Tango representative of the musical evolution raised by school Julio De Caro, "Boedo" occupies a place in history and maintains a place in contemporary repertoires.
In 1928, It had been four years since Julio De Caro, at the forefront of a remarkable formation and with the ideas of Juan Carlos Cobián as antecedent, had consolidated a new conception of tango. His sextet was of an instrumental technical hierarchy and a level of elaboration in arrangements unknown until 1924. So, not only illuminated the beauty of previous tangos, but he admitted (almost demanded) a new repertoire, richer and more interpretive commitment.
The show boards of the newspapers of the 8 October 1928 they advertise: "Today is the event that all Buenos Aires expects, to 18:20 and night at 21:30, representation of JULIO DE CARO and his famous typical, the orchestra that is in the soul of the porteños, will premiere the following tangos: J's “creole pride”. De Caro y P. Laurenz; J's “Boedo”. De Caro; “Loca bohemia” by F. De Caro; P's “mal de amores”. Laurenz». It happened in the Renaissance Cinema, by Lavalle 925, coinciding with the debut of singer Roberto Díaz.
Along with "Good friend", "Old Law" and "The Little Monkey", "Boedo" is among the tangos that more opportunities (four in each case) Julio De Caro recorded. The first time, for the Victor label, in 1928. In 1939 register it in Odeon, with a fragment of the lyrics recited by Héctor Farrell. In 1950 do it again in Odeon, again without lyrics. Y, also in instrumental version, takes you to the Pathé album in 1952.
Let's mention that Lucio Demare records “Boedo” with the Irusta-Fugazot-Demare trio orchestra, at the time of the premiere. Between later versions, let's write down those of the Francini-Pontier orchestra, the de Osvaldo Pugliese, the two of Horacio Salgán (with orchestra and duo with Ubaldo De Lío), that of Los Astros del Tango and Ástor Piazzolla with the Octeto Buenos Aires. And remember that Francisco Canaro, who did not frequently approach De Caro's work, he did record this tango with his Quintet Pirincho.
The area of influence of Boedo street, although it was officially recognized as a neighborhood only in 1972, it was long ago a territory of poets and tango men: neighbors included José González Castillo, his son Catulo, Homero Manzi, in whose works the reflections of the place endured. Boedo is present in tango through Manzi's beautiful verses from “Sur” de 1948. Already existed then, for a long time, the tango “Mi Boedo Querido” by José Milano, with the humble verses of Enrique D’Aquila: «¡MiBoedo! … / You are that pretty street / open… so that the illusion enters / Today I want! … / Deschavarte neighborhood mine / that I have you so attached / in my poor heart ».
Julián Centeya rescued the mythology and the tango and literary history of the area, in the Boedo poem: «I come to play the game. / But I say that I come from the legendary Boedo. / The one with the Balearic Islands and the Airplane, / that of Eufemio Pizarro and La Chancha / shot dead on the wide sidewalk at the door of the Biarritz, / (…) / Del Boedo, yes, Dante coffee Boedo / and the noisy bondis station / in front of the Andes, / where my joint of wonder / he glimpsed Gorki with Barletta ».
But the charms of this neighborhood also reached a "center poet" like Enrique Cadícamo, who wrote lyrics and music for “Boedo y San Juan” ("From here, from Boedo and San Juan / I'm going to sing / to the neighborhood where I was born »).
Not expensive, born in Once and raised in San Telmo, nor Dante A. Linyera, who was born in Independencia and Sáenz Peña, they were children of Boedo. However, the original tango score reads: «I dedicate this little memory to my childhood companions, the boys from Boedo », and it is indisputable that the authors are among the first creators of the genre attracted by this scenario. De Caro will devote a work to him again, this time with lyrics by Mario Gomila and the name of one of the emblematic streets of the neighborhood, “Chiclana”, as title: «I come back to you, beloved neighborhood / from far away yesterday. / Old Chiclana / what I learned to love / between the malevolent rumor / of your bandoneon ».
