Subtitled Video #55: AZABACHE ("Jet") milonga-candombe, Caló/Berón, 1942

AZABACHE ("Jet")
Candombe-milonga, 1942
Music by Enrique Francini & Héctor Stamponi
Lyrics by Homero Expósito

Recorded by Orquesta Típica Miguel Caló with vocal by Raúl Berón, 29 September 1942. Discos Odeon 8368 A.
English-language version and subtitles by Michael Krugman for TangoDecoder.com.

¡Candombe! ¡Candombe negro! ¡Nostalgia de Buenos Aires por las calles de San Telmo viene moviendo la calle! ¡Retumba con sangre y tumba tarumba de tumba y sangre!... Grito esclavo del recuerdo de la vieja Buenos Aires... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Ay, molenita, tus ojos son como luz de azabache!... Tu cala palece un sueño ¡un sueño de chocolate!... ¡Ay, tus cadelas que tiemblan que tiemblan como los palches!... ¡Ay, molenita, quisiela... quisiela podel besalte!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Candombe! ¡Candombe negro! ¡Dolor que calienta el aire! ¡Por las calles del olvido se entretuvieron tus ayes!... ¡Retumba con sangre y tumba tarumba de tumba y sangre!... Y se pierde en los recuerdos de la vieja Buenos Aires... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Candombe! ¡Candombe negro! Nostalgia de gente pobre... Por las calles de San Telmo ya se ha perdido el candombe... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!...

Candombe, black candombe!* Nostalgia of Buenos Aires along the streets of San Telmo the street seems to be moving!* Resounding with blood and drumming* a commotion of drumming and blood!... Slave cry from the memory of old Buenos Aires... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!...  Ay, brown-skinned gal, your eyes* are like flashes of jet...* Your face is a dream a chocolate-colored dream. Ay, your hips that sway that sway like the drums!... Ay, brown girl, how I’d love... How I’d love to kiss you... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... Candombe, candombe negro! Pain that heats up the air! Along the forgetful streets your cries are raised up!... Resounding with blood and drumming a commotion of drumming and blood!... And they are lost in the memories of the old Buenos Aires... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!... Candombe, candombe negro! Memories of the poor folk.... along the streets of San Telmo the candombe has already been lost...* ¡Oh... oh... oh!... ¡Oh... oh... oh!...

NOTES AND COMMENTARY:

* candombe: Candombe is an Uruguayan music and dance that comes from African slaves. It is considered an important aspect of the culture of Uruguay and was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage of humanity. To a lesser extent, Candombe is practiced in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. In Argentina, it can be found in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Paraná, and Corrientes. In Paraguay is continued this tradition in Kamba Kua (Camba Cua) in Fernando de la Mora near to Asuncion. Also in Brazil, it still retains its religious character and can be found in Minas Gerais State. (Wikipedia)

* the street seems to be moving: The image is of a street teeming with drummers and dancers during the candombe ritual.

* drumming: the tumba was one of the characteristic drums used in candombe. Its sound is felt physically as well as heard. Today, the name refers to the lowest pitch drum of the conga family.

* brown-skinned gal: morenita. In this and the following stanza the sheet music transposes the letters L and R in imitation of the speech of an Afro-argentine candombero, and it is sung that way in the Caló/Berón version.

* jet: Azabache. Jet is a type of lignite, a precursor to coal, and is considered to be a minor gemstone. The adjective "jet-black", meaning as dark a black as possible, derives from this material. (Wikipedia)

* The original candombe ritual of Montevideo's Costa del Sur originated in 1808 and ceased in 1827-29. The candombe of Buenos Aires had its apogee under the rule of Buenos Aires governor Juan Manuel Rosas (1829-52). With loss of Rosas' patronage and the first of a series of yellow fever epidemics that struck particularly hard in the principally African barrio of San Telmo, the candombe street parades ceased and the candombe moved to clandestine dance halls called academias (academies). There, the African candombe was danced coterminously with European and native partner dances like the mazurka, polka, zamba, and milonga. In that choreographic melting pot, the tango developed and thrived.