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Music and Sports in Argentina Jesús Castañón Rodríguez Music and Sports represent two expressions of art and freedom in which effort means progress, and emotions generate new expressions towards the infinite. Both are samples of romanticism, two public practices where feelings are openly verbalised and exhibited. Every time you think about music and sports, there comes to mind a rather small groups of specific compositions, and the sporting interests of big pop-music stars as Rod Stewart or Elton John. But reality proves that Sports is a sphere for the lyrics of love, and when combined with music, it reaches a vital meeting point from where to take the streets, the bleachers, life as a whole. Music and Sports are two concepts to describe the popular character of people. In Argentina, the passionate experience of sports, inside and outside the football fields, has transformed graphic humor and music in the artistic expression that moves many hearts. The pens and markers of cartoonists have imprinted for ever an entourage of shared illusions thanks to the talent and magic of people like Caloi, Fontanarrosa, Garaycochea, Mordillo, Quino... The jamming of emotions, personal experiences and collective passion in songs and lyrics has put in circulation an uncontainable creative energy. It has sparked off an original phenomenon.
I A HARMONY OF EMOTIONS The union of voices and emotions covers different areas: stadium, bleachers, literature and media
1.1.- The stadium Argentinean music reflects the events taking place on at the field, and concentrates on the ambitions of all kind of football players, on the big stars and on the remarkable explanation of those idols about their sporting experience in musical clef.
Players The emotions of the amateur and the professional players, their hopes, wishes and aspirations, their dreams and feelings, everything has been widely abridged in the lyrics, as in the glorious tango "El sueño del pibe". But
the musical compositions have also praised the value of football
teams as River Plate or Boca Juniors; and, on top of everything,
they have highlighted the talent of the high class players: Baldonedo,
Benavidez, Boyé, Ferreira, Gollet, Grillo, Kempes, Labruna,
Lacasia, Maradona, Martino, Méndez, Monzón, Pedernera
and Pescia. Explanation of facts in musical clef One of the particular characteristics of Sports in Argentina consists of expressing the life of sportsmen at the rhythm of tango, by relating the spirit of sporting events to such musical compositions, or by showing their emotions in fragments of those songs. This can be verified in the books of remembrances titled "¡Gracias, vieja!" and "Yo soy el Diego de la gente". Alfredo di Stéfano describes the first defeat of the Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Europe Cup, against the Barcelona, on November 23 1960, in the tango "Bronca". He also remembers his conversations with José Samitier, the person who insisted on bringing him to Spain and called di Stéfano "Percanta", in a clear allusion to the song by Pascual Contursi "Mi noche triste, which was the first tango recorded by Carlos Gardel. And let´s not forget Maradona, who declares to be so much in love with the tango as to relate the moving welcome of the Nápoles at the chords of "El Choclo".
1.2.- The bleachers The participative and festive tone of any sport has produced works that give free rein to the expression of emotions in the bleachers: chants, evaluation of sporting events and reflections on the social life of the sports fan.
The bleachers´ chants One of the most striking aspects of Argentinean Sports is the creativity of the bleachers´ chants, which have evolved from simple songs to encourage the players into demonstrations of feelings (love, hatred, sadness or happiness), and finally into casual references to political and social current events and ideological expressions. The themes have developed to include epic chronicles about the team or the sportsmen, with descriptive contents that will highlight their professional qualities while diminishing the rivals. There are six types of recurrent themes. First, sexual mocks and insults based in humiliating social origins, resistance capacity and loyalty to the team. Second, threats to the people and the physical space, as well as the refusal so accept the existence of the opponent or his/her ability. Third, a self-praise that stresses the depth of human feelings of pride, commitment and loyalty, the glory of subduing rivals, the ability to exercise violence, the perseverance against adversity and the respect of their own fans. Fourth, the introduction of victory as an endorsement of recklessness. Fifth, the creation of vocatives to designate the different team´s fans, based on animal names, identities rooted in neighbourhoods or job related activities, social background, publicity events of the clubs and insults. And sixth, the references to unexplainable feelings of affection, a unique irrational experience, and idea of special identity or fellowship. All this surrounded by melodies created from scratch or using political songs, announcement, catchy current hits, television programs... All genres are included, from tango to rock. The objective is to convert the stadium in a suitable environment for art and games, for creative and unpredictable happenings, as well as for entertainment where desire prevails over rationality.
