His music is played often at milongas in Buenos Aires, and the instrumentals are the classic harder rhythmic tangos with a strong staccato dance rhythm. He also recorded many great milongas and fast valses.
More detail.....
(December 14, 1900 – January 14, 1976)
D'Arienzo was born on 14 December 1900 in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Balvanera.
By 1936 Juan D'Arienzo was at the height of his popularity. He was just 35 years old, one less than Julio De Caro –but stylistically at the other end of the musical horizon of tango. De Caro was already a star in 1924 when D'Arienzo began his rise to popularity when Pablo Osvaldo Valle took him to the brand new El Mundo radio station.
Like almost all the musicians in those days, he started in tango as a boy. He played violin in local venues at a very early age with Angel D'Agostino on piano, the bandoneon player Ernesto Bianchi (Lechuguita) and Ennio Bolognini, Remo and Astor´s brother. His first known performance goes back to 1919. In that year, he played with the Arata-Simari-Franco theater company when they presented the comic play by Alberto Novión, "El cabaret Montmartre" at the Nacional theater.
In an interview in 1949 with Andrés Muñoz,he said “We, D'Agostino and I on the violin, took part in the opening night of Alberto Novión´s sainete "El cabaret Montmartre". At the play a small tango orchestra appeared, led by us, and which accompanied Los Undar's, a famous dancing number formed by the partners la Portuguesa and El Morocho, two stars of tango canyengue”.
Doctor Luis Adolfo Sierra has established, however, that Roberto Firpo's orchestra premiered that show (Firpo, on piano; Cayetano Puglisi, on violin; Pedro Maffia and Juan Bautista Deambroggio, on bandoneons, and Alejandro Michetti, on drums) until September 1 of that year, when it was replaced by that of D'Arienzo-D'Agostino.
D'Arienzo remained linked to theater. Always with D'Agostino on piano, he accompanied Evita Franco, who beautifully sang tangos like "Loca", "Entra nomás" or "Pobre milonga".
He also played violin in the Frederickson jazz band and assembled a sextet with D'Agostino on piano; the other violin was Mazzeo. On bandoneons were Anselmo Aieta and Ernesto Bianchi, and Juan Puglisi on bass.
When D'Agostino left, he was replaced by Luis Visca, who was then composing "Compadrón".
1935 is the key year in D'Arienzo´s career. This is the year when the D'Arienzo we all remember really appeared. That happened when Rodolfo Biagi joined the orchestra. Biagi was a pianist who had played with Pacho, who had accompanied Gardel on some recordings, and had played with Juan Guido and Juan Canaro. By then, D'Arienzo was performing at the Chantecler. Biagi´s inclusion meant a change of time signature for D'Arienzo orchestra, which changed the four-eight for the two-four; that is to say, he returned to two-four, the fast frolic beat of the early tangos.
When Biagi left him in 1938 to assemble his own orchestra, D'Arienzo had already identified himself with the two-four definitively. Facing the martial rhythm by Canaro, the somewhat street band-like platitude of Francisco Lomuto, and De Caro´s symphonic attempts, D'Arienzo contributed a fresh, juvenile, enlivening air to tango.
Tango, which had been an ostentatious, challenging almost gymnastic dance, turned one day, according to Discépolo, into a sad thought which can be danced to. The dance had become subsidiary, displaced by lyrics and the singers, and then by the arrangement. D'Arienzo gave tango back to the dancers´feet and with that he revived the interst of the young in tango.
This nickname "king of beat", given by Príncipe cubano (Angel Sanchez Carreño), an MC at the cabaret Chantecler, turned into the king of the dance, and by getting people to the dance he earned a lot of money.
Tango lovers despise D'Arienzo. He is considered as a sort of tango demagogue. But D'Arienzo, as José Luis Macaggi has very well said, made possible that tango renaissance called "la década del cuarenta" (the 40s), a decade which represented The golden Age of Tango.
When D'Arienzo achieved success with the new beat, he dazzled the Chantecler dancers and El Mundo radio station broadcast it all over the country.
