The Cabeceo

We've caught your eye across the milonga. Like any good tango, this starts with consent — nothing optional runs until you say so.Cookies only with your yes. What we store.

Skip to content

Song

El pollo Ricardo

Music by Luis Alberto Fernandez, lyrics by Luis Alberto Fernández. 16 recordings in our catalogue, 1938–2009.

Who recorded it

Every version16

Earliest we hold: Quinteto Don Pancho (Francisco Canaro), 1938

  1. Juan D'Arienzo19471952
  2. Carlos Di Sarli194019461951
  3. Aníbal Troilo1954
  4. Quinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro)1962
  5. Ricardo Pedevilla1950
  6. Héctor Varela1966

Versions of El pollo Ricardo recorded 1938–2009

El pollo Ricardo was composed by Luis Alberto Fernández.† The lyrics of El pollo Ricardo are by Luis Alberto Fernández.† El pollo Ricardo: El Pollo Ricardo belongs to Carlos Di Sarli's repertoire (recorded in 1940 and again around 1946), but in 1947 Héctor Varela wrote a fresh arrangement of it for D'Arienzo's very different, rhythm-driven orchestra.†

The song

The piece as people name it, whoever plays it.

12 orchestras recorded it

34 Dances filmed to it

Who wrote it

Music
Luis Alberto Fernandez
Words
Luis Alberto Fernández
Written
not yet cited · help fill it
First played
not yet cited · help fill it

Source: TangoCloud catalogue

Every version

Computed from the catalogue, not yet written by anyone

The catalogue holds 16 recordings of this song by 12 orchestras, 1938 to 2009.
1930’40’50’60’70’80’90’00
Recordings of El pollo Ricardo by year, taller the more they are danced · 16 of 16 recordings carry a year · read Nov 2, 2026

16 recordings · our catalogue, dances filmed on TangoTube · 11 more we know of

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

The leader is Carlos Di Sarli, with 68% of the 34 filmed dances matched to a version of this song.

4 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.

  3. Quinteto Don Pancho (Francisco Canaro)Earliest we holdEl pollo RicardoQuinteto Don Pancho (Francisco Canaro)tangoOdeon
    2 dances · 6%
    1938
  4. Aníbal TroiloEl pollo RicardoAníbal TroilotangoTK
    1 dance · 3%
    1954
  5. Ricardo PedevillaEl pollo RicardoRicardo PedevillatangoPampa
    No match yet
    1950
  6. Quinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro)El pollo RicardoQuinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro)tangoOdeon
    No match yet
    1962
  7. Quinteto Real (Horacio Salgán)El pollo RicardoQuinteto Real (Horacio Salgán)tangoColumbia
    No match yet
    1964
  8. Héctor VarelaEl pollo RicardoHéctor Varelainstrumentaltango
    No match yet
    1966
  9. Mariano MoresEl pollo RicardoMariano Morestango
    No match yet
    1967
  11. Orquesta El ArranqueEl pollo RicardoOrquesta El Arranquetango
    No match yet
    2000
  12. Orquesta Típica SilencioEl pollo RicardoOrquesta Típica Silenciotango
    No match yet
    2009
  13. Quinteto Don Pancho, dir. Francisco CanaroNot in our catalogueMay 91938
  14. Dante PuricelliNot in our catalogueMay 271952
  15. Quinteto Pirincho, dir. Francisco CanaroNot in our catalogueDec 171962
  16. Horacio Salgán, Ubaldo Aquiles De LioNot in our catalogue1967
  17. Orquesta Matos RodríguezNot in our catalogue2005
  18. Anibal Arias, Osvaldo José MontesNot in our catalogue
  19. Leopoldo FedericoNot in our catalogue
  20. Leopoldo Federico, Roberto GrelaNot in our catalogue
All recordings of El pollo Ricardo