Assessment of sporting events Close to the phenomenon of the chants sung by the fans, we can find the compositions created to favor the festive mood before specific occasions. That´s the case of the World Cup celebration, where popular joy is expressed at the rhythm of different melodies. Thus, the final stage of the competition celebrated in Argentina gave place to eight compositions that are truly ahead of the game: "Marcha oficial del Mundial '78", the hit of "Viva el Mundial", "Los chicos del Mundial", "La Copa tiene dueño", "La Copa es de Argentina", ""El equipo del Mundial", "Argentina, te queremos ver campeón" and "Argentina, te llevo dentro de mí". And the final phase of Spain in 1982 was the stadium for the "Milonga Clementera", based on the character of the cartoonist Caloi.
The passionate social life of the fans The other great point that interests us is the social perception of football and horse-racing events. These occasions conform an passionate experience that reaches all levels of individual life, memories from childhood in the suburbs and daily life in the Rio de la Plata. They describe the nostalgia for the past: the neighbourhood and its vitality; sports as conversation subject, source of values and defining element of periods related to television, adolescence or violence. Sports is a vital part of social life and gatherings. But the climax of this emotion is the experience of fans bursting with passion, children affected by sickness, grotesque middle-aged heartthrob who have replaced life for sports, local painting of betting, social celebrations at the race track or the football stadium, stress at the home stretch, bitter criticism by deceived wives who suffer their husband´s outrage as a result of an uncontrolled passion for sports...
1.3.- The literature The relationship between music and sports has also reached the theatre. The passion for football has been taken to the stage in the literary work "Once corazones", premiered on February 18, 1999, at the Teatro de la Ribera in Buenos Aires. Through a stage language that resorts to music, two guitars, two singers, narration and different choreography, Miguel Cantilo and Jorge Durietz have reflected the history of a neighbourhood team that ends up selling their headquarters as a result of financial interests of one of their members. In eight themes interpreted as duets at the broken and fast rhythm of a tango, they restore the nostalgia of the street playgrounds and the disappointment at the current operation of the football business and its excessive commercial interests.
1.4.- The media The fourth and last layer of the relationship between music and sports is the media, considering its huge capacity for mass entertaining. On one side, it can be observed at television programs and the incidental music of movies like "Calles de Buenos Aires". It´s also present at the radio, with the initial amalgam between tango and sports, accomplished by Bernardo Bergé, in the microspace B. B. Gol en el Aire with special productions about world news, signature tunes, readings, poetry, interviews... On the other side, the odd factor is the creation of a literary baroque style for sports stories, which resorts to expressiveness of popular hit songs for their headlines. This is a usual tool in satiric journalism, being one of its main examples the headline of the magazine "El Gráfico" after the victory over England at the World Cup 1986: “Don´t cry for me, England”.
II The relationship between music and sports has also gather the talent of several song-writers, musicians and interpreters. As in other countries, there are several writers and players who have collaborated in artistic compositions which convey the magic of sports emotions. An incomplete list of the Argentinean wit compiles the names of comic writers and musicians representing a wide range of styles, among them: Pepe Aguirre, Osvaldo Avena, A. Aznar, Juan Sebastián Bella, Hilda Bevacqua, Miguel Bonano, Antonio Botta, Miguel Buccino, Andrés Calamaro, Caloi, Enrique Campos "Inocencio Troncone", Juan Cao, Mario Clavel, Gustavo Cosentino, Saúl Cosentino, Orestes Cuffaro, Martin Darre, Degrossi, Dispagna, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Omar Facelli, Hebert Fayet, Enrique Ferrari, Horacio Ferrer, J. Fontana, Manuel Reyes García "Lito Bayardo", Raúl Garello, Francisco Germino, Roberto Giménez, J. Guichandut, Laino, Natalio Lamicela, Rafael Lauria, Francisco Lomuto, Nolo López, Los Piojos, Héctor Marco, Alberto Margal, Lito Mas, H. Morales, Jorge Moreyra, Héctor Negro, Julio Nudler, Miguel Padula, Armando Pontier, Juan Puey, N. Rama, Edmundo Rivero, Rodrigo, Jaime Roos, O. Rubens, Sheriko, Federico Silva, Luis Spinelli "Roberto Morel", Osvaldo Tarantino, Adriana Varela, Nicolás Verona, Reinaldo Yiso Zeliz Blanco… Argentina, as many other countries, also have idols who reflect their musical taste to emphasise their identity. There are two excellent examples of this: the memoirs called "Diego de la gente" and "¡Gracias, vieja!" In the first one, Maradona shows his admiration for tango and rock through a list including artists who speak about reality without any euphemism: Carlos Gardel, Julio Sosa, Fito Páez, Andrés Calamaro, Charly García, Los Piojos, Attaque 77 and Los Redonditos de Ricota. And in the second one, Di Stéfano expresses his preferences for the orchestras of Alfredo De Angelli, Horadio Salgaru, D'Arienzo, Di Biaggi, and the singers Carlos Gardel, Ángel Vargas, Alberto del Castillo, Podestá and Marino.