In 1949 D'Arienzo said: “In my view, tango is, above all, rhythm, nerve, strength and character. Early tango, that of the old stream (guardia vieja), had all that, and we must try not to ever lose it. Because we forgot that, Argentine tango entered into a crisis some years ago. Putting aside modesty, I did all was possible to make it reappear. In my opinion, a good part of the blame for tango decline is on the singers. There was a time when a tango orchestra was nothing else but a mere pretext for the singer´s performance. The players, including the leader, were no more than accompanists of the popular stars. For me, that can´t be. Tango is essentially music. In consequence, the orchestra, which plays it, cannot be relegated to the background to spotlight only the singer. The human voice is not, it should not be another thing but an instrument more in the orchestra. To sacrifice everything for the singer´s sake, for the star, is a mistake. I reacted against that mistake which caused the tango crisis and placed the orchestra in the foreground and the singer in his place. Furthermore, I tried to rescue for tango its masculine strength, which it had been losing. In my interpretations I stamped the rhythm, the nerve, the strength and the character which distinguished it in the music world and which it had been losing for the above reasons. Luckily, that crisis was temporary, and today tango has been re-established, our tango, with the vitality of its best times. My major pride is to have contributed to that renaissance of our popular music. [Edited quote from the Aquí Está magazine].
In 1975, a month before his death, D'Arienzo noted again: "The foundation of my orchestra is the piano. I regard it as irreplaceable. When my pianist, Polito is ill, I replace him with Jorge Dragone. If something happens to the latter I´m at a loss. Then the fourth violin appears as an essential element. It must sound like a viola or a cello. I assemble my group with piano, double bass, five violins, five bandoneons and three singers. Less members, never. I had even used, for some recordings, up to ten violins".[Interview made known by Telam and taken from La Voz del Pueblo, Tres Arroyos, 23 December 1975].
Due to the importance given to piano by the maestro, it is not superfluous to give here the list of his pianists: Alfonso Lacueva, René Cóspito, Vicente Gorrese, Nicolás Vaccaro, Juan Polito, Luis Visca, Carlos Di Sarli, Lidia Fassoli, Cesar Zagnolli, Rodolfo Biaggi, Juan Polito, Fulvio Salamanca, Juan Polito, Normando Lazara (Di Sarli only performed for a month, at the Chantecler, in 1934, replacing Visca)
In 1975, when the avant-garde movement was in bloom, D'Arienzo went on saying that "if musicians turned back to the pureness of two-four, the passion for our music would come again and, thanks to the modern media of broadcasting, we would reach world importance".[Interview made known by Telam and taken from La Voz del Pueblo, Tres Arroyos, 23 December 1975].
Originally published in Tango y Lunfardo Nº 132, Year XIV, Chivilcoy, 16 September 1997.
Uno
Juan D'Arienzo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sabe que la lucha es cruel y es mucha, pero lucha y se desangra por la fe que lo empecina.
Uno va arrastrándose entre espinas, y en su afán de dar su amor sufre y se destroza, hasta entender que uno se quedó sin corazón.
Precio de castigo que uno entrega por un beso que no llega o un amor que lo engañó; vacío ya de amar y de llorar tanta traición...
Si yo tuviera el corazón, el corazón que di; si yo pudiera, como ayer, querer sin presentir...
Es posible que a tus ojos, que hoy me gritan su cariño, los cerrara con mis besos sin pensar que eran como esos otros ojos, los perversos, los que hundieron mi vivir...
Si yo tuviera el corazón, el mismo que perdí; si olvidara a la que ayer lo destrozó y pudiera amarte...
Me abrazaría a tu ilusión para llorar tu amor...
Déjame que llore como aquél que sufre en vida la tortura de llorar su propia muerte.
Pura como sos, habrías salvado mi esperanza con tu amor.
Uno está tan solo en su dolor...
Uno está tan ciego en su penar...
Pero un frío cruel, que es peor que el odio, punto muerto de las almas, tumba horrenda de mi amor, maldijo para siempre y se robó toda ilusión...
