo coverage in this thoughtfully designed ad from 28 February 1943. The ad is a testament to the singer's popularity. It was unique for the period.

Perhaps spurred by Alberto Castillo's initial success, Angel Vargas attempted a solo bid in July 1943 with an orchestra led by former D'Agostino bandoneonista and arranger Alfredo Attadia. Vargas would return to D'Agostino within the month.

This ad trusts the reader to identify the bandleader Alfredo De Angelis, his orchestra singers Dante and Martel, and his glosa reciter Néstor Rodi by their photographs alone. 19 February 1944.

Between May 1943 and September 1944, the popular orchestra singers Alberto Castillo, Angel Vargas, Roberto Rufino, and Francisco Fiorentino left their respective employers to form their own orchestras and launch solo singing careers. All went on to perform and record on their own except Vargas, who would return to D'Agostino's orchestra within the month. 

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Aníbal Troilo's singers, Alberto Marino and Floreal Ruíz, are represented by decent-sized photos in this ad for an appearance at the Círculo General Urquiza. 13 October 1944.

Top billing for bandleader Angel D'Agostino and a smaller photo and name-check for singer Angel Vargas are seen in this ad from 20 February 1944.

Perhaps in response to the popularity of those solo singing idols and the extensive publicity they received, the ads in the El Mundo Dance Guide began to afford greater attention to the highly regarded singers like Berón, Podestá, Marino, Vargas, and others who continued to work in the traditional role of orchestra singer. Previously, the singers had often, though not always, been mentioned by name in ads for the orchestra, usually in small print. Now, the print got bigger and the singers' photographs began to appear. After all, if soloists like Castillo, Rufino, and Fiorentino were worthy of superstar treatment and the adoring crowds that went with it, were not the highly-regarded orchestra singers Berón, Vargas, or Podestá worthy of similar treatment? The answer, apparently, was yes.

I'm not sure whether this was the doing of the orchestra leaders themselves, the record companies, the sponsoring clubs and cabarets, or the publicity agencies that placed the ads in the paper. It may have been all four.

Orchestra singers Raul Aldau and Osvaldo Cabrera are prominently featured in this ad for Orlando Goñi's orchestra. 16 February 1944.

On this page we've collected ads that document the changing role and the increasing importance of the tango singer during this period. We'll add to the collection from time to time.

 

 

 

Pedro Laurenz and orchestra singer Alberto Podestá wish their listeners Happy New Year on 30 December 1943.

 

A milonga's deadly playlist: One dead, three wounded (1933)

From "El Orden," Santa Fe, Argentina, Monday, 7 August 1933.

A Dance in a Rancho Ended with Stabbings

DAGGERS AND KNIVES
HAD THEIR SAY

Dancing and Drink, Sun, Women, and North Wind

What happened yesterday needn’t be interpreted as anything more than the unexpected outcome of an afternoon of excessive drinking. Bad feelings, misunderstandings, emotions proper to the cult of courage, inevitable consequences of pride exaggerated by more than one night of loose talk and bragging... All this forms part of the background responsible for what happened.
    It’s not a question of culture. It’s a simple twist of fate. They all came together: dancing, wine, sun, women, and the north wind.... What else could come of a gathering held under those circumstances?

The rancho where the milonga was held. A rancho is a shack or hut with a thatched roof typical of the Argentine countryside in this period. A minor earthquake in the province of Santa Fe 1944 killed 10,000 people instantly and left 100,000 homeless. It wasn't a strong quake, but many people lived in dwellings like this, which collapsed instantly.

    A barrio of humble working people was shaken yesterday afternoon by an event of unusual proportions.
    The place where the bloody scenes reported here unfolded is inhabited by working people with simple customs. There’s never any change in the characteristic appearance of the barrio. The dwellings, typical in all their details, carry on a long tradition, ever more remote from city life. Its occupants alternate between barrio life and hard labor, which is all they have ever known. For exactly this reason this event has had extraordinary repercussions.
    At 4 o’clock yesterday the Commissioner of Kilometer 2 received a phone report that something serious had occurred on Guemes street.
    The senior commissioner Andrés Oliva went immediately to the scene accompanied by Agustín Duclós, Clerk of Investigations and assistant to the Commissioner. Upon arriving at the scene, they found a lot of people gathered in the street outside one of the ranchos. [Continue reading after the appeal...]

