Ventarrón: Faded glory

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 assistance and insight of María Rosa Braile.

Our subtitled video of Ada Falcón's performance of VENTARRÓN in Spanish and English is below, followed by face-to-face translation with explanatory notes. We chose the Falcón version because 1) it's great and 2) it contains the full lyrics, unlike the more familiar danceable version recorded by the Orquesta Típica Victor. Next time you dance to it, you'll know the back story. 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 hid behind a star that his destiny led him to. Many years have passed, Ventarrón, along with the flashy suits and the wild delusions  you left behind in the gin mills* like a scourge of God. Now, sad and alone, past his prime, his defeats eating at his soul, the tough guy 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 the good-for-nothing.* And when you hear a swaggering, edgy 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 assumes 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."

* a nobody to the 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.