“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo”: Reconsidering Jorge Luis Borges’s Views on the Tango1

John Turci-Escobar

There is an anecdote that is frequently put forth as evidence that Borges knew absolutely nothing about music; that for all his refined craft and vaunted erudition, when it concerned the , ’s most ac- claimed modern writer was deaf. This anecdote appears in a book writ- ten by the Argentine jazz guitarist, Oscar López Ruiz. In these informative and entertaining memoirs, López Ruiz chronicles his twenty-five years playing, recording, and touring with the man who revolutionized the tango, (Piazzolla 196-99). The careers of Borges and Piaz- zolla intersected in the mid 1960s, when the former agreed to contribute

1 I would like to thank the following friends, colleagues, and institutions for their advice and assistance in this project: María Andrea Campetella, Alfredo Alonso Este- noz, Julio Schvartzman, Omar García Brunelli, Nicolás Lucero, William G. Acree, Mabel Moraña, la Fundación San Telmo, and José Montelongo, librarian at the Benson Latin American Collection.

Variaciones Borges 43 » 2017 John Turci-Escobar 68 1965 LP album entitledEltango1965 LP. album The anecdote where Borges betrays his 2 (198). Inhisrole of idleobserver, Borges gave little indication of whether The compositions thatresulted from thisagreement form thebasisof the group, theQuinteto Nuevo Tango, features thealbum atwelve-piece discography, Mitsumasa Saito four identifies days: June5, 6, 15, and 21of 1965(274). concretion required of thealbum twelve hoursof recording, six two-hour splitupinto quently invitedBorges over tohisapartment sothatthepoetcould hear The aforementioned magazine article provides more detail, perhaps contradictory. The defective musical earconcerns anexchange thattook place one of during volved theprocess in these sessions find exciting, itcan betedious for “el chamber ensemble drawn from theelite of Argentine classical musicians, ed all therecording sessions. Now, theguitarist admits, while- those in or not he was having agood time: the control he sat patiently in room, ocioso observador [quien], por lo general, no lo pas[a] demasiado bien” hours in therecordinghours in studio. a chorus, andalarge orchestra. For therecitation parts, theproducers a handful of milonga and tango lyrics that the latter would set to music. and theevents uptoit, leading asection in withatitlethatismisleadingly sessions, witheach of thevaried ensembles. Itthenrequired two additional hours of sang thelyrics. To take these compositions from hisliving room tothe salacious: “Borges chica”. yla tango singer of thetime. recruited andesteemed apopular actor, RaúlMedina Castro. The lynch- that eventually participated theproject. in Inaddition toPiazzolla’s own that hadheldthecontract for Eltango (LópezRuiz 196). Much of these recording studio, Piazzolla- spentmuchof “intermi 1965immersed in tions atthepiano; hiswife Odette María Wolff, better known asDedé, the music hewas composing for thealbum. Astor played hiscomposi- took place. the compositional During process, hewrites, Piazzolla fre- the recording sessions for thisalbum. LópezRuiz recounts thisexchange, negotiations surely concerned thenumber andqualityof performers nable negotiations” attheadministrative offices of PolyGram, thelabel pin for theproject,pin however, was EdmundoRivero, the most prominent playbacks torecord EdmundoRivero’s vocal partsand Luis Medina Castro’s recitations. El tango required multiple days atthe recording studio. Inhisdetailed and thorough Given thiswidearray of performing forces, Eltango demandedmany López Ruiz’s narration several begins months before theexchange 2 Borges, we learnfrom LópezRuiz, attend- 3 given hiscontroversial status contemporary in Argentine musical cultural do lostediosos preparativos, ensayos ydiferentes tomasquese hacían para obtener el who, all ashehadbeen doing along, was sitting immutable in silence, were listeningtohow they hadplayed, Piazzolla turnedtowards Borges Ruiz’s description, was quite hectic: Rivero. After thethird orfourth take of themilonga, while themusicians as refrain for andpunchline hisanecdote. hands resting on thehandleof thecane heheldbetween hislegs. Over and asked: “¿YBorges? ¿Quéleparece? ¿Legusta?” Borges, LópezRuiz’s Nicanor Paredes.” Borges hadheard thismilonga several months earlier his tenaciousness thanhispatience, Piazzolla’s deference tohiscollabora- he hadmuchmore atstake theproject in than Borges. Better known for Piazzolla’s accompaniment, piano minimal Borges heard alarge orches- y dirigiéndose a Astor con su voz aflautada tan peculiar, y su tono entre mejor resultado posible”(LópezRuiz 197-98). siderable time and energy in bringing this album tofruition. thisalbum siderable timeandenergy Moreover, bringing in variable, silenciosaypacientemente sentado decontrol sala enla delestudioescuchan- revealed how hefelt aboutthemusic hewas hearing. the course of several days, hemadeneitheracomment noragesture that the activity thatwas taking place around him, which according toLópez recollects, responded thus: “Borges, inmutable, apenas silevantó vista la tra. Instead of Dedé’shigh voice, heheard thedeep baritone of Edmundo silence broke.tor’s finally This occurred one of sessions during thelast in themorein intimate setting of Piazzolla’s apartment. Butnow, instead of thestudio,in when themusicians were recording themilonga “ADon “Durante varias las sesiones factura que demandó la de este disco, Borges estaba- in ¡Borges, immutable! This phrase, highlighted byexclamation marks, Piazzolla was notamused byBorges’s silence. Hehadinvested con-

chos yarmábamos bastante escándalo haciéndonos todotipo debromas escuchar diferentes las tomasqueíbamos realizando delosdistintos temas quecomponían eldisco. referentes acómo habíamos tocado tal ocual parte. tumbre detomartodocon humor), puteábamos como camioneros borra- Entrábamos ysalíamos permanentemente decontrol sala dela para Comentábamos estoyaquello, nosreíamos como locos (nuestra cos- Borges, inmutable. Borges, inmutable. (198-99) 3 Nor didhereact to

