1627 Bandoneon and Paraguay War
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:18:13 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: Bandoneon and Paraguay War
All this comments about tango and bordellos , take us to a separate story , where spanish words are related.
The first bandoneon player know seems to be Jose Santa Cruz , a soldier of the argentine army that fought the vicious and cruel war of Paraguay (1864-1870) , also called War of the Triple Alliance ,since Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay fought against Paraguay.
Paraguayan troops were 20.000 men , with a total population of the country of 525.000 people. The armed forces of the attacking three countries were 290.000 soldiers.
The president of Argentina, General Mitre, salute the parting soldiers saying " in one week the argentine ships will be anchored at paraguayan river port of Asuncion"
It took five years to end this war. Losses were heavy from both sides.The triple alliance lost 120.000 soldiers.
But Paraguay ...... lost 304.000 people , besides all their soldiers , most of their men ,that fiercely fight for his homeland.
I am trying to explain the doomsday that this war was. There was a battle, Curupaytm , that was terrible, and also against all rules of war. It required the troops to climb a fortress in a hill , on an island in the middle of a river. So the approaching troops were killed from distance by the defenders. It remain so impressed in the memory, that even today, year 2003 , paraguayans called argentineans "curepm/ curupa" despectively to remind them of this battle. Just yesterday, one minister of Paraguay have to resign since he used this expression to refer to argentinean people, "curepm".
In the middle of this nightmare, imagine a soldier . Afroargentine , a pardo (mixed blood) , with a strange instrument that he trade to a german sailor at Buenos Aires before enrolling to the war of Paraguay.
When he arrived to the battlefields, he amused his comrades , playing folkloric music (vidalas at the bonfires of the troops). They asked the name of this instrument and he said "mandonisn" . Because that was he understood from the name given by the german sailor.
There as a small placque at the buttock of this instrument that read" Bandonions Band-Krefeld" . It had only 32 buttons.
Years later, Domingo Santa Cruz ,the son of this "pardo" , use the bandoneon for the music that was already established.
The rest is Tango :)
Warm regards
Alberto Gesualdi
Usuario: yahoo; contraseqa: yahoo
Desde Buenos Aires: 4004-1010
Mas ciudades: clic aqum.
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 11:15:50 -0700
From: Catrina Imports <catrinaimports@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: curepa (was: Bandoneon and Paraguay War)
--- Alberto Gesualdi wrote:
> There was a battle, Curupaytm ,
8< snip 8<
> It remain so impressed in the memory, that
> even today, year 2003 , paraguayans called
> argentineans "curepm/ curupa" despectively
> to remind them of this battle. Just yesterday,
> one minister of Paraguay have to resign since
> he used this expression to refer to argentinean
> people, "curepm".
Hola, Alberto.
Interesting theory of the etymology of "curepa".
What's your source on that?
The theory I'm familiar with says that "curepa" and
"curepm" (both terms are used for Argentineans) come
from a Guarani compound word which means something
like "skin of a pig" and refers to those pale pink
pigs, and that the terms are used w/ Argentineans
because many of them, especially Porteqos, tend to be
lighter skinned than most Paraguayans.
Note for those who are learning or speak only some
Spanish: Some Argentineans find curepa/curepm very
offensive, so it's best not to use it unless you're
fluent enough to really read people and have a close
enough relationship that there's the "confianza" to
prevent misunderstandings. A friend of mine from BsAs
has a Paraguayan mother; the mother calls her kids
"curepas" and they call her "paragua", but if someone
from outside the family used those terms, they would
not be seen as terms of affection.
saludos,
Kate
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:56:35 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: curepa (was: Bandoneon and Paraguay War)
Catrina
Curepa is a guarani word , the native language of Paraguay.
it is a sinthetic form of two words .This two words have an accent on the last "e" , I do not put it because it goes out wrong at the tango list.
cure : pork or pig
pire : skin or leather
cure-pire ,changed to curepa
Also Curupa . This are plays with words , that paraguayans like to do to argentines , they told you " curepa , curupa" , playing with the meaning of the words, and their association : the white skin , and the battle of curupayti .
Do you want more details ?? I refrain to make some comments because it would have been a bit crude . But here you are.
It was customary after the battle to open the throat of the enemies caught , and let them bleed. This is also a custom when killing porks at the slaughter houses.
The paraguayans were fierce warriors, and they were fighting for his homeland. They have to kill one by one to won that bloody and crazy war.
It was so cruel, that at one of the battles ( a minor one ) , the argentine in charge of the coalition army started shouting " enough !! enough !! this is not a battle, this is a carnage!!" . A truce was made, and brazilian , uruguayan , argentine and paraguayan officers of that battle, decide to fleed with their troops from the war and establish a camp for refugees . They gave the name " quilombo" to this camp . The complete name was " el quilombo de sublevados del gran chaco" , that means " the quilombo of mutiny from the area of Great Chaco" , which was the zone that Paraguay finally lost to Argentine, Brazil, and Uruguay.
Quilombo was a brazilian word used to describe the camps of refugees slaves. It was later used as a synonim for bordello in Buenos Aires . These words .... how they last across time..
Warm regards
Alberto
p.s. just in case I was not clear enough , to say curepa to an argentine is to see " you are a pork that the argentines we cut their throats at Curupayti battle, and keep looking how they cry while bleeding ". Is a rude offensive word, implies "coward" I suppose .
Catrina Imports <catrinaimports@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
--- Alberto Gesualdi wrote:
> There was a battle, Curupaytm ,
8< snip 8<
> It remain so impressed in the memory, that
> even today, year 2003 , paraguayans called
> argentineans "curepm/ curupa" despectively
> to remind them of this battle. Just yesterday,
> one minister of Paraguay have to resign since
> he used this expression to refer to argentinean
> people, "curepm".
Hola, Alberto.
Interesting theory of the etymology of "curepa".
What's your source on that?
The theory I'm familiar with says that "curepa" and
"curepm" (both terms are used for Argentineans) come
from a Guarani compound word which means something
like "skin of a pig" and refers to those pale pink
pigs, and that the terms are used w/ Argentineans
because many of them, especially Porteqos, tend to be
lighter skinned than most Paraguayans.
Note for those who are learning or speak only some
Spanish: Some Argentineans find curepa/curepm very
offensive, so it's best not to use it unless you're
fluent enough to really read people and have a close
enough relationship that there's the "confianza" to
prevent misunderstandings. A friend of mine from BsAs
has a Paraguayan mother; the mother calls her kids
"curepas" and they call her "paragua", but if someone
from outside the family used those terms, they would
not be seen as terms of affection.
saludos,
Kate
Usuario: yahoo; contraseqa: yahoo
Desde Buenos Aires: 4004-1010
Mas ciudades: clic aqum.
