El Cuarteto de Nos is an Uruguayan alternative rock band formed in 1984 in … Read Full Bio ↴El Cuarteto de Nos is an Uruguayan alternative rock band formed in 1984 in Montevideo. The band was originally comprised of the Musso brothers (Roberto and Riki Musso) and Santiago Tavella, who they had met in high school. In 1984 they released their debut album, a split LP with uruguayan candombe musician Alberto Wolf under the Ayuí / Tacuabé label. Leonardo Baroncini was hired to be a guest drummer on the record.

In March 1987 they released Soy una arveja, an album which unlike their previous record featured dark, humorous and satirical lyrics based around characters from the city of Tajo, a fictional city (an inside-joke between the members). This would also be their first album to feature the drummer Álvaro Pintos.
They would later release Emilio Garcia in 1988 and Canciones del Corazon in 1991. However, in 1994 with the release of Otra navidad en las trincheras the band unexpectedly gained massive popularity in Uruguay and stopped being a cult band. This caused Otra navidad en las trincheras to become the #1 best selling album in the country for a long time.

After the success of their previous album they released Barranca Abajo, a concept album revolving around the life of a fictional character named José Barrancas created by the band. The next year El tren bala was released and generated controversy throughout the country due to the Ministry of Education and Culture's attempts to ban the album over the song "El dia que Artigas se emborracho" which made fun of uruguayan national hero José Gervasio Artigas. However, this only expanded the group's popularity. Afterwards Revista ¡¡Ésta!! was released in 1998.

Riki Musso temporarily left the band in 2000 before the release of Cortamambo due to differences with their label and bandmates about the album cover. However, his brother convinced him to stay. Their 2004 self-titled album was the first to feature Juan Campodonico who would later produce all of their post-Cortamambo discography including Raro, a power pop album which made the band well known in other countries, allowing them to tour through South America. Riki would leave the band a second time due to musical differences with Bipolar being his last contribution to El Cuarteto de Nos.

Gustavo Antuña replaced guitarist Riki Musso in 2010 and joined the band alongside keyboardist Santiago Marrero. The first album to feature them both was the more pop rock influenced Porfiado which won two latin grammy awards.

Pueblo Podrido
El Cuarteto De Nos Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yo vivo en un pueblo podrido
En donde todo está podrido
Y voy de noche
Siempre a oscuras
Caminando entre la basura

Y no voy a llegar muy lejos
En un omnibus lleno de viejos

Porque me asaltan con un caño
Delincuentes de 12 años

Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar

Los zapatos se me mojan
Pisando las baldozas flojas
Y la calle no me da tregua
Esquivando bosta de yegua

Y a los chorros tanto les da
Si es facil comprar la autoridad
Y cuando en casa busco abrigo
Tengo que entrar pateando mendigos

Oh oh oh
Así quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh

Aca ya no hay
Nada que hacer
El que se quedo es porque no se fue
Y en la esquina
Hay feo olor
Si no hace frio, hace calor

Lunes de noche no hay donde ir
Igual, mejor, para que salir
Si me pegan los vecinos
Si no les doy plata para el vino

Y si me pregunta algun podrido
Por que no te vas de tu pueblo podrido
Le digo no me hagas poner violento
Y escucha lo que estoy diciendo

Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh
Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh

Asi quiero estar
Oh oh oh

Overall Meaning

El Cuarteto De Nos's song Pueblo Podrido is a poignant commentary on the difficult living conditions of those who reside in a small, rotten town. The lyrics depict a world of complete despair, in which the singer is forced to walk through dark, filthy streets with crumbling sidewalks, avoid animal waste, and dodge young thugs who threaten him with a pipe. He is forced to take an overcrowded bus that is filled with elderly people who look like they are barely holding on. Despite all of this, the singer will stay in this place because their home is there.

The lyrics express a sense of bitterness and fatalism that pervades the entire song. Despite the hardships, the singer explains that he wants to stay in a place that is filled with squalor, poverty, and violence. The song speaks to the frustration and anger that many people in similar situations feel, trapped in a society that seems to care very little for their welfare. The repetition of the chorus "Asi quiero estar" (This is where I want to be) emphasizes the singer's acceptance of his current surroundings, even as he knows how dire they are.

Line by Line Meaning

Yo vivo en un pueblo podrido
I reside in a decaying town

En donde todo está podrido
Where everything is rotten

Y voy de noche
Traveling in darkness

Siempre a oscuras
Always in the dark

Caminando entre la basura
Walking amidst the garbage

Y no voy a llegar muy lejos
Can't go very far

En un omnibus lleno de viejos
On a bus full of elderly people

Porque me asaltan con un caño
Getting robbed with a metal pipe

Delincuentes de 12 años
12-year-old criminals

Los zapatos se me mojan
My shoes get soaked

Pisando las baldozas flojas
Treading on loose pavement