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FOUR SERIOUSLY WOUNDED

    Within a few minutes they realized that the event had been far more serious than they could ever have imagined. As a result they had their hands full detaining several people who had been involved in the action.
    Lying about in different places were found the chief of the fifth section of police José Gastón, showing a vicious stab wound in the belly and a blow to the skull, among other wounds, some of them grave; the officer Mauricio Ruperto Aguiar, showing a blow to the head and a stab wound to the body; Facundo Muñoz, with two wounds to the head; and Silverio Gauna dying of a stab wound in the belly.  
    They immediately sought the services of the Public Assistance, calling an ambulance with which to transport the most seriously wounded.

THE FIRST ACCOUNTS

    By questioning witnesses at the scene, we were able to reconstruct what happened in the following way:

GRAND OPENING OF A SHOP

    Mr. Ortencio Ortiz lives in the barrio on the aforementioned Guemes Street at the corner of Gutierrez. He had chosen to celebrate the opening of a new shop yesterday. A well liked man in the barrio, he thought he should launch the commercial activities of his establishment with a gathering that everyone would enjoy.    
    He set out, therefore, to serve an asado to the people who came to the opening, adding to it, as is customary, some bottles of wine and kegs of beer. The party was a success for its enthusiasm. It was attended by, among other neighbors, the already named Siverio Gauna, who would later die, and Facundo Muñoz, who would be wounded. Not to mention the wounds suffered by the police.
    The party continued until the mid afternoon, when it concluded with a luncheon, which gave rise to an invitation from Facundo Muñoz to go to his rancho, where there would be dancing. This invitation was accepted immediately. It should be pointed out that now the party-goers had drunk quite a bit and, though the party was over, many wished to continue the festivities.

DANCE AT THE MUÑOZ PLACE

Interior of the rancho.

The police say — and the neighbors don’t deny it — that in the Muñoz place they were in the habit of holding dances all the time. And that these dances were organized without the permission of the Commissioner.
    The lack of permission had in these cases sprung from the desire of the Muñoz clan to show that they were not afraid of the police. The statements of the neighbors concurred that Facundo is not by any means a man to wait for permission. In the case of yesterday afternoon, his friends didn’t have to look very far to see what was going on. He had resolved to dance... and dance he would.

AGAINST THE PROHIBITION

    In the course of his duties, the Commissioner had prohibited dances at the Muñoz place. This prohibition was made as a result of two or three observations the police had made during previous dances in which the owner of the house neither asked permission nor maintained order.

"Accordion of the rancho milonga!... When the invitation to fight put an end to your murmurings, they left you alone in a corner of the rancho, on a straw seat. Wait a little while, the musician told you, placing his hands on his waist to show that he was staying out of the fight. And so we find you, abandoned and alone. Mute spectator of the fight. And full of emotion, of blood and grief that must resound tomorrow in the musical murmurs of your milonguera soul." [Actual caption!—TD]

WITH BANDONEÓN AND GUITAR

     All these antecedents illustrate one thing: that the place where the dance was held was the herald of a coming storm.
    The dance started at about 3 p.m. with an accordion and a guitar. A bandoneón growled, accompanied by a viola, and to the sound of the music, a half dozen couples took turns on the improvised dance floor.
    Wine and beer enlivened the spirits of the dancers and the onlookers. The sun and the north wind took care of the rest. Dance, wine, women, sun, and the north wind: no wonder all hell broke loose! In the quick, hot blood, ancient impulses awaken, undomesticated by civilization. And without warning, the first quarrel of the afternoon sprang up like a rabid dog.

THE FIRST FIGHT

    The cause of the first dispute at the dance? ... Among men, no one will say. There was a brief exchange of words and a threat. And after the threat, one of them spat out the sharp, sudden command, like a hatchet blow:
    —“Get out!”
    The peaceful gathering was starting to get out of hand. Someone said:
    —“Leave him be!”
    —“It’s not worth the trouble!”
    —“Don’t be stupid, boys!”
    And the most restrained voice of the rancho, an older man speaking from years of experience, said:
    —“Why ruin such a beautiful dance?”

WITH KNIVES DRAWN

     But the knives were already out of the sheath, and when a weapon shows itself, it can’t return to its place without having spoken. The two rivals attacked. And to the chis-chas of the knives was added the screams of the women who burst out into the street like a team of horses under the lash.

