Meaning of Exchange
The first meanings of the term exchange mentioned by the DigoPaul in its dictionary refer to an exchange or a swap that takes place under unclear conditions or that involves items of little value. These uses of the concept are generally derogatory or derogatory.
For example: “The government promotes the exchange of old appliances with high energy consumption for more modern and efficient ones”, “Tomorrow there will be a book exchange in the main square”, “The two teams are looking for a trade to exchange their figures”.
In several South American countries, on the other hand, the notion of barter is used with reference to that which contains or exhibits components with very different characteristics. A trade, in this sense, implies a variety of things: “This political party is a trade! It is made up of communists, liberals and nationalists “, ” I don’t understand anything about this film, it’s a trade-off “, ” The new album by the Jamaican artist offers a swap of styles. “
“Cambalache” is also the title of a famous tango that the Argentine Enrique Santos Discépolo composedin 1934. The song denounces various problems that were experienced in Argentina during the so-called Infamous Decade, which actually lasted for more than ten years (1930-1943). Due to the content of its lyrics, “Cambalache” is still valid since its verses can be applied to different regions and times.
The Infamous Decade was the period in which Argentina suffered the coup d’état that led to the overthrow of Hipólito Yrigoyen, its then president; It began on September 6, 1930 and ended on June 4, 1943, after having overthrown Ramón Castillo, another president, also with a coup. The name of this stage was coined by the journalist José Luis Torres, but it is also known as the «neoconservative restoration» or «period of conservative restoration».
Enrique Santos Discépolo, for his part, was a musician, composer, writer and filmmaker born in Buenos Aires in 1901, whom many know by the nickname ” Discepolín “. Despite his various talents, tango composition was the reason why he stood out in his time and managed to transcend to the present; According to lovers of this musical genre, some of his works are among the golden tangos (also known as fundamental tangos), a list of which “Cafetín de Buenos Aires”, “Yira, yira”, “Uno” and “Swap”.
Discépolo wrote the tango Cambalache to be part of the film entitled “El alma del bandoneón”, for which he also wrote and co-wrote other songs. The interpreter who gave it life for the first time was Ernesto Famá, accompanied by the Francisco Lomuto orchestra.
At the end of the Infamous Decade, the military government began a campaign that aimed to prohibit the use of lunfardo and any expression that could be considered immoral or whose impact was negative for the language. Similarly, the censorship prevented any reference to excessive alcohol consumption and the consequent drunkenness, as well as any comment that contained negative ideas about the country. As is to be expected, the Cambalache tango fell on the net and that is why its radio broadcast became illegal.
Among the people mentioned in the tango lyrics are the heroes Napoleón and San Martín, the Ukrainian swindler with the last name Stravisky, the Italian educator, writer and priest known as Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Congregation, the Argentine mobster nicknamed Don Chicho and Italian boxer Carnera. Finally there is ” la mignon “, sometimes written with a capital letter, which some consider a reference to a character created by Goethe.
Finally, in the municipality of Arecibo (Puerto Rico), there is a small neighborhood called Cambalache. Its surface does not reach nine square kilometers.