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 69 John Turci-Escobar 70 4 The prominence of Rivero’s cover name on thealbum reflects hiscelebrity 5 guished andsuccessful of tango singers, atatimewhen thepopularity que sucedía asualrededor, pero no hacía comentario nigesto alguno querevelara sus cantaba la chica’” (199, emphasisbyLópezRuiz). The girl, of course, was cians—but alsodistastefully and elderlymanwho toablind was rude alsoanexalted thediehardcluding Piazzolla fans who probably were the core readership of thisLópez- entre dosmentirosos” (204). crucial tothetopic,crucial contrast since in tobothBorges andPiazzolla, no of themusic, bothasmusic anddance forms, precipitously. haddeclined Ruiz: one questioned hisassociation withthetango. and importance totheproject. Not only was Rivero agreat tango singer, aristocrático yestilo‘el traga delcolegio’, lecontestó: ‘Sí; claro; porsu- sentimientos respecto deloqueestaba escuchando” (198). shifted due, large in part, tothework of BeatrizSarlo. Butmore significantly, amore Piazzolla’s wife, Dedé. Ruiz’s memoirs, it seems likely that many Argentine readers of this non-scholarly book national figure. To hiscredit, hisnarrative, in atone point LópezRuiz acknowledges was weird: “Quizá muy la avanzada ceguera que padecía contribuyera de lo a aislarlo what was going on around him, thathislack butheinsists of comments orgesture themusicians’would reaction notonly find puzzling—an joke insider’s among musi- that thevery advanced blindness thataffected thepoetcontributed tohisisolation from may strike readers asodd, even man. toanelderlyblind rude puesto; pero quéquiere quelediga, Piazzolla, amímegustaba más cómo lo provide somecontext. As mentioned above, thepresence of Rivero was lished in 1994,lished in justafew years after Borges’s death. By then, critical views of Borges have benign view of thecelebrated writer hadspread throughout thegeneral public. Thus, ex- Their reaction may alsohave puzzled López-Ruiz’s local readers. The book was pub- Carlos Kuri states that, thisproject, in Rivero “consigue unaposición clara cantando The musicians’ reaction toBorges’s somewhat innocent comment Borges’s response caused acommotion thestudio. in Again, López

cluido, queloscristales decontrol sala dela casi se parten enmilpedazos. a tomaruncafé enalgún cercanías, bardelas ydespuésdereírnos yco- Fue muy retomar difícil compostura la necesaria como para poderencarar una nueva toma. Para lograrlo tuvimos quehacer unparéntesis eirnos recomenzamos tarea. la mentar hasta elcansancio ocurrencia la deBorges, retornamos y sala ala Se recontra pudriótodo. Fue tal explosión la decarcajadas, Rivero- in ¿Qué habíapasadocon Borges? ¡Borges, inmutable! (199) 5 Hewas- themostdistin 4 So, letus good fortune to hearseveral of these recordings. Despite thequalityof therecordings, 7 Indeed, herson DanielPiazzolla, himself atrainedmusician, confirms como ytenía losdioses! Era unhermosovibrato” afinadísima (person- vation voz, asatestimony to“la secreta, ydulce deDedé”(41). afinada cialist in themilongacialist in genre. This was not lost on López Ruiz: “Edmundo was not: chica era mujerdeAstor, la “la Dedé, quienaparte deser una mu- López Ruiz hadachip on hisshoulder. Hefelt thatArgentine societydid él podíadarleaeste estilodemúsica, unamilonga sureña decorte tangue- López Ruiz was theconsummate professional musician: musically literate, Rivero locantaba [“ADon Nicanor Paredes] con elsaborqueúnicamente 6 al communcation). hiciera enese tema” (199). Butitwas more thanamatter of questionable he was deaf, butitalsobetrayed acomplete disregard for professional mu- Piazzolla Carlos scholar Kuri, for example, hasinterpreted Borges’s obser- argue, istoeducate thealmostexclusively Argentine reader on thenature of music pro- aspect of music, generally painstaking in detail. Oneof thegoals of thisbook, one could and often lengthy digressions, often type set “sidenotes” where thisorthat heexplains una cantante” (199). For López-Ruiz andtheother musicians assembled sicians. jer encantadora, dulce, muy mona yexcelente pintora, no era para nada work andknowledge isinvolved music making. in These are often placed copious in fore hehadgarnered anysuccess asasinger. Lachica, LópezRuiz explains, this notion: “Mi mamá noera unaprofesional delcanto, pero ¡cantaba ro, y además, como tocaba muy guitarra, bien la a Astor se le ocurrió que lo in the recordingin studio, thefact thatBorges preferred la chica over Rivero fessionalism. the musician himself atthepiano, circulate among Argentine collectors. Ihave hadthe not take musicians seriously, especially those who played music. popular musical taste what irked LópezRuiz. As can begleaned from hismemoirs, multifaceted, andexperienced. Sowas EdmundoRivero, anestablished not only proved thatBorges knew absolutelyaboutmusic, nothing that professional guitarist, who played classical styles, andpopular long be- 8 but also during the time the recordingbut also during was made, he was viewed as a spe- The fact thatRivero was alsoanexcellent guitarist surely touchedanerve. Hisbook isstrewn withdidactic passages on thenature of music andhow much Interestingly, recordings Piazzolla’s of Dedésinging setting of Borges’s lyrics, with Now, there are several possible explanations for Borges’s ocurrencia. 7 8 Given thelong andpersonal relationship between 6