One recording

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

Carlos Di Sarli

El pollo RicardoCarlos Di SarliinstrumentaltangoMusic Hall
Open this recording

Couples filmed dancing this recording · 27 Performances

Boris Maidanik & Maria Inés BogadoWorld Champion · Tango de Salón 2010Bratislava Tango Festival · 2019 · 3:07

Danced to it

Music from 1938–2009 · danced on film 2009–2024

20092024
By the year it was danced; each dance counts once, however many channels filmed it

2009: 2, 2011: 1, 2012: 4, 2013: 3, 2014: 1, 2015: 4, 2016: 1, 2017: 3, 2018: 4, 2019: 1, 2022: 1, 2023: 2, 2024: 1

Through the decades

  1. The 2000sRobert Hauk & Susana Miller2009
  2. The 2010sBoris Maidanik & Maria Inés BogadoBratislava Tango Festival · 2019
  3. The 2020sHugo Patyn & Celina Rotundo2024

Where it is danced

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

  1. MarabúSan Nicolás
    1 performance

Filmed sets

One Couple dancing three or four songs at one Occasion, every song known. What was danced on film, not what a DJ played.

The one complete set on film

  1. Javier Rodríguez and Virginia Pandolfi

    2012 · In upload order: nobody has said the order danced

    1. 1Bien PulentaJuan D'Arienzo, 1950
    2. 2Milonga vieja milongaJuan D'Arienzo, 1937
    3. 3El pollo RicardoCarlos Di Sarli, 1951
    4. 4PasionalOsvaldo Pugliese, 1952
    Watch it on TangoTube

In their words

  • El Pollo Ricardo belongs to Carlos Di Sarli's repertoire (recorded in 1940 and again around 1946), but in 1947 Héctor Varela wrote a fresh arrangement of it for D'Arienzo's very different, rhythm-driven orchestra.

    What was said, in our words

    Michael Lavocah · TBY Lost Afterparty III - 1947

  • Un poquito, no lo puedo tocar solo, porque es un arreglo para toda la orquesta, es muy diferente tocarlo solo, pero si puedo, toco un poquito de 'El pollo Ricardo

    little, I can't play it solo, because it's an arrangement for the whole orchestra, it's very different to play it alone, but if I can, I'll play a bit of 'El pollo RicardoTangopedia translation

    Roberto Álvarez · ROBERTO ÁLVAREZ Tengo una pregunta para vos (by Pepa Palazón) with ENGLISH subtitles

    open at 1:16:53

Read more

What we don't know yet3 of 4 known

The year it was written.

Data: recordings, facts and sources

In other catalogues3

tango.info · Z0000505335

TodoTango · tema/404

MusicBrainz · 0c707956-73ea-4aec-b5eb-d8f6ba543528source

Composer1

Composed by Luis Alberto Fernández

Lyricist1

Lyrics by Luis Alberto Fernández

Notes1

El Pollo Ricardo belongs to Carlos Di Sarli's repertoire (recorded in 1940 and again around 1946), but in 1947 Héctor Varela wrote a fresh arrangement of it for D'Arienzo's very different, rhythm-driven orchestra.

Listen

  1. El pollo RicardoQuinteto Don Pancho (Francisco Canaro)tangoOdeon
  2. El pollo RicardoCarlos Di SarliinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
  3. El pollo RicardoCarlos Di SarliinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
  4. El pollo RicardoJuan D'ArienzoinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
  5. El pollo RicardoRicardo PedevillatangoPampa
  6. El pollo RicardoCarlos Di SarliinstrumentaltangoMusic Hall
  7. El pollo RicardoJuan D'ArienzoinstrumentaltangoRCA Victor
  8. El pollo RicardoAníbal TroilotangoTK
  9. El pollo RicardoQuinteto Pirincho (Francisco Canaro)tangoOdeon
  10. El pollo RicardoQuinteto Real (Horacio Salgán)tangoColumbia
  11. El pollo RicardoHéctor Varelainstrumentaltango
  12. El pollo RicardoMariano Morestango

Ask Tangopedia

Answers only from cited facts, each with its source.