Fabrice Knecht Tango DJ
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These Tangos, Valses, and Milongas were recorded around the same time. Take a look to discover what else this orchestra—or others—may have recorded during the same week or even on the exact same day.
La calle sin sueño is a Tango written by Enrique Cadícamo and composed by Lucio Demare.
“La calle sin sueño” poignantly encapsulates the themes of lost love and unending search for solace, where alcohol becomes a temporary escape from profound emotional pain. The title itself, translating to “The Sleepless Street,” sets a backdrop of a locale haunted by memories and ceaseless yearning. The protagonist in the tango talks about an intense personal loss of a loved one, whose presence is continually felt “burning in the veins” and seen in the illusions brought on by alcoholic hallucinations in a bar—a space synonymous with escape and transient reliefs.
The core symbolism in this tango pivots around the notion of a “street that never sleeps,” metaphorically a mind that cannot find rest due to pervasive thoughts of a past lover. The repeated reference to seeing the beloved’s face in the “glass” and the description of a bar dispensing a “blond poison” that “quenches thirst and pain” powerfully evoke themes of addiction—not just to substances but to memories and past attachments. This venue acts as an altar of sorrow where moments of intoxication bring fleeting reunions with the loved one, albeit illusory and ephemeral. “A little bit of alcohol and dream” stuck at the bar’s edge further exemplifies this escape and the entrapment within cycles of grief and temporary relief.
Written and composed in 1957, “La calle sin sueño” emerges from an era within Argentine cultural history where tango music reflected wider social sentiments of melancholy, nostalgia, and personal struggles, often intertwined with socio-political shifts in Argentina. The post-war environment and internal societal changes likely influenced Cadícamo’s lyrical emphasis on personal turmoil and societal escapism, reflecting broad themes of disillusionment and a collective grappling with the residues of conflict and transformation. This era saw tango as not merely entertainment but a profound commentary on human emotions and societal conditions.
Enrique Cadícamo was a renowned Argentine poet and tango lyricist, remembered for his profound contributions to the tango genre with numerous classic songs marked by their lyrical depth and emotional resonance.