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 71 John Turci-Escobar 72 So, attherecording session, hisdispleasure bynoting withhow hislyrics century itwas neighborhood known as“the of theknife.” This designa- López Ruiz andPiazzolla, itseems unlikely thatDedé’svoice was asecret when Borges wasPiazzolla’s visiting home, Bioy Casares recorded thefol- of , thatis, one of theless affluent neighborhoods thathad of English books. Note how Borges, who was meticulous withhisword choices, saidhepre- his lyrics hadbeen set. had been sung, Borges avoided displeasure histrue mentioning withhow and collaborator, Adolfo Bioy Casares. Inanentrywritten around thetime Palermo isnow avery fashionable neighborhood butattheturnof the are less adroit. lowing question: how didBorges like milongas tobesung? lowing observation: ferred thegirlsangmilonga. “how” This invitesustoexplore thefol- to him. Soagain, what irked LópezRuiz, was thefact thatshewas nota formed around the center of thecity. The outskirts were atransitional Dedé comes across singer. asafine Infact, Piazzolla’s accompanying skills atthepiano tion delighted Borges, of course, because hehadgrown Palermo, upin al- three decades, to thelate 1920s, when Borges wasabook on writing the interesting one can begleaned from thediariesof Borges’s close friend professional singer, thatshemostlikely could notread music. poet of Palermo, Evaristo Carriego. This isnotPalermo, Sicily, of course, beit, agarden in aniron behind gate, alibrary andin withalimitless stock but theneighborhood on thenorthernedges of thecityof BuenosAires. At the turn of the century, Palermo was one of theorillas , oroutskirts, There are also less generous explanations for Borges’s ocurrencia. An To answer thisquestion, we mustturnback theclock more than But there isanexplanation that, asBorges would say, ismuchnicer. Afirma: “La música milonga dela que Piazzolla hizo para Paredes, como veintitantos, yo nopuedoestar muy apenado porsumuerte. Ademáslovi siempre a Paredes como unpersonaje genérico. Yo unamilonga imaginé casi alegre, porcierto épica: ésta esquejumbrosa. DijoPiazzolla que por éste esundifunto, estristísima. Comprenderás quesiParedes murióenel primera vez se llevan loscantos gregorianos aunamilonga. Así salió. Tam- bién tiene final decante jondo.bién tienefinal Esunaporquería”. (1056) 10 question, “¿Quéesque lo atrae enfiguras como elorillero yelcompadrito?” Borges 9 desinteresado, se entiende”(23). dent in the tradesdent in that he plied: cart driver, cattle driver, animal slaughterer, courage astheirprimaryvirtue. For these men, courage was areligion, a common usage, Argentine in Spanish, the term guapo doesnotconnote courage of theknife fighters was epic notonly because itwas disinter- was disinterested. These mendidnotfight for love, power, orprofit. were epic, hefrequently argued, because thecourage of theknife fighters was admirable thatthistype of meneven existed. Men who, despite the was willing to put his life on the line; the cause did not matter. So, unlike etc. There were several types of compadre. For Borges, the most interest- ested, but also, because of its joy, a petulant, bellicose joy. A joy that was one on one, always withknives, always tothedeath. a manwho ishandsome, butone who isaggressively brave. For Borges, it Borges once wrote: modo, crearon loqueyo llamé alguna secta vez delcuchillo ‘la ydelcoraje.’ Delcoraje lives, but they were alsohard men, andthey hadthe courage tofeel joy. As land, corner general stores, mudwalls, saloons withpink anddustydirt urban andruralworlds was evident thelandscape: in vacant stretches of space between the city and the countryside. This transitional state between religion they practiced on thedirtroads of theoutskirts, duelsfought in roads of thepampas. thatmeltedtheplains into ing one wasing the find a pithy articulation an interview with Victoria in find Ocampo. In response to her responded: “Pienso que esos orilleros eran pobre gente que, para justificarse dealgún not contingent on circumstances. These men, Borges asserted, lived hard poverty andbitter hardships they faced theireveryday in lives, aspired to padre lived between urbanandruralworlds. Hisrecent rural pastwas evi- This Borges’s notion isubiquitousin thatdealwithtemas writings orilleros. We The archetypal inhabitant of theoutskirts was thecompadre. The com- For Borges, theduelsof theknife fighters hadanepic dimension. They Originally Saber publishedin Vivir, BuenosAires, Año V, no. 53, 1945. valerosos, pero síeran hombres cuya aspiración era felicidad la yelvalor. que losprecedieron, para saberqueloscompadres quelosinventaron, sil- Eso anhelaban, asílesgustaba pensarse. (“Vindicación” 226-27) Basta escuchar lostangos quehemencionado, congéneres olas milongas baron ydivulgaron, noeran tal vez hombres felices, nisiquiera hombres guapo. The guapo, he asserted, was simply a man who 10 9 The

