Silencio by Alfredo Le Pera, Horacio Pettorossi

Silencio is a Tango written by Alfredo Le Pera, Horacio Pettorossi and composed by Carlos Gardel, Horacio Pettorossi.

Story behind the Tango Silencio

“Silencio” captures a vivid emotional landscape, contrasting the tranquility of the night with the profound personal and communal upheavals experienced by individuals. The lyrics pivot around silence as a profound presence in the calm of the night, juxtaposed against life’s turbulence during the day. It mirrors the quiet moments away from life’s chaos, while simultaneously delving into themes of motherhood, sacrifice, and national pride through the storytelling of mothers and the losses they bear. A picture is painted of a nostalgic nationalism where mothers’ lullabies for a hopeful future contrast with the brutal sacrifices of war.

Symbolism of Silencio

In “Silencio,” the silence symbolizes both peace and the heavy quiet of loss. The recurring line about mothers singing to their cribs rounds the cycle of life and hope against the backdrop of a history tinged with sacrifice. The “silencio” in the night when “el músculo duerme” symbolizes a pause from daily struggles and ambitions, whereas the devastating effects of the war depicted through the bloody fields of France highlight the contrasting chaos. Every mention of the lull, therefore, serves as a momentary cessation from turmoil—a necessary breath in the suffocating progression of time.

Silencio in historic Context

The Tango “Silencio” was penned in 1933, a period marked by global unrest and the shadow of the World War I still looming large. The references to “los campos de Francia” root the tango in specific historical events, likely alluding to the French battlefields of the Great War where countless lives were lost. The era was characterized by a juxtaposition of emerging modernity and the traumatic scars of battle. Within this framework, “Silencio” reflects the Argentine perspective, highlighting themes of national honor and the personal losses of its people, symbolized by the old woman with “cinco medallas” from a grateful but grieving nation.

Alfredo Le Pera, Horacio Pettorossi

Alfredo Le Pera was a renowned Argentine lyricist, journalist, and dramatist known for his profound collaborations with Carlos Gardel. Horacio Pettorossi, also involved in this tango, contributed significantly to Argentine musical culture.