‘El Choclo’ was premiered in 1903 (the date appears on a program of the venue) at the elegant restaurant “El Americano” on 966 Cangallo Street (today, Teniente General Perón). The orchestra led by José Luis Roncallo, had to disguise it by titling the number as “Danza Criolla,” because the owner of the restaurant did not like tango music. There is a belief, however, that it was composed in 1898. Undoubtedly, next to “La cumparsita,” it is the tango tune most widely played.
Why “El Choclo”? Irene Villoldo, sister of the composer, once explained it to the singer, Juan Carlos Marambio Catán. These are her words: “El Choclo was in fact a tough guy and a pimp who lived in the surroundings of Junín and Lavalle. He was called by that name because of the color of his hair.” The reference is interesting because it reputes the origin of the title that Francisco García Jiménez fancifully attributed to the composer: Pa’ mi el choclo es lo más rico del puchero. (The ear of corn is the tastiest thing in a stew for me).
When Villoldo wrote the first lyric of that tango he was careful not to allude to El Choclo being a pimp:
Hay choclos que tienen
las espigas de oro,
que son las que adoro
con tierna pasión.
Years later he added new lines to it under the title “Cariño Puro.” However, none of his lyrics appeared on the sheet-music that was published in 1905. This led most historians to believe this was the date of the piece.
But it was in 1947 when Enrique Santos Discépolo wrote its definitive stanzas: “Con este tango que es burlón y compadrito/ se ató dos alas la ambición de mi suburbio”. It premiered in the Mexican movie “Gran Casino”, directed by Luis Buñuel. It was however, Tita Merello who performed a remarkable rendition of it.
Con este tango que es burlón y compadrito
se ató dos alas la emoción de mi suburbio.
con este tango nació el tango, y como un grito
salió del sórdido barrial buscando el cielo.
Conjuro extraño de un amor hecho cadencia
que abrió caminos sin más ley que su esperanza,
mezcla de rabia, de dolor, de fe, de ausencia
llorando en la inocencia de un ritmo juguetón.
Por tu milagro de notas agoreras
nacieron, sin pensarlo, las paicas y las grelas,
luna de charcos, canyengue en las caderas
y una ansia fiera en la manera de querer.
Al evocarte… tango querido
siento que tiemblan las baldosas de un bailongo
y oigo el rezongo de mi pasado.
Hoy, que no tengo… más a mi madre,
siento que llega en punta ‘e pie para besarme
cuando tu canto nace al son de un bandoneón.
Carancanfunfa se hizo al mar con tu bandera
y en un pernó mezcló a París con Puente Alsina.
Fuiste compadre del gavión y de la mina
y hasta comadre del bacán y la pebeta.
Por vos shusheta, cana, reo y mishiadura
se hicieron voces al nacer con tu destino,
¡Misa de faldas, querosén, tajo y cuchillo,
que ardió en los conventillos y ardió en mi corazón.
Tango querido… tango argentino
siento que tiemblan las baldosas de un bailongo
y oigo el rezongo de mi pasado.
Tango querido… tango argentino
siento que llega en punta ‘e pie para besarme
cuando tu canto nace al son de un bandoneón.
With this tango that’s frisky and flashy,
two wings were attached, the ambition to my slum.
With this tango the tango was born
and like a hail
left the sordid mire looking for the sky.
Strange spell of a love made to cadence
that opened paths with more hope than justice,
a blend of rage, of pain, of expectation, of deprivation
crying in the innocence of a playful rhythm.
Through your miracle of oracular notes,
they leaped out without a thought, the damsels and the dames,
the moon on the puddles,
the swinging* of hips, and a fiery yearning in the way of loving.
When evoking you… lovely tango
I feel the tiles of a ballroom how they tremble
and I hear the rumble of my past.
Now that I don’t have… my mother anymore,
I feel her coming on tiptoes to kiss me
as your song arises from the sound of an accordion.
Tango with cortes** crossed the sea
under your flag and in a Pernod it mixed
Paris with Puente Alsina.
You were friend with the philanderers and the ladies
and even matchmaker of the nobs and the girls.
Because of you dandies, cops, illiterates and paupers
became voices springing out of your destiny,
a mass of skirts, paraffin, slashes and knives,
that burned in the tenements and burned in my heart.
Lovely tango… argentinian tango
I feel the tiles of a ballroom how they tremble
and I hear the rumble of my past.
Lovely tango… argentinian tango
I feel her coming on tiptoes to kiss me
as your song arises from the sound of an accordion
Source: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/el-choclo-corncob.html