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 73 John Turci-Escobar 74 According toBorges, theturnof thecentury milongas andtangos ex- Moreira, The conversational tone of themilonga, of course, hadalottodowith gas andtangos were thesonic of theirduels. imprints Like these duels, the Consider, for example, José Hernández’s Martín Fierro, Gutierréz’s Juan conversadora ycantora” (“Lacanción delbarrio”, OC1: 240). como deñato, arrastrada, con apurones defastidio, nunca gritona, entre called amilonguero, asinger of milongas. Through Paredes, Borges met euphemism for having killed aman. over, often fused theknife fighter andthepayador character. asingle into of them. Butthere was one withwhom hedeveloped afriendship of sorts, how thepayadores andmilongueros sang: “Lospayadores ymilongue- and who became hisprimarysource. This manwas Nicolás Paredes, the how singers sang it, their intonation. Borges writes: “Los aires y los argu- and how itwas sung. Heexpressed these viewshisbook Evaristo in Car- and heard otherpayadores andmilongueros. and making hisliving asacard shark. Like thelegendary knife fighters of riego subject of themilonga lyrics set byPiazzolla. Paredes hadbeen apolitical to theduelsandcourage of theknife fighters. Argentine writers, more- ros […]habían canturreado casi envoz baja, con unaentonación entre the outskirts haddisappeared. Traces of thisworld remained, however, es- ticed the old way of singing. He also sang milongas, and thus, can also be the past, Paredes was notonly aguapo butalsoapayador, that is, heprac- milongas andearlytangos hadanepic dimension. mentos suelenvariar; loquenovaría entonación esla del cantor, atiplada milonga asone of thetwo great conversational forms of BuenosAires. pecially the memories of itsformer in inhabitants. Borges spoke tomany pressed directly theguapo’s aspiration for courage andjoy. These milon- boss of Palermo. Itwas rumored thatheowed alife ortwo, thehabitual When Borges began researching his book on Carriego, the world of When Borges met Paredes, the guapo was elderly but still imposing, The payador, akind of gaucho troubadour, was often adirect witness These menshaped Borges’s views on themilonga: what itsang about, In later writings, Borges often uses theexpression canturrear todescribe (1930). Here, perhaps for time, thefirst Borges distinguishes the Santos Vega, andHormiga Negra; orCarriego’s poem, “ElGuapo.” 12 11 Carriego. quality concerns intonation, ormore accurately, itsabsence: thepayadores destreza osiobra mera dela torpeza delcantor. Creo segunda quela hipó- dores singing and howdores he wanted singing readers of his text the voice, to imagine draws between asharpdistinction theoldway (“antigua of singing mane- words thismanner: in “Enelmodestocaso demismilongas, ellectordebe ever, can beheard apublic lecture in thathegave towards theendof 1965, La manose demora cuerdas enlas palabras ylas cuentan menosquelos of thelyrics andtheindifference thesinger’s intonation. in Itwas asifthe of intonation: “Ahora, ¿enquéconsistía, ante todo, antigua la manera crio- of singing, which hedescribesaswithdesgano, from Paredes andother acordes” (OC and theway the 1920s, thatbecame in popular of singing exemplified and milongueros, itseems, sangoutof tune. Borges notes two hisearlierwritings. qualitiesnotmentioned in The first nos ylospayadores” (Eltango 93). singer didnotrealize what about. hewas singing was thecontrast,style of singing thecontrast between thebloody content lla decantar? Yo diríaqueconsistía en un contraste, nosé siobra dela lo cantado (“Prólogo” ylooral” 142). significantly, around thesame timethatBorges madetheobservation umbral deunzaguán oenunalmacén, acompañándose con guitarra. la músicasuplir la ausente imagen porla deunhombre quecanturrea, enel tesis esmásposible, entre letra, la letra la que solíaser ensangrentada yla then thisishow theintonation of hisown heimagined milonga verses. ra criolla de cantar), exemplified by the payadores and the milongueros, that soentertained López-Ruiz andcompany. thislecture, During Borges is more interesting, however, because itgoes beyond thephysical aspects indiferencia (OC del cantor” invites thereader thevoice toimagine of avirtualsinger his articulating milongueros that he heard when he was researching hisbook on Evaristo by thetango singer, . To describetheoldstyleof singing, In theprologue tothevolume thatcollected hismilonga lyrics, Borges Borges’s mostrevealing discussion of how milongas were sung, how- “Ustedes mevan aperdonar quedesafine, lospaisa- porquetambién desafinaban Originally appeared Zubillaga. in 2: 577). Oneassumes thatifthisishow heexperienced paya- 2: 93). For Borges, what distinguished the old 11 Borges hadexperienced thisway 12 Itisthesecond qualitythat