The Argentinean peculiarities The Argentinean special signature in this combination of emotions is the dedication to music demonstrated by the sports players themselves, and its long tradition since the first half of the Twentieth Century. This particular event has been common among football players, in different ways. First, the musical projection of the World Cup winners, like Raimundo "Mumo" Orsi and Maradona. Orsi, a World Cup champion in 1934, was a professional violinist in a tango group as well as a international player with the national teams of Argentina and Italy, besides being a local player with two world champion teams (Avellaneda of Buenos Aires and Juventus of Turin), and also a Olympic runner-up in 1928. The second one, World Cup champion in 1986, made a brief foray in the melodic song with the duet Pimpinela, and also interpreted "El sueño del pibe" at the show "La verdad de la milanesa" by Antonio Gasalla. This was an adaptation that replaced the characters Baldonedo and Martino by the symbols of the two World Cup victories in 1978 and 1986: Mario Kempes and Diego Armando Maradona. With a more modern style, the international goalie German Burgos will continue with this tradition, as a vocalist with a rock and roll band.
III EPILOGUE Sports
and music in Argentina are the tuning fork of life emotions, convert
human voice in an uncontrollable instrument that reaches the infinite
and captures hearts in one same feeling. They create a musical style
and a vital and linguistic expression form where the romantic Argentinean
spirit interweaves art and games to take this symbols of freedom
and intelligence to further, higher and stronger horizons.
Bibliographic references ALABARCES, Pablo-RODRÍGUEZ, María Graciela, Cuestión de pelotas, Buenos Aires, Atuel, 1996. BATTILANA, Carlos, "Las marcas de la pasión. Fútbol, discurso y cultura". En Spiller, Roland (editor), Lateinamerika-Studien 36, Culturas del río de la Plata (1973-1995) Transgresión e intercambio, Universität Erlangen-Nüremberg-Zentralinstitut (06)- Sektion Lateinamerika. CANTILO, Miguel-DURIETZ, Jorge, Once corazones, Buenos Aires, Teatro de la Ribera, 1999. CASTAÑÓN RODRÍGUEZ, Jesús, "Gambetas que encandilan las pupilas", La Página del Idioma Español, Río de Janeiro, December 21, 2000. - “Fútbol y tango”, Idioma y deporte, Valladolid, January 15, 2001. DI STÉFANO, Alfredo, Gracias, vieja, Madrid, Aguilar, 2000. EDUARDO RAFAEL, "El deporte y Gardel", en Gardel Extra III ¡Qué los cumpla feliz, Troesma!, Los Ángeles, Tango Reporter, 1998. "’El Pelusa’ triunfa en Argentina con un disco en el que relata su vida", La Voz de Asturias, Oviedo, December 24/25, 2000. FONTANARROSA, Roberto, "Wilmar Everton Cardaña, número 5 de Peñarol", at El mayor de mis defectos y otros cuentos, Buenos Aires, Ediciones de la Flor, 1997, pgs. 55-64. (At http://www.efdeportes.com/efd17/leliag.htm) GÁNDARA. Lelia, “Las voces del fútbol”, Lecturas: Educación Física y Deportes, Buenos Aires. MARADONA, Diego Armando, Yo soy el Diego de la gente, Buenos Aires, Planeta, 2000. - Yo soy el Diego de la gente. Sin censuras, Buenos Aires, Sony, 2000. MARADONA, Diego Armando-DÚO PIMPINELA, Querida amiga, Buenos Aires. NUEVO MILENIO, "Literatura, música popular y fútbol", Lecturas: Educación Física y Deportes número 17, Buenos Aires, december 1999. (At http://www.efdeportes.com/milenio/index.htm) ROMANO, Eduardo, Las letras del tango, Antología cronológica 1900-1980, Córdoba, Editorial Fundación Ross, 2000. SESSA, Aldo, Tango, Buenos Aires, Sessa Editores, 1999. SUÁREZ OROZCO, M., "A study of Argentine Soccer: The Dynamics of its Fans and their Folklore", Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology volume 5-1, 1982, pgs. 7-27. Traducción: Cristina Márquez Arroyo
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