GOING FOR THE POLICE

Facundo Muñoz’s wife, who knew the neighborhood well, wasted no time in running toward the house of Chief José Gastón of the Fifth Commission who lives nearby in another house at the same corner of Guemes and Gutiérrez. In a few words the woman explained to him what was going on and Chief Gastón decided to get over there right away. It so happened that Police Officer Mauricio Ruperto Aguirre of the Third Section — like the Chief, off-duty — was a visitor in the house at that moment, drinking maté. [Continue reading after the appeal...]

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FIGHTING IN THE STREET

    Meanwhile, the fight at the Muñoz place was getting worse, with knives slashing this way and that, looking for a places to bury themselves.
     When Chief Gastón and Officer Aguirre arrived, the former armed only with a ceremonial sword, the Muñozes and their friends confronted the police and warned them to back off.
    Chief Gastón resolved to proceed forcefully, but he was attacked, according to witnesses, by the same Facundo Muñoz, aided by his 14-year-old nephew Delphin Muñoz, who held the police at bay with a facón [a very large, double-edged knife of the type used by gauchos—TD].
    There was already one wounded in all of this: Siverio Gauna, who had been savagely stabbed in the body and had fallen in some weeds. Officer Aguiar followed, receiving a stab wound from young Delfín and a fierce blow that doubtlessly came from Facundo.
    Then Chief Gastón, left to fight alone against Facundo and Delfín, fell wounded by a stab wound in the chest, a massive blow to the head and other injuries. Also wounded in the conflict, Facundo Muñoz, who received several blows to the head.
    The witnesses say that the younger Muñoz was one of those who confronted the police with the greatest ferocity. Well armed — he brandished a huge dagger — he deliberately attacked the police officers and it should be borne in mind the strange way in which the dagger later disappeared. This weapon, by its characteristics, must serve to verify whether the stab wound to the body of Officer Aguiar has been the work of the younger Muñoz.

THE ARRESTS

The arrival of a greater number of police personnel put a stop to the fight. Commissioner Oliva and his companions were able to get a good number of people. Among them, apart from Facundo and Delfín Munõz, Máximo Gonzalez, Juan Godoy, Ricardo Bilbao, Eleuterio Godoy and Miguel Nuñez found themselves arrested.

THE CONFISCATED WEAPONS

    Right away the police managed to confiscate the blood-stained weapons seen in the photo accompanying this report. As we have said, the dagger of the younger Muñoz is still missing.

FACUNDO MUÑOZ

    We’ve said a few words about Facundo Muñoz. He is a typical criollo, of few words and a reputation for bravery. To our questions about the “performance” of the Muñoz boy, he told us:
    —The boy acted like a good Muñoz. And he is going to grow to regret what he’s done (vá a sacarse el cuero).
     That last bit, we believe that was said by the police.
    We asked him another question:
    —Was the fight in your house?
    —No, sir‚ he answered‚ it was in the street.

THE MORTALLY WOUNDED

    Excluding Muñoz, who isn’t gravely injured, the other wounded certainly are. They were taken immediately to the Charity Hospital, where it was determined that there was nothing to be done for Siverio Gauna. As for the others, Chief Gastón was found in a desperate state and Officer Aguiar very grave.

GAUNA DIES

    Confirming the earlier pessimistic diagnosis, at 6:20 p.m. Silverio Gauna died without giving testimony.
    As for the other two they remain in critical condition as of 2 o’clock today.
    The police acted skillfully and selflessly yesterday. The chief and the officer who intervened found themselves off duty and without their revolvers. It’s worth noting that the law doesn’t oblige an off-duty officer to act in a case like this, being off duty and unarmed. It is completely voluntary.
    The later intervention of Commissioner Oliva was restrained and prevented the situation from getting worse.

FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD KNIFE FIGHTER
One of the Main Perpetrators is a Boy

HE HELD TWO OFFICERS IN CHECK AND WOUNDED ONE OF THEM

THE DAGGER HAS DISAPPEARED

    Delfin Muñoz, 14 years old, participated in the fight. Armed with a facón he acted “like a man.” In keeping with the quaint expression of the family, his conduct was that of “a good Muñoz.”
    As you can see from the photographs, we’re talking about a child. Slender, almost emaciated, dark, with a face of little expression, he has nonetheless the feature typical of brave men: modesty.
    He poses as if he were a good boy, with his skinny arms crossed, his hat in his hand and legs together. No showing off. Very serious. His white jumper, his old trousers, and his criollo slippers show plain as day that he is still a youngster.
    But...already he is “a good Muñoz.”
    That’s how he’s portrayed by Facundo Muñoz, referring to his behavior in the bloody doings of yesterday, where he made his debut as a knife fighter.