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 75 John Turci-Escobar 76 14 13

es suggest an earthatissensitive to rhythmic subtletiesof word-music has chosen to sing the text.has chosen to sing Most likely done unconsciously, these chang- By replacing podré for puedo andese singing, healsodemonstrates it. watch?v=C_3rxNmOGkU. from themilonga “Elcarrero yelcochero detranvía:” trains in Martín Fierrotrains in , reproduced below: teristic octosyllabic versification: the central work of nineteenth-century gaucho literature. Note the charac- trate thisbloody content. The isafamous passage first from Martín Fierro, relations. the verses sothatthey align withtherhythmic patterns of themelodyhe As hissecond example of theviolentlyrics, Borges quotes astanza Now, thisconference in Borges notonly talks abouttheoldway of Interestingly, Borges’s rendition differs slightly from theoriginal qua- In the1965public lecture, Borges provides two examples thatillus- The reader can access these thisrecording athttps://www.youtube.com/ My transcription of theoriginal differs slightly from ElTango thatin 93.

De la agoníaDe la deese negro. Nunca mepodré olvidar Y ya cantó pa’ elcarnero. Tiró unascuantas patadas contra uncerco lolargué. y como unsaco degüesos en elcuchillo loalcé, Por en una topada fin de la agoníade la deaquelnegro. (Borges andBioy Casares 606) Nunca mepuedo olvidar y ya cantó paelcarnero. Tiró unascuantas patadas contra uncerco lolargué y como unsaco degüesos en elcuchillo loalcé, Por en una topada fin 14 13

for aquel, Borges shiftstheaccents in 15 16 (la casi(la indiferencia delcantor). Headmitsthathedoesnotknow ifthe gos andmilongas, thisBorges doesnotseem immutable. diphthong. The tothisrecording readeralink can find athttps://www.youtube.com/ ences on thetango doesnotreflect theoctosyllabic structure thatcharacterizes thegenre. desafinado” (Eltango94). desafinado” To say theleast, contrast andin tothealoof and clueless image projected López-Ruiz’s in anecdote, when itconcerns tan - view this contrast as a form of disability. But, if we want to be generous to entemente desafinado, ¿no?Correctamente desafinado, históricamente Moreover, Ángel theeditoridentifies Villoldo astheauthor(Eltango 94). Itisinteresting hear Borges assert the following: “Muy bien, creo- que he sido lo sufici sandía, which accentuates syllable andpronounces thefirst thesecond syllable asa milongas andtangos circulated anonymously. The person whopublishedatext, first singer’s indifference results from dexterity ormere clumsiness. Hesus- lyrics (elhechoensangrentado) andthesinger’s indifferent intonation style of singing, there was acontrast between thebloody content of the watch?v=JahApiDITmU. when Borges collected thistext ananthology, in where itappears octosyllabic in form, the performer of themilonga, butnotnecessarily itsauthor. See Borges andBullrich 27. therefore, was notnecessarily theauthororcomposer. Itissignificant therefore, that to note, however, thatBorges doesnotidentifyanauthor. theturnof thecentury, During he identifies thetexthe identifies asan“Obra grabada hacia 1910porÁngel G. Villoldo.” That is, as pects itisthelatter. Ifwe want toberigorous, Borges asserts, thenwe must Now, over theapplause thatfollowed excerpt, of first hissinging we Both in conceptBoth in practice, and in Borges emphasizes how, theold in My transcription of thispassage retains Borges’s vernacular pronunciation of Surprisingly, the layout of this milonga text the recent in edition of Borges’s confer- que siéste noestan ligero como aunasandia y lesacapermiso sin y enelaire loaventaja dosotresy alas paradas El carrero queesdevista media barriga leraja los chinchulines pa’ juera.los chinchulines le mandauntiro alcochero le tira unapuñalada 15 costera 16

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 77 John Turci-Escobar 78 17 What would helike tohear?Heprobably expects theaccompaniment of a

generations of anonymous singers, he says, we could interpret- the sing gas andtangos from theturn of thecentury. de payadores llanura, anónimosdela cuchillas delas orillas, ydelas podemosconsider- considerarla como unaincapacidad. Pero siqueremos ser generosos con generaciones could achieve what generations of schooled musicians could not: create a voice, andthatthesinger softly, sing never shouting. Perhaps, striving for verses tobeconversational, somewhere andaspoken between asinging written for his oldfriendNicolás Paredes. What doesheexpect tohear? would bestoic. Andperhaps, Borges may have hoped, Rivero andPiazzolla words turnedtobloody acts, thesinger would remain indifferent; thetone er’s indifferenceer’s asaform of stoicism. historical accuracy, thesinger could beslightly outof tune. And, even ifthe arlo como unaforma deestoicismo, también” (Eltango 94-95). skirts of turnof thecentury BuenosAires, we can return to1965andthe studio, listening tothemusical realization of themilonga lyrics hehad laboriously strumming guitar. strumming laboriously Heprobably expects theintonation of his the guapos. The his“Milonga tothisstoicism in poetsings deAlbornoz:” recording of the lyrics five of thefirst stanzas of “Milonga deDon Nicanor Paredes:” music thatwas joyful, courageous, andepic, amusic worthy of themilon- After thislong digression thatleduson ajourney through theout- Stoicism, of course, was one of thequalitiesthatBorges admired in Let usnow turntoPiazzolla’s setting of Borges’s milonga. These are Thus, Borges: “Esacasi indiferencia, sisomos, bueno, sisomosrigurosos, podemos

