1/28/2024 0 Comments Viceversa poemaIn 1943, he finally returned home, just as tango’s Golden Age was at its peak. When he left Nazi Germany on a Spanish visa, Bianco underwent investigation from British intelligence. While all of this was going on, Bianco was playing for Nazi troops and on Third Reich radio stations. But, by January of 1944, Argentina cut its ties with Nazi Germany, but did not declare war (until a year later). They were able to quietly install a pro-fascist government in Bolivia after a 1943 coup. Argentine leaders, however, wished to emulate the Axis Powers’ nationalism and expansion. Hence its name, ‘Tango of Death.’ĭuring World War II, Argentina attempted to remain neutral, a cause pioneered by Bianco’s ambassador friend, Labougle. When Bianco and his orchestra performed before Adolf Hitler, the führer demanded an encore of ‘Plegaria.’ The Nazi leader would find a morbid use for the tango and, in the Auschwitz concentration camp, the prisoner band would be ordered to play it as prisoners were led to the gas chambers. Supposedly, both convinced Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels that tango should replace the “racially tainted” jazz music. Perhaps even darker than being a murder confession, ‘Poema,’ another Bianco composition, ‘Plegaria,’ has been called the ‘Tango of Death’ and it has to do with Bianco’s Nazi-sympathizing associates and praise from the führer himself.īianco became friendly with Eduardo Labougle Carranza, the Argentine ambassador for Third Reich Berlin and a staunch anti-semite. Bianco would later leave for Europe, touring successfully for several years, performing for kings and heads of states. He was jailed and tried but was eventually acquitted thanks to his political connections. Desperate and jealous, Bianco shot the man. He learned that the orchestra’s pianist and Bianco’s wife were secretly having an affair. So, did Bianco commit murder? Apparently, in 1924, Bianco was first violinist for an orchestra, which had played at the Teatro Apolo. As for the origin of ‘Poema,’ the story goes that Bianco and Melfi, along with some band members, composed it on a train during a 1932 tour of Germany. He succeeded in making the Argentine Tango sound Parisian. Bianco was an Argentine who lived in Europe for nearly 20 years. To further understand ‘Poema,’ one must first understand the life of the composer. Tango DJ Hermann Nemolyakin has provided us with a deeper insight into ‘Poema.’ Nemolyakin says, “Poema’s lack of acceptance in Buenos Aires wasn’t helped by the dark political undertones of its story, and the fact that its lyrics are a thinly veiled confession of a banished murderer.” Read the lyrics for yourself and see if you can decipher mystery lying under the romantic words. It has been described as “gently melancholic” and “softly nostalgic.” But the tango has a darker side to it. Composed by Mario Malfi and lyrics by Eduardo Bianco, this recording is sung by Roberto Maida. Francisco Canaro’s 1935 recording of the tango ‘Poema’ is a favorite at milongas (dance salons).
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