 

 

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A new, but not improved "Sacale punta"

Todotango.com has recently added sheet music for Osvaldo Donato and Sandalio Gómez's much-loved milonga, Sacale punta, recorded by Edgardo Donato's orchestra in 1938. Thank you, todotango! We salute your indispensable service to the tango community!

However, todotango's sheet music seems to be a somewhat different edition from the one I found in the library at AGADU (Uruguayan Author's Association). It has a slick photo of singer Enrique Carbel on the cover, and it alludes to Donato's earlier recording of the song, fairly certain evidence that it's a later edition. Perhaps Carbel sang the song on the radio; I see no evidence of a recording by him. [Continued below our fundraising appeal...]

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A DIFFERENT SET OF LYRICS

The first two stanzas of the lyrics here the same as the AGADU version. But in the first line of the third, unsung stanza, the suggestive and arguably lewd phrase meta y ponga ("in and out") has been expunged. In Lunfardo (rioplatense underworld slang) meta y ponga refers to something that keeps on repeating again and again, and it may also be taken as a sexual reference, similar to "the old in-out" in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."

Here are the two versions of the line:

AGADU: Nada hay que hacer al meta y ponga del bandoneón. ("There's nothing to be done to the in and out of the bandoneón.")

Todotango: Nada hay que hacer cuando rezonga el bandoneón. ("There's nothing to be done when the bandoneón growls/grumbles/murmurs.")

Why the difference in versions? One possibility is that the publisher of the later edition (or someone else) objected to the expression meta y ponga, either because of its obscure meaning or because of its possible suggestiveness. Another is that Carbel, or someone else, felt that the expression meta y ponga did not scan well or was too difficult to sing.

Whatever the reason for it, the change in the lyrics does nothing to improve the song. In the todotango/Carbel version, the verb rezonga (meaning "to mutter, murmur, growl, or grumble") is used in both the first and third stanzas, a redundancy that dilutes the impact of the original poem. The AGADU version, the original third stanza with its meta y ponga is more consistent with the ribald, vernacular tone of the first two. We'll stick with our AGADU version of Sacale punta, and our existing English-language versions in text and in subtitled video:

Sacale punta lyrics in original Spanish with Tango Decoder's English-language version (text only)

Sacale punta subtitled video by Tango Decoder.

Please Support Our 2016 Research Expedition!

Dear Readers and Friends:

Tango Time Machine is dedicated to unearthing beautiful and historically significant graphic materials like this ad from May 1944. Explore all the posts on this blog to see many other examples. Or visit Tango Time Machine on Facebook.

Thanks so much for all your support and enthusiasm for Tango Time Machine! I hope you'll agree that in the few short months of our existence we have demonstrated the value of this unique historical resource many times over. But there is much more to to be done. We still have at least 5000 unanswered questions about tango history!

I am about to embark on a three-month research expedition to Argentina and Uruguay, and I am seriously underfunded. Would you be willing to help Tango Time Machine achieve its research objectives? You may use the PayPal button at the upper right to donate any amount you wish.

TANGO TIME MACHINE 2016 RESEARCH EXPEDITION

SCHEDULE AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

December 2015: Visit and examine the archives of still-extant tango venues such as Villa Sahores, home of the innovative Surcos del Disco (Grooves of the Disc) weekly dance with recordings; the IMPA aluminum factory, host of unique "entrada gratis" (free-entry) shows by Troilo, Laurenz, Donato, and other orchestras; the Centro Región Leonesa and the Associazione Nazionale Italiana ("La Nacional"), site of countless milongas going back to the 1910s.... This will require 20-30 days of footwork, interviewing, and data retrieval.

January 2016: Complete the retrieval of images and data from the El Mundo Dance Guides for the years 1941-46 (currently ~30% complete). This will require approximately 25 full days of research in the National Library, the Library of Congress of Argentina, and other sources.

February 2016: Identify and visit sites of tango activity 1920-1950 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and retrieve advertising, documentation, and other historical materials from AGADU (Uruguayan Authors' Association) and the National Library of Uruguay. Conduct research on tango's Uruguayan roots and the city-wide llamadas (candombe festival).

Of course I'll do a bit of dancing on this trip; I'll eat some bife and some empanadas; I'll visit some old friends and make some new ones--it could not be otherwise! But my main objective is research, the results of which I'll continue to share with you freely as I have in the past.