lo veo con pasofirme ni siquiera lovienfermo; No lovirígidoymuerto a don Nicanor Paredes. le estoy cantando, señores, con elpermisodeustedes, Venga unrasgueo yahora, como sinoleimportara. (OC2: 592) murió Alejo Albornoz ni se lemovió cara; la Un acero entró enelpecho, El tango. Borges Letus imagine sitting a modern recording in 17

19 18 The words turntobloody thefourth acts in quatrain, where thepoetal- de sus milongas y cantaba marcialmente, acompañándose con una guitarra, algunos de dering of thelyricsdering meets Borges’s expectations, asIhave reconstructed voice ourears, in Iinvitethereader tolisten totherecording thateventu - which aswe read earlier, heconsidered more important thanhisverses. ers in thecornerers in saloons. Even worse, when thewords mention aknife overly so. We do nothearacontrast between thebloody content andthe Rivero aconversational in doesnotsing tone, andalthoughhenever ally appeared on thealbum, andsee whether Rivero’s andPiazzolla’s ren- and aduel, boththemusic andthevoice turndramatic, indeed, perhaps sus poemas. ABorges legustó como cantaba: dealgún modohabíaatrapado elritmo ludes toapastknife duel. With allmind, thisin and theeco of Borges’s shouts, hegets pretty loud. long notes afull Healsosings in voice, a in them. this music there isnostoicism, there isnocourage, there isnojoy. This intonation, acontrast that, for Borges, theoldway defined of singing. In the milongas tohissatisfaction: “Añosdespués, cuando Borges era director Bi- de la https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Jy1muCyM0. nostalgia. music isnotepic. Ifitexpresses anything, itexpresses sentimentality and manner that surely surpasses the modest abilities of- the anonymous sing bravío queBorges queríadarasusmilongas. Dosotres veces recibió alcantante enla blioteca Nacional fue averlo uncantor desconocido quehabíapuesto música aalgunas As the listener surely noted, Borges never hears the chords of a guitar, According toEstela Canto, Borges may have eventually found someone who sang The readerRivero’s can find interpretation of “Milonga deDon Nicanor Paredes” at

18

de cuadreras odetabas. (OC2: 584) hablar; alguna desgracia quenolegustabade la El cuchillo deesamuerte el bultitodelcuchillo. y cerca delcorazón pero enlosojoselbrillo El bigote unpoco gris sufeudo,pisar Palermo. 19

