Born Aug 22, 1961 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he began his professional musical career at the age of 17 playing keyboards in Raíces.
In 1981 he incorporated to one of the main bands of the Argentinean '80s rock scene: Los Abuelos de la Nada. Although the band was led by the brilliant Miguel Abuelo, Calamaro composed most of the band's hits, like "Mil Horas," "Así es el calor," "Sin gamulán" and "Costumbres Argentinas."
In 1984 he made his solo debut with Hotel Calamaro. The album was a bizarre mix of styles and musicians, and didn't gain public or press support.
In 1985 he left Los Abuelos de la Nada and registered his second album Vida Cruel. Inspite of the important musicians and guests, such as Luis Alberto Spinetta and Charly García, the album was a disappointment: both commercially and artistically. But if as a songwriter the luck was out of reach, he had an intense and successful work as a producer of bands like Los Enanitos Verdes, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and Don Cornelio y la zona. He also worked and collaborated with many artists of different styles and genres, a constant attitude through his whole career. The third album Por Mirarte showed Calamaro in a better shape with an established band. Released in 1988 it contains some outstanding songs such as "Con los dientes apretados" and "Me olvidé de los demás," while others like "Cartas sin Marcar" and "Loco por tí" helped the album to get popular.
When Calamaro released in 1989 Nadie Sale Vivo de Aquí, Argentina was living it's worst economical crisis: few albums were released. The album title suggest it all: Nobody comes out alive from here. The LP production was paralyzed, and the few that could make it were almost ignored. That was Calamaro's case. This situation lead the singer to settle in Spain, following a road taken by many Argentinean rockers. Out there in Spain he met Ariel Rot y Javier Infante, former members of Tequila. They formed Los Rodríguez in 1991, a pop-rock band that was very popular in Spain and Latin America: Calamaro's songs began to be popular like in the early '80s: the hit maker was on the road again. Curiously, from Spain, he was conquering Argentina. While being part of the band he didn't release any new solo material, just Grabaciones Encontradas 1 y 2, a couple of CDs that contained unreleased and rare material from the '80s.
After the split of Los Rodríguez, Calamaro returned to his solo career recording Alta Suciedad in 1997, an album produced by Joe Blaney. This album brought him the commercial success that seemed to fail in his previous solo efforts, and sold 300.000 copies just in Argentina. That is certainly a huge amount for the country's small market. No doubts, that album helped him to be placed between the star legends of the national rock scene. Before that album Calamaro was considered an important character, appreciated by other musicians, but not a main one. After he broke up with his spanish girlfriend he released in 1999 the double CD Honestidad Brutal. Recorded when he was 37, it contained 37 songs of despair, love loss, drugs and regret. It was not as successful at the previous album, but showed a new Calamaro: desperate, decadent and often elegant at the same time, with a new and raw lyrical approach. El Salmon followed in spring 2001.
Calamaro's next proyect, El Cantante, was released in 2005. A delicious mixture of tango, rock n'roll and flamenco guitars (mostly played by spanish prodigy El Niño Josele).
After a break, he returned to the stages with a tour full of classics that gave birth to a live album called El Regreso on 2005, recorded with members of Bersuit Vergarabat as a backing band. This album was very well received for the charts as well as for the critics, wich lead him to different awards. One year later, on 2006, Andres published a new album from the roots of tango with the collaboration of guitarrists Niño Josele and Juanjo Dominguez. On 2007 El palacio de las flores was published, although it was recorded on 2006. The album had the collaboration and musical influence of argentine composer Lito Nebbia and was also recorded on his studio. This was the return to a classic Calamaro album with new songs and hits.
Cafetín De Buenos Aires
Andrés Calamaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Como a esas cosas que nunca se alcanzan
La ñata contra el vidrio
En un azul de frío
Que solo fue después viviendo igual al mío
Como una escuela de todas las cosas
Ya de muchacho me diste entre asombros
El cigarrillo
Y una esperanza de amor
¿Cómo olvidarte en esta queja
Cafetín de Buenos Aires
Si sos lo único en la vida
Que se pareció a mi vieja?
En tu mezcla milagrosa
De sabihondos y suicidas
Yo aprendí filosofía, dados, timba
Y la poesía cruel
De no pensar más en mí
Me diste en oro un puñado de amigos
Que son los mismos que alientan mis horas
José, el de la quimera
Marcial, que aún cree y espera
Y el flaco Abel, que se nos fue
Pero aún me guía
Sobre tus mesas que nunca preguntan
Lloré una tarde el primer desengaño
Nací a las penas
Bebí mis años
Y me entregué sin luchar
The lyrics to Andres Calamaro's "Cafetín De Buenos Aires" speak of the singer's memories of his childhood and adolescent years spent in a café in Buenos Aires. The song begins with nostalgia for a time when the singer looked in from the outside, feeling as though he could never reach what was inside. The stark contrast of the cold blue outside against the warmth of the café is emphasized. The café becomes like a school of all things, where the singer learned about life, love, and identity.
