1974  zaraza or Zaraza

Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 12:52:07 -0500
From: Sergio <cachafaz@ADELPHIA.NET>
Subject: zaraza or Zaraza

When I translated the lyrics of zaraza, it seemed obvious to me that the
driver of the cart addressed the ox as zaraza.
I was bothered by the fact that the word was not capitalized as it should
be for a proper noun (a name).

So I did some investigation on the subject, the tango was published in 1929
by his author, Benjamin Tara Lara; he wrote both the music and the lyrics of
his tango. Francisco Canaro played it for the first time in Montevideo
(Uruguay) where it won the second price of the competition. Sofia Bozan sang
it in Paris the following year.

Zaraza is a type of fabric or material which was in fashion around the 20s.
it had some print or design. The driver of the cart calls the ox zaraza
because the ox had a design on its fur similar to that material hence the
small orthography.

It would be equivalent to calling someone "skinny" or "fat" or "blond", etc,
a reference to a physical characteristic; these "nicknames" are very
prevalent in Argentina and most of the time have a friendly, affectionate
connotation.

This tango was recorded in 1929 by Jose Razzano with piano and guitar, by
Ignacio Corsini (guitars), by Francisco Canaro with Charlo as singer and
also by Rodolfo Biaggi with Jorge Ortiz as singer (this last one in 1941).

Obtuvo el segundo premio de musica y letra en el Gran Concurso Uruguayo del
Disco Nacional, realizado en el Cine Teatro Cervantes de Montevideo, en el
aqo 1929. Alli lo estreno la orquesta de F. Canaro. Sofia Bozan lo canto al
aqo siguiente en Paris. Fue grabado por Josi Razzano con acompaqamiento de
piano y guitarra (4/29), por Ignacio Corsini con guitarras (5/29), por
Francisco Canaro con Charlo (29) y por Rodolfo Alberto Biaggi con la voz de
Jorge Ortiz (3/41).