"Boedo" was not of great importance as a tango sung, although Roberto Díaz left his version close to the premiere, the 18 April 1929, accompanied by guitars. But the subject of the letter is for other interesting, for many reasons.
to get started, Let's comment that in it 1928, A Dante. Linyera released another tango with a similar theme, this one with music by Ricardo Luis Brignolo. This is "Florida de arrabal": Ax and chalk neighborhood, papuso, Canyengue, / the new emotion was born, / ande rea soul continues to use tongue / and tango is twisted like a bandoneon ». The fragment is enough to show the affinity with the tango in question. Let's add another stanza from "Florida de arrabal" dedicated specifically to Boedo street, sensitive center of the neighborhood that Linyera chose in both tangos as a panoramic point: «Boedo, Boedo, / everyone's street / merry Florida / of the sad suburb / tell him very quiet / tell the kid / romantic and dad / that is going to come ».
It is interesting to stop at Dante A's comparison. Linyera, in the two letters of the streets Boedo and Florida. Because we are, in 1928, in full swing of the legendary confrontation between the literary movements represented by Grupo Florida and Grupo Boedo.
Around the Martin Fierro magazine —installed in Buenos Aires in 1924—, With the impulse of Ernesto Palacio and Roberto Marianise, he gathers a remarkable group of writers including Jorge Luis Borges, Conrado Nalé Roxio, Macedonio Fernández, Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz, with meeting center in Florida and Tucumán. While the intersection of San Juan and Boedo agglutinates, in their cafes, to a notable group of writers including Roberto Arlt and Álvaro Yunque, headquartered in Claridad magazine workshops. The rivalry between the two groups soon grows, stoked by an evening.
Divergences were far from enmity. Many years later, in 1959, some of the most outstanding protagonists of this story declared for Clarín.
A) Yes, Borges affirmed: «Florida and Boedo really existed, although not clearly defined. For example, Nicolás Olivari was in Boedo and published in Florida, Raúl González Tuñon began acting in Boedo and then went to Florida (…) My impression is this: those of Boedo of social and committed art and those of Florida with purist tendencies, the art for the art. Boedo's were followers of Emile Zola, Maxim Gorky. Its meridian passed through Russia and also through France. Actually, those in Florida were from a trend derived from Lugones, although publicly we were enemies of him. We were also a bit politically motivated and because we owed him too much and we didn't want to confess. (…) Florida was therefore a literary revolution, somewhat spectacular, another little noisy, However, fruitful. Some results gave. Roberto Arlt and others like him came from Boedo and published in Claridad, edited by Antonio Zamora…»
For Álvaro Yunque: "Those in Florida cared more about sounds. We were revolutionaries and they were avant-garde ».
And Ernesto Palacio is very clear: "That Boedo-Florida affair was, I think so, a minor phenomenon. One day I think it occurred to me, I proposed to the fine and cultured spirit that Roberto Mariani was to create a literary movement as a joke. Later, that joke acquired unusual significance to our amazement. That importance was actually warmed up by an afternoon newspaper. So much so that nobody was against anyone, that both collaborated in the same magazines, they sat together at the drafting tables and also performed together at the peñas. Also and worth saying, Boedo's constituents were people of a lower social category. The majority were workers who aspired to a literary representation of their class, "Proletarian literature", would be called later. The genuine spokesmen for this stream were Castelnuovo and Roberto Arlt. But the latter was also with us (although a little later and sponsored by Conrado Nalé Roxlo). It was not easy to enter our circles. Raúl González Tuñón was in both integrations. The denomination was due, I believe, to random fortunes. We met for comfort in nearby Florida cafes and they, in San Juan and Boedo ».
The fact is that Dante A. Linyera, definitely enrolled, does not stop leaning its ember to the spectacular fireworks of the confrontation, with his provocateur: "What does that fifteen Florida want to do?…».
By last, let us confirm that the second letter of Boedo, which is actually a variant of the original, surely it was written in 1943, as a concession to the radio censorship imposed by the government of General Pedro Pablo Ramírez. In this new version, as required by the dictatorship, slang expressions disappear, the voseo and, significantly, the verses "heretics": «Walk the tango, provocative and male / today is the god / Our Lord / del Berretín ».
It is difficult to establish who wrote this version "decorated", If that, as we presume, is not before 1943. Because the scores in which it appears keep the signature of Dante A. Linyera. But the poet had died in 1938, to the 35 years.
This letter, of at least cloudy origin, but relatively faithful to the original theme — if not the form, essential-, can be heard in the recorded version, at a time much later than its appearance, by singer Guillermo Fernández.
Extract the book One hundred fundamental tangos, Oscar del Priore and Irene Amuchástegui, Aguilar, Buenos Aires 1998.
Source: todotango.com