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 79 John Turci-Escobar 80 142). Borges’s for disdain Gardel’s professionalism, it seems, was not only They were cart drivers, cattle drivers, andanimalslaughterers. Ifyou re- que tomabaregularmente para volver asucasa” (127). Carlos Gardel: “Cuidaba muchodesusgrabaciones; nose resignaba al It seems unlikely that she could match Rivero’s impassioned full voiced described bloody events, shesangwithoutmuchcontrast,- withaninno courage of theguapos. cence analogous totheindifferent andstoic tone of theoldway of singing. was notaprofessional. observed above, favored artthatwas disinterested, disinterested like the aesthetic, butalsoethical. Gardel sangfor fame andglory. AndBorges, we how sheactually sangthemthatparticular evening when Borges’s heard mayhow Dedé’ssinging have more closely resembled the tone Borges have muchof anearfor music, thenwe can consider hispreference for seriously. Butifwe want tobegenerous toBorges, we could askourselves Biblioteca Nacional yéste fue con élhasta entrada la delsubterráneo deIndependencia, Dedé over Rivero asevidence thathisviews on thetango cannot betaken the turnof thecentury, Borges observed, thecomposition of was tango singers. Consider theobservation hemadeaboutthefamous singer tion among menandwomen of letters. This disdain, itseems, extended to rendering. For, as López Ruiz pointed out, she was not at all a singer. She to berigorous, andaccept Borges’s frequent admission thathedidnot in ahesitant,in conversational tone. Onecan suspect, thatwhen thelyric it. Butwe thatDedé, can imagine intimidatedbythepresence of thegreat whenimagined hewrote thelyrics. Ofcourse we have noway of knowing not important. He had heard, and this pleased him greatly, that a com - member, these were thesame humbletrades thatproduced theguapos. At mental tangos of theturnof thecentury, were notprofessional musicians. menor error, excepto versión enla definitiva, quedeslizaba enla alguno, not a badthing. Borges for had a patrician disdain the professionaliza- poser would often give atango toafellow musician asagift. para dejar enlos oyentes una impresión (“Prólogo” de espontaneidad” poet, theliving room in of Piazzolla’s modestapartment, thatshesang Now, let usreturn totheanecdote of Borges andthegirl. Ifwe want For Borges, however, thatfact thatshewas notaprofessional was Borges observed thatthecomposers tangos, of thefirst - theinstru 20 de las letrasde las deAmérica abunda enconfirmaciones; bástenos recordar elcaso deaquel ción deunlibro. Elmayor riesgo queloacecha tentación esla deexhibir unvocabulario ejemplo nosofrece este libro deAdolfo Bioy” (287). ogous views about literature. The following excerpt, culled from his review of Adolfo or putdifferently, thattheircomposition was disinterested, accounts tangosof thefirst didnottake themselves ortheirtangos too seriously, himself andhismusic way too seriously. also, may why explain they have endured. And, if you allow me one more Everything was anatmosphere done in of friendship andcordiality. Then, arte literario decada época, losmejores libros puedenser obra deescritores ocasionales. unwarranted extrapolation, itseems likely thatfor Borges, Piazzolla took El profesional suele confundir y subordinar el éxito los medios y el fin verdadero al éxito Bioy’s memoirs, Antes del novecientos, isnoteworthy for itsparallels withthepreceding variado; salvado ese peligro yotros menores, puede hacer obra duradera. Lahistoria the first place,the first because hedidhave agood ear, especially for themusic that tango world toreconsider Borges’s views on the milonga andtango. In this hadalottodowiththeaesthetic value of these tangos: Heobserved: técnico; noasíelhombre debuenaslecturas, queemprende alcabo redac delosañosla - not only for theaesthetic andethical superiorityof theearlytangos, but no one thoughtthatatango could earnamanfame orglory. For Borges, periodista, que compuso enunapieza dehotel Elgaucho Martín Fierro. Otro muy claro passage: alguna vez deinfringir transitorias las “Atrueque reglas dejuego queson el For Borges, therefore, the fact that the non-professional composers Based on thepreceding discussion, Iwould like the toinvitethose in As theastute reader of thisjournalsurely noted, Borges frequently expressed anal- Todo era ocasional. Yquizá única la manera deproducir unaobra dearte que un autor necesitado vendiera un tango a un ejecutor famoso. Y he dejando subconciencia quela fluya, ocomo otros dirían, musa, la [o]el se pensaba que un tango pudiera hacer famoso o glorioso a un hombre. espíritu santo;espíritu eslomismo. (Eltango 113) oído decir, locual esmássimpático, queaveces, entre compositores, uno Es decir, todoesose hacía enunambiente deamistad, decordialidad; no Pero todoestose explica, yo creo, muy fácilmente, porelhechodequela tante entonces. Heoídodecir, yestodediversas fuentes, queera muy fácil redacción deuntango, composición la deuntango noera muy impor- le regalaba untango aotro. (Eltango 112-13) portancia, distrayéndose unpoco o, como diríalospsicólogos actuales, perdurable sea demasiadoenserio, notomándola nodándolemayor im- 20

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 81 John Turci-Escobar 82 22 21 gos, entre ellos LeopoldoMarechal, yandabanmuchoporloscafetines, donde conoció Google putupon hisbirthday 2011. in This Borges, hand, cane in observes dicen quevestía como uncompadrito, tomabacaña yhabíaaprendido el tango abailar como compadrito. Durante losañosveinte, Borges salía amenudo con de ami ungrupo - dominates outsideArgentina, Borges asthewriter’swriter who a inhabits views have been characterized aselitist, ignorant, misleading, and even who isatonce cosmopolitan andnational. who called for areconsideration of Borges asawriter who hastwo sides, eral views aboutBorges thatbecame entrenched the1950sand60s. during world of libraries andlabyrinths. This image isreflected thedoodle that in ers, upper-class rakes, andtango musicians. Hespentcountless hoursin edges of thecity. Hespoke tothugs, police chiefs, pimps, milonga- sing has treated Borges’s views on thetango with suspicion ifnotscorn. His a kind of amateur social anthropologist. I like of him,to think however, as encompassedhearing thecityof BuenosAires, from itscenter toitsout- a professional could. Buthehadakind of long-range hearing. Borges’s he knew andloved. Ofcourse, hecould nothearthetechnical details, like Borges, elcompadrito Buenos Aires, search in of thelostworld of theoutskirts. This Borges was Borges developed thelibrary, thisearnotin butwalking thestreets of muchos [compadritos]” (Guibert 674). loving (extranjerizante). My reading of Borges follows critic BeatrizSarlo, unpatriotic. This hostilereception from the tango world echoesmore gen- skirts. Anditextended from thepresent back tothenineteenth century. seedy corner barsof theoutskirts, listeningtoless thantuneful milongue- During thisperiod,During boththenationalist right andthemilitant left charac- veinte años, unadesusformas deliberarse familia dela era irse denochearecorrer terized Borges ascold, andhiswritings sterile, anti-popular, andforeign- ros. the universe from alibrary. Inthisimage, there are noknife fighters. los barrios decompadritos yburdeles. Incluso hay crónicas deamigos yconocidos que padrito phase: “Después, cuando Borges vuelve [de]España, ya unmuchacho deunos 21 The tango world has also insisted on the Borges of the library, and El Compadrito Borges walked tirelessly through lostdirt roads on the See Jorge Luis Borges: A Writer ontheEdge. Inaninterview, biographer EnriqueRodríguez Monegal describesBorges’s com- This image, of course, contrasts with the image of Borges that pre - 22 23 (El idioma106). For Borges, a tango was not a tango unless it affected the su historia yevolución. golden age, thatis, thetangos produced between 1940through 1955, or Casares 1082). dinated tothedance form: “Eltango fue primeramente debaile, unplano cused on thelyrics. el cuerpo. Oísuntango ycambiás depostura, te encogés unpoco” (Bioy en muerte,” Borges describestheculmination of along walk through an often asserted thatmusic could express directly, things that something outlying neighborhood: ority of theearlytangos challenges standard historical narratives. These as music. Influenced byArthurSchopenhauer andWalter Pater, Borges For one thing, thepoet’sinsistence on theaesthetic andethical superi- una indicación decortes yfloreos, unaactualidad quenose preocupa” sic counterbalances muchof thecritical work on the tango, which hasfo- language could never do. else, Ifnothing Borges’s emphasison themu- ration. The tangos favored byBorges, contrast, in were completely subor- tango historianshave not. tion. Inrecent decades, jazz historianshave challenged these narratives; to jazz historiesthathave placed bebopatthecusp of matura themusic’s - the avante-garde tangos of Astor Piazzolla. interpreted theexpulsion of thedancer asadefinitive sign of artistic matu- narratives, evolutionary nature, in the tangos culminate eitherin of the body. As hetoldhisfriendBioy Casares, 1965: in “Eltango se siente con beauty in humblethings.beauty in Inanearlyandbeautiful essay entitled“Sentirse There are otherreasons for reconsidering Borges’s views on thetango. Moreover, and also analogous with jazz, most tango historians have Finally, and mostimportantly, Borges invitesustosee andhearthe Borges alsoinvites amore sustained engagement withthemusic The locus classicus for an evolutionary historyof thetango isHoracio Ferrer: Eltango: cansancio. La irrealizaba su misma tipicidad. La calle era de casas bajas, y La marcha medejóenunaesquina. Aspiré noche, enasuetoserenísimo de aunque suprimera significación fuera depobreza, segunda la era cierta- mente dedicha. Era delomáspobre ydelomás lindo. (Elidioma 130-31) pensar. Lavisión, nadacomplicada porcierto, parecía simplificadapormi 23 This, of course, isanalogous