The café's atmosphere is described as a mix of wise men and lost souls. The singer learned about philosophy, gambling, and the cruel poetry of not thinking about oneself. The café provided the singer with a chance to make friends, who are still present with him through the hours, even those who have passed away. The café seems to be the only constant in the singer's life; it reminds him of his mother, who may have also sought refuge in this haven.
The tears shed in the café were for the first disappointment, a sign of growing up, and the café saw the singer's transformation from innocence to an acceptance of life's tragedies. The café was a witness to milestone moments in the singer's life, as he drank through his years and gave in without a fight. The song expresses a sense of gratitude to the café for being a guiding light through the singer's life journey.
Line by Line Meaning
De chiquilín te miraba de afuera
As a child, I would gaze at you from the outside / Like those things that can never be reached
Como a esas cosas que nunca se alcanzan
Like those things that can never be reached
La ñata contra el vidrio
My nose pressed against the glass
En un azul de frío
In a cold blue
Que solo fue después viviendo igual al mío
That only later came to resemble my life
Como una escuela de todas las cosas
Like a school for all things
Ya de muchacho me diste entre asombros El cigarrillo
As a teenager, you surprised me by giving me a cigarette
La fe en mis sueños Y una esperanza de amor
Faith in my dreams and hope for love
¿Cómo olvidarte en esta queja Cafetín de Buenos Aires Si sos lo único en la vida Que se pareció a mi vieja?
How can I forget you, Cafetín de Buenos Aires? / You are the only thing in life that resembled my mother
En tu mezcla milagrosa De sabihondos y suicidas
In your miraculous blend of know-it-alls and suicidal types
Yo aprendí filosofía, dados, timba Y la poesía cruel De no pensar más en mí
I learned philosophy, gambling, and hard poetry / That didn't encourage me to think of myself
Me diste en oro un puñado de amigos Que son los mismos que alientan mis horas José, el de la quimera Marcial, que aún cree y espera Y el flaco Abel, que se nos fue Pero aún me guía
You gave me a handful of golden friends who still support me / José, the dreamer / Marcial, who still believes and waits / And the skinny Abel, who left us but still guides me
Sobre tus mesas que nunca preguntan Lloré una tarde el primer desengaño
On your tables that never ask questions / I cried over my first heartbreak one afternoon
Nací a las penas Bebí mis años Y me entregué sin luchar
I was born into sorrow / I drank my years away / And surrendered without a fight
Lyrics © Tratore, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Enrique Santos Discepolo, Mariano Mores
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nicolás E. Cáceres-Fazzolari
Igual está bueno que quieran seguir manteniendo la escencia del tango.. los rockeros son lo poco que siguen sonando entre nosotros- pensá que alguien que escuchá a Calamaro y no escuchá tango, empieza a hacerlo gracias a él posiblemente. Nunca nada está de más. Aparte de última el que sigue a Calamaro escuchá esta versión y le gusta, a mi también me encanta la de Rivero y la prefiero mil veces. Pero tratemos de verle lo positivo
Franco Centenaro
Por esta versión, comencé a investigar y conocí a Troilo, Goyeneche y al gran Astor Piazzola... Gracias Salmón!!
Santiago Perman
Para que los temas no se vuelvan cosa de anticuario hay que seguir haciendo versiones, y ésta colabora.
roxy robert
Seeee
Fabricio Valent
pedazo de tango , gracias andres , mi feneracion y las nuevas necesitan mas temas asi
Jorge Iván Zúñiga
Preciosa versión! <3
Juan Diego Quintero
Estoy con Nico, no soy tanguero ni conozco nada y es una buena forma de hacerlo, esta buena la canción
roxy robert
Está bien...lo único que por algo el lunfardo!! ES UN MODISMO MARAVILLOS.SE DICE "...DE PUREETE..."daleee
Fernando Salazar
ESTA BIEN SOBRE TODO SI TENEMOS EN CUENTA QUE FUE MAS UNA INPROVISACION, PORQUE ESTE ALBUM QUE LA VERSION FINAL FUE DE SEIS DISCOS TENIA TEMAS ASI SIN DEMASIADOS ARREGLOS, EXISTEN BOOTLEGS CON CANCIONES QUE SE QUE NO SALIERON EN EL ALBUN QUE ESTAN TOCADAS DE ESTA FORMA, CON EL TECLADO Y POCO MAS, POR ESO ME PARECE QUE NO SE LE TIENE QUE DAE CON UN CAÑO. DESPUES VA A SACAR UN DISCO MAS EN SERIO DE VERSIONES DE TANGOS 'TINTA ROJA"
Manuel Carugo
Sigue siendo mejor que El Pepo "cantando" Tango