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Song

La cumparsita · Ricardo Tanturi · 1940

Ricardo TanturiinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
Music by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, lyrics by Pascual Contursi. 95 recordings in our catalogue, 1917–2008.

Who recorded it

Every version95

Earliest we hold: Roberto Firpo, 1917

  1. Juan D'ArienzoRaquel Notar · Carlos Dante19281928193719431951+2
  2. Carlos Di Sarli194219511955
  3. Aníbal Troilo19431951195219631968
  4. Osvaldo PuglieseJorge Maciel · Carlos Guido …1959
  5. Miguel Caló1964
  6. Ricardo Tanturi1940

Pinned at 1940 · Golden Age 1935–1954 · Ricardo Tanturi recordings indexed 1937–1965 · gold: With Castillo, 1939–1943

La cumparsita · Ricardo Tanturi · 1940 is a tango.† La cumparsita · Ricardo Tanturi · 1940 lasts 02:44.† La cumparsita · Ricardo Tanturi · 1940: Closing track: no version of La Cumparsita exists from 1941 at all, so Stenvoll used the closest recording, from mid-November 1940.†

The song

The piece as people name it, whoever plays it.

54 orchestras recorded it

126 Dances filmed to it

Who wrote it

Music
Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
Words
Pascual Contursi
Written
not yet cited · help fill it
First played
1916, Confitería La Giralda

Source: TangoCloud catalogue · the premiere

Lyrics

These are the song’s words. This take is instrumental.

Español

La cumparsa De miserias sin fin Desfila En torno de aquel ser Enfermo Que pronto ha de morir De pena. Por eso es que en su lecho Solloza acongojado Recordando el pasado Que lo hace padecer... Abandonó a su viejita Que quedó desamparada, Y loco de pasión Ciego de amor Corrió tras de su amada, Que era linda, era hechicera De lujuria era una flor, Que burló su querer Hasta que se cansó Y por otro lo dejó... Largo tiempo después Cayó al hogar materno, Para poder curar su enfermo Y herido corazón... Y supo Que su viejita santa, La que él había dejado El invierno pasado De frío se murió... Hoy ya solo, abandonado A lo triste de su suerte, Ansioso espera a la muerte Que bien pronto ha de llegar, Y entre la triste frialdad Que lenta invade el corazón, Sintió la cruda sensación De su maldad... Entre sombras Se le oye respirar Sufriente, Al que antes de morir Sonríe Porque una dulce paz Le llega... Sintió que desde el cielo Su madrecita buena, Mitigando sus penas Sus culpas perdonó...!

English · machine translation

The cumparsa Of endless miseries Parades Around that being Sick Who will soon die Of sorrow. That's why in his bed He sobs in sorrow Remembering the past That makes him suffer... He abandoned his old lady Who was left forsaken, And mad with passion Blind with love He ran after his beloved, Who was pretty, she was a sorceress Of lust she was a flower, That mocked his love Till he grew weary And for another she left him... Long after He fell to his mother's home, In order to heal her sick And wounded heart... And he knew That his holy old lady, The one he had left Last winter From the cold she died... Now alone, abandoned To the sadness of his fate, Anxiously awaits death Which is soon to come, And amidst the sad coldness That slowly invades his heart, He felt the raw sensation Of his evil... In the shadows You can hear him breathing Suffering, Who before dying Smiles Because a sweet peace Comes to him... He felt that from heaven His good little mother Mitigating his sorrows His faults she forgave...!

Every version

Computed from the catalogue, not yet written by anyone

The catalogue holds 95 recordings of this song by 54 orchestras, 1917 to 2008.
1910’20’30’40’50’60’70’80’90’00
Recordings of La cumparsita · Ricardo Tanturi · 1940 by year, taller the more they are danced · 95 of 95 recordings carry a year · read Nov 2, 2026

95 recordings · our catalogue, dances filmed on TangoTube · 193 more we know of

a version people dance tono Dances matched yet: something to listen to

The leader is Juan D'Arienzo, with 33% of the 126 filmed dances matched to a version of this song.

131 more dances name this song but not which version, so no share counts them. “No match yet” means no filmed dance is tied to that version so far, not that nobody dances it. Dances whose music we have not identified are left out.

Choose A and B on two recordings to hear them one after the other.

  1. Julio De CaroLa cumparsitaJulio De Carotango
    6 dances · 5%
    1930
  2. Típica VictorLa cumparsitaTípica VictorinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
    5 dances · 4%
    1926
  3. Osvaldo PuglieseLa cumparsitaOsvaldo PuglieseJorge Maciel, Carlos Guido, Luis MelatangoOdeon
    4 dances · 3%
    1959
  4. Ricardo TanturiLa cumparsitaRicardo TanturiinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
    2 dances · 2%
    1940
  5. Edgardo DonatoLa cumparsitaEdgardo DonatoinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
    1 dance · <1%
    1935
  6. Domingo FedericoLa cumparsitaDomingo FedericoRuben MacieltangoRosafón (Rosario)
    1 dance · <1%
    1961
  7. Orquesta Típica SilencioLa cumparsitaOrquesta Típica Silenciotango
    1 dance · <1%
    2005
  8. Orquesta Donato-ZerrilloLa cumparsitaOrquesta Donato-ZerrilloAgustin Magalditango
    No match yet
    1929
  9. Orquesta Típica Los Provincianos (Ciriaco Ortiz)La cumparsitaOrquesta Típica Los Provincianos (Ciriaco Ortiz)Roberto Diaztango
    No match yet
    1931

One recording

A dated take, with its sound and the couples dancing it.

Ricardo Tanturi

La cumparsitaRicardo TanturiinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor

Couples filmed dancing this recording · 4 Performances

Recorded the same day

What else Ricardo Tanturi recorded on Nov 18, 1940.

  1. ArgañarazRicardo TanturiinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor

Danced to it

Music from 1940 · danced on film 2021

Where it is danced

The places our videos show it danced, by performances filmed there.

  1. Salón CanningPalermo
    1 performance

Read more

Cite this

From TangoTube's videos · our data

Danced by

Videos danced in

Data: recordings, facts and sources

In other catalogues14

tango.info · 08427328140225-1-16

tango.info · 00743216335626-1-12

tango.info · 00828767206424-1-1

tango.info · 00828768362327-1-16

tango.info · 02480002003717-1-5

tango.info · 02480002041917-1-5

tango.info · 02480002150145-1-1

tango.info · 02480002301820-1-1

tango.info · 02480002332107-1-1

tango.info · 02480002734208-1-1

tango.info · 04011222317599-7-16

tango.info · 04024236204366-1-3

tango.info · 07798108080941-2-1

tango.info · 08427328131148-1-1

Is a1

Is a tango

Duration1

Duration 02:44

Notes1

Closing track: no version of La Cumparsita exists from 1941 at all, so Stenvoll used the closest recording, from mid-November 1940.

Vocal1

Vocal instrumental

Listen

  1. La cumparsitaRoberto Firpo

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