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 83 John Turci-Escobar 84 It was, Borges wrote, delo más pobre ydelo más lindo. This description, I believe, goes very well withthemilongas tangos. andfirst University of Texas atAustin John Turci-Escobar —. “Vindicación del1900.”Textos recobrados (1931-55). Ed. Sara Luisa del Eltango.—. Cuatro conferencias. BuenosAires: Sudamericana, 2016. —. Bullrich. andSilvina Elcompadrito. Su destino, susbarrios, sumúsica. 2nd —. andAdolfo Bioy Casares, eds. Poesía gauchesca. Vol. 2. México D.F.: —. “Reseña. Antes delNovecientos, BuenosAires, 1958.”Borges enSur. —. “Prólogo. Carlos Zubillaga. Carlos Gardel.” Elcírculo secreto. Prólogos Obras—. completas. Vols. 1and2. BuenosAires: Emecé, 2009. Works cited Jascalevich, Elsa. “Borges yAstor: dosantipopulares se unen.”Gente14, Guibert, Rita. “EmirRodríguez Monegal. Unaentrevista deRita Canto, Estela. Borges acontraluz. BuenosAires: EspasaCalpe, 1999. Kuri, Carlos. Piazzolla, la música límite. 3rd ed. BuenosAires: Corregidor, López Ruiz, Oscar. Piazzolla, loco loco loco. BuenosAires: LaUrraca, 1994. Ferrer, Horacio. Eltango: suhistoria yevolución . BuenosAires: Peña Lillo, Borges, Jorge Luis. Elidiomadelos argentinos. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, Bioy Casares, Adolfo. Borges. Ed. DanielMartino. BuenosAires: Destino, 1931-1980. Ed. Sara Luisa delCarril andMercedes Rubio deZocchi. 1999. 1998. 224-28. 2006. 2008. Guibert sobre ‘Jorge Luis Borges: ALiterary Biography’.” Revista Carril andMerecedes Rubio deZocchi. BuenosAires: Emecé, 2007. October 1965. 28-29. Iberoamericana 52.135(1986): 667-75. y notas. Ed. Sara Luisa delCarril andMerecedes Rubio deZocchi. ed. BuenosAires: Emecé, 2000. Fondo deCultura Económica, 1955. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 1999. 287-89. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 2003. 139-42.

“Era de lo más pobre y de lo más lindo” 85 John Turci-Escobar 86 Ocampo, Victoria. Diálogo con Borges . BuenosAires: Sur, 1969. Sarlo, Beatriz. Jorge Luis Borges: AWriter ontheEdge. London: Verso, 1993. Saito, Mitsumasa. “Discografía completa deAstor Piazzolla.” Estudios Piazzolla, Daniel. Personal communication, July2013. Piazzolla, Astor. Eltango. Music LP. BuenosAires: Polydor, 1965. Zubillaga, Carlos. Carlos Gardel. Madrid: Júcar, 1976. Aires: Gourmet, 2008. 263-300. sobre la obra deAstorPiazzolla. Ed. OmarGarcía Brunelli. Buenos