The Cabeceo

Skip to content

Song

El motivo · 1965

tangoMicrofon
Music by Juan Carlos Cobián, lyrics by Pascual Contursi. 15 recordings in our catalogue, 1942–1987.

Who recorded it

Every version15

Earliest we hold: Julio De Caro, 1942

  1. Aníbal TroiloRoberto Goyeneche · Tito Reyes196119651965
  2. Osvaldo Pugliese1966
  3. Julio De Caro1942
  4. Alberto MancioneFrancisco Fiorentino1951
  5. José BassoFloreal Ruiz1962
  6. Horacio Salgan1965

Recorded in 1965, during the Nuevo (1955–1984).

1965

19551984

The song

The piece as people name it, whoever plays it.

13 orchestras recorded it

159 Dances filmed to it

Who wrote it

Music
Juan Carlos Cobián
Words
Pascual Contursi
Written
not yet cited · help fill it
First played
Jul 25, 1919, Teatro Nacional

Source: TangoCloud catalogue · the premiere

Lyrics

Español · Underlined words are lunfardo: tap one for its meaning.

Mina que fue en otro tiempo la más papa y en esas noches tangueras fue la reina del festín. Hoy no tiene pa' ponerse ni zapatos ni vestidos, anda enferma y el amigo no aportó para el . Ya no tienen sus ojazos esos fuertes resplandores y en su cara los colores se le ven palidecer. Está enferma, sufre y llora y manya con sentimiento de que así, enferma y sin más naide la va a querer. Pobre que ha tenido a la gente rechiflada y supo con la mirada conquistar una pasión. Hoy no tiene quien se arrime por cariño a su . ¡Pobre arrabalera que quedó sin corazón! Y cuando de los bandoneones se oyen las notas de un tango, pobre florcita de fango siente en su alma vibrar las nostalgias de otros tiempos de placeres y de amores, ¡hoy sólo son sinsabores que la invitan a llorar!

English · machine translation

Mina who was once the most papa milonguera and in those tango nights she was the queen of the feast. Today she has no shoes or dresses neither shoes nor dresses, she is sick and her friend did not contribute to the bulín. Her big eyes no longer have no longer have those strong glares and in his face the colors pale on her face. She is sick, she suffers and cries and manya with feeling that this way, sick and without wind no one will love her anymore. Poor paica who has had the people reproached and knew how to conquer a passion to conquer a passion. Today she has no one to come close for affection to her catrera. Poor little paica who was left without a heart! And when from the bandoneons the notes of a tango are heard, poor little mud flower feels in her soul vibrating the nostalgia of other times of pleasures and loves, today they are only sorrows that invite her to weep!

Every version

Computed from the catalogue, not yet written by anyone

The catalogue holds 15 recordings of this song by 13 orchestras, 1942 to 1987.
1940’50’60’70’80
Recordings of El motivo · 1965 by year, taller the more they are danced · 15 of 15 recordings carry a year · read Nov 3, 2026

A Song's recorded lineage

We hold dated Recordings by 13 orchestras; the earliest here is Julio De Caro in 1942.

  1. 1942Julio De CaroRecording
  2. 1944Juan Carlos CobianRecording
  3. 1947Alberto MarinoRecording
  4. 1949Eduardo Del PianoRecording
  5. 1951Alberto MancioneRecording
  6. 1961Aníbal TroiloRecording
  7. 1962José BassoRecording
  8. 1965Horacio SalganRecording
  9. 1965Reynaldo NicheleRecording
  10. 1966Osvaldo PuglieseRecording
  11. 1968Roberto GoyenecheRecording
  12. 1970Aníbal Troilo y Astor PiazzollaRecording
  13. 1987Nuevo Quinteto Real (Horacio Salgán)Recording

Gold marks the first we hold, not the first ever. Filled dots have filmed Dances; rings have no Dances matched yet.

15 recordings · our catalogue, dances filmed on TangoTube · 12 more we know of

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

The leader is Aníbal Troilo, with 67% of the 159 filmed dances matched to a version of this song.

6 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. Juan Carlos CobianEl motivoJuan Carlos Cobiantango
    30 dances · 19%
    1944
  2. Osvaldo PuglieseEl motivoOsvaldo PugliesetangoPhilips
    10 dances · 6%
    1966
  3. Roberto GoyenecheEl motivoRoberto Goyenechesungtango
    6 dances · 4%
    1968
  4. Alberto MarinoEl motivoAlberto Marinosungtango
    3 dances · 2%
    1947
  5. Julio De CaroEarliest we holdEl motivoJulio De Carotango
    2 dances · 1%
    1942
  6. Aníbal Troilo y Astor PiazzollaEl motivoAníbal Troilo y Astor PiazzollainstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
    2 dances · 1%
    1970
  7. Eduardo Del PianoEl motivoEduardo Del PianoÁngel VargastangoRCA Victor
    No match yet
    1949
  8. Alberto MancioneEl motivoAlberto MancioneFrancisco Fiorentinotango
    No match yet
    1951
  9. José BassoEl motivoJosé BassoFloreal RuiztangoMusic Hall
    No match yet
    1962
  10. Horacio SalganEl motivoHoracio SalgantangoPhilips
    No match yet
    1965
  11. Reynaldo NicheleEl motivoReynaldo NicheletangoMicrofon
    No match yet
    1965
  12. Nuevo Quinteto Real (Horacio Salgán)El motivoNuevo Quinteto Real (Horacio Salgán)tangoPhilips
    No match yet
    1987
  13. Roberto FirpoNot in our catalogue1919
  14. José RicardoNot in our catalogueCarlos Gardel1920
  15. Emilio BalcarceNot in our catalogueAlberto Marino · Nov 61947
  16. Ciriaco Ortiz, Ubaldo Aquiles De LioNot in our catalogue1965
  17. Edmundo RiveroNot in our catalogue
  18. Jorge VidalNot in our catalogue
  19. Susana RinaldiNot in our catalogue

One recording

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

Reynaldo Nichele

El motivoReynaldo NicheletangoMicrofon

No couple filmed dancing this recording yet

Read more

Cite this

What we don't know yet4 of 5 known

The day it was recorded.

Data: recordings, facts and sources

No published facts yet. Facts appear here, each with its source, as they are collected.

Listen

  1. El motivoJulio De Caro

Ask Tangopedia

Answers only from cited facts, each with its source.