The lyrics to Juan D'Arienzo's song Uno are filled with deep emotions and heartfelt pain. It talks about a person who is searching for their dreams and hopes, but the journey is tough as they fight and bleed for the faith that keeps them motivated. Despite all of this, they keep going, but in doing so, they suffer and become shattered as they give their all for love until they realise they no longer have their heart.
The lyrics explore the price of punishment one pays for a kiss that never arrived or a love that betrayed them. They are empty of love and have cried too much for love betrayed. The songwriter sings about wishing they had a heart to give, one that they had previously given away and wishes they could love without fear. The pain of their past relationships has made them cautious, and they wonder if they could ever love someone again the way they once did. In the end, the songwriter mourns their lost love, wishing they could have loved someone new, but they feel it is too late. They're in the torture of crying their death while longing for the one that could have saved them.
Overall, Uno is a powerful song that explores love, loss, and the pain of heartbreak. The lyrics are emotional and illustrate a raw and honest portrayal of the darkness of love's absence.
Line by Line Meaning
Uno busca lleno de esperanzas el camino que los sueños prometieron a sus ansias.
One searches full of hope the path that dreams promised to their desires.
Sabe que la lucha es cruel y es mucha, pero lucha y se desangra por la fe que lo empecina.
He knows that the fight is cruel and it is a lot, but he fights and bleeds for the faith that obsesses him.
Uno va arrastrándose entre espinas, y en su afán de dar su amor sufre y se destroza, hasta entender que uno se quedó sin corazón.
One crawls among thorns, and in his eagerness to give his love, he suffers and breaks, until he understands that he is left heartless.
Precio de castigo que uno entrega por un beso que no llega o un amor que lo engañó; vacío ya de amar y de llorar tanta traición...
Price of punishment that one delivers for a kiss that doesn't arrive or a love that deceived him; empty now of loving and crying so much betrayal...
Si yo tuviera el corazón, el corazón que di; si yo pudiera, como ayer, querer sin presentir...
If I had the heart, the heart that I gave; if I could, like yesterday, love without foreseeing...
Es posible que a tus ojos, que hoy me gritan su cariño, los cerrara con mis besos sin pensar que eran como esos otros ojos, los perversos, los que hundieron mi vivir...
It's possible that to your eyes, which today shout your affection to me, I would close them with my kisses without thinking they were like those other eyes, the wicked ones, the ones that sank my life...
Si yo tuviera el corazón, el mismo que perdí; si olvidara a la que ayer lo destrozó y pudiera amarte...
If I had the heart, the same one I lost; if I forgot the one who destroyed it yesterday and could love you...
Me abrazaría a tu ilusión para llorar tu amor...
I would embrace your dream to cry for your love...
Pero Dios te trajo a mi destino sin pensar que ya es muy tarde y no sabré cómo quererte.
But God brought you to my fate without thinking that it is already too late and I won't know how to love you.
Déjame que llore como aquél que sufre en vida la tortura de llorar su propia muerte.
Let me cry like the one who suffers in life the torture of crying his own death.
Pura como sos, habrías salvado mi esperanza con tu amor.
Pure as you are, you would have saved my hope with your love.
Uno está tan solo en su dolor...
One is so alone in his pain...
Uno está tan ciego en su penar...
One is so blind in his suffering...
Pero un frío cruel, que es peor que el odio, punto muerto de las almas, tumba horrenda de mi amor, maldijo para siempre y se robó toda ilusión...
But a cruel coldness, worse than hate, dead end of souls, horrendous tomb of my love, cursed forever and stole all illusion...
Writer(s): Marianito Mores, Enrique Santos Discepolo
Contributed by Isabella S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@michelfranklinsouzadasilva1627
Unico esto sí . Grandioso.
@antoniotricolor6343
Juan Darenzio, o rei do compass, interpretaçao magnifica de UNO, para mim o hino dos tangos.
@guillermowierna621
Tango de Enrique Santos Discépolo, música y letra.
@acringen
Hola, la música es de Mariano Mores.
@raquelmontenegro4337
¡ Placer inmenso oír a Maure acompañado por la orquesta de Darienzo ♥️🎵🎵💙💛