La milonga y yo [English translation]

With milonga I'm going as equal to equal1

because I'm also milonga2

I come from a plain absolute lovely neighborhood

and I'm beaten up to the sound of a bandoneon.3

when the himbos were having a fight

now and then the pimpiest remained chief

And he was strutting with a superior air

and making backward rolls for fun

and flattery was our heavy industry,

flamboyant and overacted.

With milonga I'm going as equal to equal

We're from the same slum

Let's go surmount the hill

that's coming up in the evening

decking out to party;

Let's go 'cause bandoneons are cooing

and to the beat of a tango

memories are raining down on us

I see Don Juan and El Cachafáz passing

and El Entrerriano riding his steed,

with the argentinian La Morocha

and scatterbrain Ivette... 4

With milonga I'm going as equal to equal

I'm a true Buenosairean

I bloomed in a tenement of San Telmo 5

among perfumes of roses and jasmine

and there were no white nights for me

'cause no one would set me on fire with a seranade.

I can't complain I haven't had pretenders

-from the pimpiest to the sharpest dressed man-

and dancing was the same be it in a hall

or at the backyard's patio...

With milonga I'm going as equal to equal

We're from the same slum

Let's go surmount the hill

that's coming up in the evening

decking out to party;

Let's go 'cause bandoneons are cooing

and to the beat of a tango

memories are raining down on us

I see Don Juan and El Cachafáz passing

and El Entrerriano riding his steed,

with the argentinian La Morocha

and scatterbrain Ivette...

With milonga I'm going as equal to equal

I'm a true Buenosairean

1. De igual a igual is a tango2. Milonga is tango genre, a tango party, a tango club, but here it means a trampy woman hanging out in milongas usually called milonguita, possibly a working girl. So from what I understand she's saying that she's working as a dancer for some people organising milongas (something like rave party organisers)3. Accordion-like instrument used in argentinian tango4. Don Juan, El Cachafáz, El Entrerriano, La Morocha and Ivette are tangos5. The oldest neighborhood of Buenos Aires with many immigrants

• Artist:Tita Merello