Might you consider helping to fund this expedition in some modest way? If each of this group's members contributed $10, or 10 Euros, or the equivalent in any currency, we would be well on the way to meeting our fundraising goal of $6000. What do you say?

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Calor de tango: Vedani's tango serenade

The lyrics of Calor de tango are by Adolfo Antonio Vedani, the author of the lyrics to Edgardo Donato's well known song, Sinsabor. A copy of the sheet music for Calor de tango is dated 1955. The song was catalogued in the Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina for 1956. I see no evidence that it was recorded.

Almost nothing is known about Vedani, but a genealogical entry for someone by that name gives his dates as 9 July 1908-19 March 1963 and says he was born in Bizzozero, Italy, and died in Varese, Italy. Maybe it's the same Vedani... maybe not.

[Photo: This unusual display ad from 16 May 1944 marked the third annual season of performances by the Alfredo De Angelis orchestra at Café Marzotto, which had been the site of its debut on 20 March 1941. In addition to a portrait of the bandleader, it featured a nocturnal photo of downtown Buenos Aires, The Obelisk, and the bright lights of the Calle Corrientes. The neon sign of Marzotto can be seen just to the right of The Obelisk. Photo courtesy of Tango Time Machine.]

CALOR DE TANGO (Warmth of Tango)* 1955
Words: Adolfo Antonio Vedani
Music: Francisco Colombo

Quien habla de nuestro tango Nunca lo oyó ni cantar, Es amasado con fango Y de ambiente popular. Tiene reflejos de luna Y pinceladas de sol, Es espejo de laguna Y es recuerdo de farol. Fue canción de serenata En voz de Carlos Gardel, Es amor en Carlos Dante Y gusto en Julio Martel. Es emoción en Rufino Guapeza en Jorge Casal, Es sentimiento en Marino Y es dulzura en Podestá. Es De Ángelis en el piano Pichuco en el bandoneón, En Aieta es el hermano Y en D´Arienzo, el corazón. Y el que diga lo contrario Que me lo venga a escuchar, El tango es escapulario Que no se puede olvidar.

He who speaks of our tango Never heard or sang it, It's mixed with mud and rooted in the working class. It has glints of moonlight And brushstrokes of sun, It is the reflection on a pond And it's the memory of a streetlamp. It was a serenade song In the voice of Carlos Gardel It’s love in Carlos Dante And pleasure in Julio Martel. It’s feeling in Rufino, Elegance in Jorge Casal, It’s sorrow in Marino And it’s sweetness in Podestá It’s De Angelis on the piano Pichuco on the bandoneón, In Aieta it’s the brotherhood and in D’Arienzo, the heart. And he who says different, May he come to heed my word, Tango is a scapular* That one can’t forget.

NOTES:

* Warmth of tango: Calor de tango. The Spanish word calor can mean warmth, heat, or affection.
* A scapular is a Christian garment that hangs from the shoulder (L., scapulae). Its purpose is to remind the wearer of his commitment to the Christian life.

22 October 1944: Dances with recorded music...!

It's Saturday, 22 October, 1944. Where will you dance tonight? How about one of the bailes con grabaciones (dances with recordings)?

This night's dance at the Círculo Urquiza (in the barrio of Villa Urquiza, natch) was underwritten by Discos Odeon. On the positive side, that meant they'd have all the label's latest recordings. On the negative side, it meant Odeon artists only! You wouldn't hear anything by Di Sarli, D'Arienzo, D'Agostino, Troilo, or Tanturi. Hard to imagine that being much fun. At 50 centavos general admission, though, the price is right....

You're a died-in-the-wool milonguero or milonguera, right? Serious about your dance. So where will you be found this Saturday night in October, 1944? There are plenty of exciting live performances tonight: Troilo, D'Agostino, Demare, Pugliese, Castillo, Rufino, even a rare advertised appearance by Julio De Caro's band with Carlos Viván singing the estribillos (refrains). Take your pick!

The Saturday night dance at the Atlanta Athletic Club had been running continuously since the mid-1930s, and was highly profitable for the club. Atlanta had previously hosted a few dances featuring Odeon's latest releases exclusively; here, with no Odeon logo in sight, they promise "Always the latest releases from the best orchestras," presumably on all record labels.

