Culture from Uruguay

Tango is originally 'made in Uruguay' - although the Argentinians, from the other side of the River Plate, surely will claim that t h e m brought up this erotic and sensual music and dance. (This discussion shall never end. But the important thing is, that TANGO h a s been invented, and that you can enjoy it with us in Uruguay, if you please to do so, or wherever you wish.)

TANGO needs no mayor description. Everybody associates it with elegant dancers, beautiful women in tight dresses and sensual movements. (And we hope you’ll agree with us that our tango performers fit perfectly well into this overall categorization.)

But there is although another kind of Tango, which is the original one: It is heavier, sader (you could call it the 'River Plate Blues'). It sounds more like classical music. Here in Uruguay you will get to know both of them: the romantic one (take care of your spouses or lovers, because our singers are pretty cute!), and the original one.

The Tango lyrics always deal about 'life problems': Jealous women swearing revenge to the men who 'betrayed' them; abandoned men yelling for their lost beloveds. Love, hate, passion and madness are predominant - and also lyrics about lost hopes, broken lifes and existences.

But the power of TANGO lays in transforming all those existential problems in pure energy and joy of life. And, of course: You never dance Tango alone ...

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CARLOS GARDEL

The unforgotton idol of many is Carlos Gardel, a kind of Uruguayan James Dean, who had a brilliant career and died young in an accident. In the late twenties and early thirties, he did movies with Paramount Pictures, being the first 'Latin Lover' and heartbreaker in the upcoming film industry. Always smart, always perfectly dressed and styled, that was his trademark.

Our modern sons and grandsons of Carlos Gardel are doing their best to make up with him, and judging by the applause they earn during every performance, it seems they are not too far behind him.

Well known Tango musicians are for example the "Tango Trio Edison Bordón", which is integrated by the cream of the cream. When their leader, Mr. Bordón, travels abroad to play somewhere else, this is declared of "national interest" by the government. (No joke, that really did happen when he was invited to act during the celebrations of "3000 Years of Jerusalem"!).

TANGO - FOREVER YOUNG

Tango is more than 100 years old. The first Tango was composed in 1886. What is said to be the 'hymn' of Tango - "La Cumparsita" (download it here) was written in 1917.

As happened with almost all popular dances, Tango during its first decades was considered as 'dirty' and 'not suitable' by the upper social classes. It was first danced in (well, what comes now is not for minors of age ...) whorehouses, where the therein working ladies used the erotism of Tango as a powerful marketing strategy to increase the sales probabilities of their distinguished services.

'Honest' women were not supposed to dance Tango. Therefore, men danced Tango - with other men. They did this to 'practice' (and to teach the unexperienced) for their late night adventures.

This changed in the twenties, when Tango became socially accepted and conquered all the dancing halls. The 'Golden Decade' of Tango were the fourties, when Tango was - here in the region, Uruguay and Argentina - really everywhere.

Tango never died. On the contrary: In the 80ies and 90ies, he had a strong comeback, finding also many followers in Europe and Northamerica where Tango schools spread like mushrooms.

Here in Uruguay you can see every night people of all ages dancing Tango. This is because human nature never changes. And Tango touches the very center of human existence:

EMOTIONS AND EROTISM

Translation of the Lyrics of "La Cumparsita"

First, a couple of definitions about the title.

Cumparsa: Lunfardo word that denotes a group of people that attends the carnival festivals dressed in a similar fashion (usually, but not exclusively, wearing masks.)

The term seems to be a corruption of the italian 'comparsa'.

La Cumparsita: The little cumparsa.

La cumparsa
de miserias sin fin
desfila
en torno de aquel ser enfermo
que pronto ha de morir
de pena.

Por eso
es que en su lecho
solloza acongojado
recordando el pasado
que lo hace padecer.

The masked parade
of endless miseries
promenades
around that sick being
that soon will die
of sorrow.

That's why
in its bed
cries mournfully
remembering the past
that makes it suffer.

Note: In the Angel D'Agostino-Angel Vargas (El Bandoneon, EBCD 44) version, the last word "padecer" has been changed to "estremecer" which translates into "that makes it shake [probably from fear]".

LA CUMPARSITA lyrics by
Enrique Maroni and Pascual Contursi

Si supieras,
que aun dentro de mi alma,
conservo aquel cariño
que tuve para ti...
Quien sabe si supieras
que nunca te he olvidado,
volviendo a tu pasado
te acordaras de mi...

Los amigos ya no vienen
ni siquiera a visitarme,
nadie quiere consolarme
en mi afliccion...
Desde el dia que te fuiste
siento angustias en mi pecho,
deci, percanta, que has hecho
de mi pobre corazon?

Sin embargo,
yo siempre te recuerdo
con el cariño santo
que tuve para ti.
Y estas en todas partes
pedazo de mi vida,
y aquellos ojos que fueron mi alegria
los busco por todas partes
y no los puedo hallar.

Al cotorro abandonado
ya ni el sol de la mañana
asoma por la ventana
como cuando estabas vos,
y aquel perrito compañero
que por tu ausencia no comia,
al verme solo el otro dia
tambien me dejo.

If you knew,
that still within my soul,

I keep the love
I had for you...
Who knows, if you knew
that I never forgot you,
returning to your past,
you would remember me...

The friends do not come
not even to visit me,
nobody wants to console me.
in my affliction...
Since the day you left
I feel anguish in my chest,

tell me, woman, what have you done
with my poor heart?

Nevertheless,
I always remember you
with the holy love
that I had for you.
And you are everywhere,
piece of my life,
and those eyes that were my happiness

I search for them everywhere
and I can't find them.

To the abandoned bedroom
now not even the morning sun
shows thru the window
the way as when you were there,
and that little dog [our] partner
that because of your absence would not eat

on seeing me alone the other day also left me.

Translation of the Lyrics of "La Cumparsita"

LA CUMPARSITA lyrics byEnrique Maroni and Pascual Contursi

LA CUMPARSITA lyrics by
Enrique Maroni and Pascual Contursi