Episode 3

The tango “Mano a Mano” holds a distinguished place in the history of Argentine popular music. Composed in 1920 by Carlos Gardel and José (Jorge) Razzano, with lyrics by the poet Celedonio Flores. It is a quintessential tango of lunfardo and the theme of the "percanta" (a woman, often a former lover) who leaves a humble man for a life of luxury with a "bacán" (a wealthy man).

During the 1943 dictatorship in Argentina, there was suppression of lyrics containing lunfardo (the local colloquial language) or references to drunkenness or moral “infractions". Mano a Mano was one of the tangos censored or forced to adopt a “cleaned-up” version to pass broadcasting control. As listeners we can witness different versions, where only two recordings by Lomuto from 1944 and Angelis 1946 had corrected versions of lyrics while others preserved the original version.

Are you ready for a ride? Just listen how this tango progress and in fact speed up over time:

• Carlos Gardel 1923

• Francisco Canaro 1927

• Carlo with trio Ciraico Ortiz 1934

• Orquesta Tipica Victor 1934

• Francisco Lomuto 1936

• Francisco Canaro 1938

• Francisco Lomuto 1944

• Alfredo de Angelis 1946

• Francisco Canaro 1953

• Donato Racciatti 1952

• Miguel Calo 1965

• Julio Sosa 1962

• Edmundo Rivero with Orchestra of Mario de Marco 1962

Apart from lyrics changes, as a DJ I'll stick with Golden age interpretation from Francisco Lomuto (1936) and Alfredo de Angelis (1946), but you may surprise your audience with other versions like Donato Racciatti.

Listening to these interpretations of one of my favorite tangos was a true delight, and it reminded me that history repeats itself in many different forms.

#tango, #TangoArgentino, #tangodancer, #milonga, #milonguero, #tangodj