But, like the song says, Pénsalo bien, antes de dar ese paso. ("Think carefully before taking this step.") Are you willing to travel, possibly to a distant barrio where, if there's a fight, your barra (gang) won't be there to back you up? Do you really want to dance in the midst a few thousand other couples, many of whom don't know what the pluck they're doing out there on the pista? Will you enjoy dancing to a típica for half an hour, then waiting half an hour for the jazz set to finish before you can dance another tango? Do you want to dance to the same típica all night long? And finally, do you have $3 pesos ($9 USD in today's dollars) to pay for the privilege?

The Club Resurgimiento was in the barrio of Villa Del Parque, very near the Club Villa Sahores and A. A. Juniors.

Despite the name, the Cículo Almagro was in the barrio of Villa Urquiza, quite near the Círculo General Urquiza

Club Almagro was in the barrio of Almagro.

If you answered no to any of the above questions, then you might want to consider one of the several bailes con grabaciones (dances with recorded music, or BCGs) that are happening tonight. The crowds are not as massive, the atmosphere is more relaxed, and, should you choose a dance in your own barrio, all your friends and your MFDPs (most favored dance partners) will be there. Plus, these BCGs do a great job with the music. The sound, from an electronic record player piped through the club's public address system, is nice and clear, and the songs are mostly familiar recordings you've heard and danced to before, except for a few recently released numbers that will surprise you and challenge you to dance your very best. In four or five hours, you might hear sixteen to twenty orchestras in a series of fifteen-minute sets, with less jazz and more tango. In the more advanced BCGs, the ones with the cutting edge musicalizadores, the vals and milonga numbers might  be segregated in their own separate sets, so you'd be able to choose just the right dance partner for each genre, and dance it for three full songs. And, last but not least, the price is right: fifty cents to one peso for men, ladies often free.

Pénsalo bien.... and always remember, you are making history!

 

22 October 1944: Where will you dance?

"Always remember, you are making history....!"

22 October 1944: Where will you dance?

The Genesis of the Tanda: A Radio-Centric View (Part 2)

Thursday 17 February 1944. Left-column text announces a broadcast the following day featuring the típicas of D'Agostino, D'Arienzo, De Angelis, Demare, Di Sarli, Emilio Orlando, Ciriaco Ortiz, Pugliese, Tanturi, and Troilo plus jazz by Oscar Alemán, Dajos Bela, The Hawaiian Serenaders, Barry Moral, Eduardo Muratore, and Osvaldo Norton.

During the month of February, 1944, Radio El Mundo offered several live broadcasts direct from the pistas of the great Carnaval dances. At least three of these programs were presented as a four-hour program with sixteen orchestras. In other words, sixteen sets lasting about fifteen minutes, each set featuring one orchestra alone. The programs were hosted by "animadores" who introduced the orchestras and described the most interesting aspects of the festivities for the radio audience. It wasn't the only format that LR1 employed during Carnaval, but it was definitely the most frequent one.

Saturday 19 February 1944. The four-hour broadcast featured Tanturi and jazz Novarro live from Club Huracán; Troilo, Demare, and jazz Norton from Racing Club; De Angelis, Ciriaco Ortiz, and jazz Muratore from Club Haynes; D'Agostino, Di Sarli, and jazz Barry Moral from Club Independiente; D'Arienzo from Boca Juniors; Pugliese from Círculo Almagro; and típica Emilio Orlando and jazz Oscar Alemán from Círculo General Urquiza.

Furthermore, these radio programs abandoned the equal, alternating, tango-jazz sequence that was typical of live performances at the time, offering instead ten orquestas típicas and six jazz, presumably in some sort of regular sequence, something like: J-TTJ-TTJ-TTJ-TTJ-TTJ. In other words, tango took precedence over jazz; jazz was relegated to a position of lesser importance, i.e., the "other" music heard between the tango sets.

Saturday 26 February 1944. Sixteen orchestras in four hours; ten típicas and six jazz. Típicas: D'Arienzo, Demare, Troilo, Tanturi, Ortiz, De Angelis, Di Sarli, D'Agostino, Pugliese, and Orlando.

These long, tango-heavy broadcasts, which lasted from 10 p.m. until 2 in the morning, must have made quite an impression on the tango fans of the time. They may also have set a precedent for the musicalizadores, those who spun the discs for the weekly bailes con grabaciones (BCG, dances with recordings) in the sports clubs of the barrios. For example, it is interesting to note that by the end of the year an ad for the very popular "Surcos del Disco" BCG at the Club Villa Sahores puckishly promised "18 Orchestras in 5 hours," a program even longer and more varied than these massive Carnaval shows—though the music would be on recording, not a live radio broadcast. (Another ad provides unequivocal evidence that the night's playlist consisted of 84 songs.) I believe that the "Surcos del Disco" audience would have understood this as a sort of "in" joke. Even so, implicit in the joke is the idea, or perhaps the direct assertion, that a BCG could be superior to a live performance and, of course, a lot less costly to attend.

Note: in the radio schedules, the ensembles of Dajos Bela and Osvaldo Novarro are identified as orquestas, not jazz, because they played a variety of dance music, including jazz.

Always remember, you are making history!

 

Laurenz's Best Singer: Alberto Ravera?

In this post I'll share some Pedro Laurenz relics from the Tango Time Machine archives. They date from 30 December 1943, when the Laurenz orchestra's best, most popular, and most recorded singer, Alberto Podestá, was still with the band, and from April/May 1944, when Podestá was leaving the orchestra to rejoin Di Sarli's outfit. At that time, he was still singing a few gigs with Laurenz under the assumed name "Alberto Ravera," probably with the intention of helping his former boss to promote the last recording they made together, the aptly named "Muchachos... mi último tango."(Boys... My Last Tango)

(A big Tango Decoder thank-you to Michael Lavocah, who understood instantly that "Ravera" must be Podestá, and what his purpose was in singing under that name! It seems really obvious now, but when I asked Michael about it, I hadn't a clue.)

Relic #1, from December 30, 1943: We begin with a happy memory of Laurenz and Podestá during the period of their great collaboration: "Pedro Laurenz and his Grand Orchestra with the singer Alberto Podestá wish you Happy New Year and invite you to celebrate Carnaval dancing at the Club Atlético Lanus. Federico Fabrega will host." It was quite unusual for an orchestra singer to be featured so prominently in 1943, especially with a photo. The only other example I can think of is Raúl Berón when he debuted at the Palermo Palace with Demare.

Relic #2, 25 March 1944: This is the first appearance for both the pseudonymous "Alberto Ravera" and Laurenz's new singer, Carlos Bermudez. A very nervous Bermudez would record Llueve otra vez and Más solo que nunca the next day.

Relic #3, from 1 April 1944, announces "The return to the customary frequency* of the great maestro Pedro Laurenz with his two new stars, Albert Ravera and Carlos Bermudez." (Of course, "Ravera" wasn't new.)

"Hear it," the ad continues, "at 19:15, 19:45 y 21 hrs. in the debut of the tangos, "Más solo que nunca," "La Madrugada," "Muchachos... mi último tango," and the milonga "El criollito oriental." (N.B.: Sounds like fifteen-minute segments, three tangos and a milonga...)

* the customary frequency: Probably a reference to Radio Belgrano. Since the ad appeared in the El Mundo newspaper, which was owned by the same company as Radio El Mundo, the competing station was not named, whether by courtesy or custom.

Relic #4, from 2 April 1944 puts Laurenz with "Ravera" and Bermudez at a place many of us know first-hand, Villa Malcolm. The staff at VM have repeatedly assured me that all of the many, many acts that appeared there in the 40s played in that same front hall where we dance today--although I wonder if they didn't sometimes use the indoor basketball court that stands behind the present-day club, to the right of the courtyard. Perhaps one of our readers knows the answer?

Relic #5, from 8 April 1944, shows two adjacent ads from the El Mundo Dance Guide. The upper ad announces an appearance by Laurenz in Ramos Mejía, a small city just to the west of the Capital Federal. Singers: Bermudez and "Ravera." The show was scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. (Note the Odeon logo: It clearly dates the ad sometime between 15 April and 16 November, 1944.)

The lower ad touts the "Premiere in Buenos Aires," of Di Sarli with Podestá, the two reunited after a one-year hiatus. The show, at the Floresta Juniors football club at Laguna 730, right at the edge of the Chacarita Cemetery, was scheduled for 9:30. Podestá would have had to do some fancy footwork; the two clubs were about 13 kilometers apart. (Di Sarli recorded for Victor, hence no Odeon logo.)

And yes, the two ads, one featuring Podestá and the other "Ravera," really did appear just like that, above and below, even though they were placed by two competing publicity agencies, Falcón and Vicmar. There is no reason to think it was anything but an odd coincidence.