“Por Una Cabeza” - Why Everyone Dances To This Song and Why You Might Not Want To
Passionate, electric, sensual — over the years, this trinity of tango’s spirit has earned it a steady place in almost all kinds of revelry. Tango music has become the song of celebrations, drawing together a crowd on the dancefloor during weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or any kind of gathering.
For a dance that had existed since the late 1800s, it still has, undeniably, the power to connect people. With its spellbinding music and physical intimacy, tango hinges upon the earthliness of human connection, where partners are not restricted by feminine or masculine qualities.
Scene from the movie Easy Virtue (2008)
On the dancefloor, both partners are equal, linked by intertwined hands and the pulsing of hearts as they meet at chest level, their bodies parallel to one another. Even those who might not be too familiar with the steps or the songs are inevitably swept away by the music’s wave of emotions, its seductive yet somewhat mournful style captivating both the heart and soul.
Like opera or stage play, many people understand tango music intuitively and emotionally, especially if they speak a different language. But despite this linguistic disparity, tango appeals to the language of the heart, speaking of universal sentiments that have ruled the masses of that particular era.
In fact, the post “What makes tango more relevant to us than the “bourrée Auvergnate”? explains that tango represented “topics that concerned the majority of the population: the hardships of life, poverty, love (or rather lack of love), solitude, while providing an outlay for people’s dreams of fortune, travels, luxury, and wealth. These themes brought people together by giving them an identity and a voice.”
As the years passed, these themes have naturally evolved along with time and the ever-changing conditions of humanity. However, most themes have only changed in terms of form, wherein what had been described or viewed as love or hardship back then are only dissimilar in circumstance to what people experience nowadays. In the past, depictions of love — or the loss of it — may have been simpler compared to now, but the feelings behind love or its loss transcend time and evolutions, which is why tango remains as something of its own language in itself, as it speaks about universal sentiments of love and longing, which are still very much alive today. After all, as tanguito.co.uk explains, tango’s “origin filled a feeling of loneliness, and nowadays it still helps bring people together.”
One such song that has endured throughout the decades is “Por Una Cabeza” by the renowned Carlos Gardel. But what is it, and why has it remained such a popular form of tango music even among modern-day folk?
“Por Una Cabeza”: It’s Not as Romantic as You Think
You might not be aware of it, but you’ve likely encountered “Por Una Cabeza” in a movie as it has been popularized in several Hollywood films. As per per The story behind the Tango song " Por una Cabeza" by Gardel & Le Pera, some of the most iconic movies that have used “Por Una Cabeza” as a song for tango scenes or as ambient music are:
● Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino,
● The critically acclaimed Schindler’s List
● True Lies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
● Easy Virtue starring Colin Firth and Jessica Biel.
Hollywood and mainstream media have always had a hand in popularizing tango songs among audiences as many other movies of equal acclaim have not just used “Por Una Cabeza” but tango music in general. “
“Por Una Cabeza,” however, has gained prominence among other tango songs thanks in large part to Carlos Gardel, whose short-lived yet illustrious career in tango has made the song somewhat of a beloved anthem throughout Latin America and beyond
The Epic Life Of The Man Who Made Tango The Most Sensual Genre In History states that his “emotional, almost mournful, voice,” left a mark on his audiences even after his tragic death by a plane crash in Columbia in 1935. This was the same year “Por Una Cabeza” was recorded and sung by Gardel himself in his final movie, The Tango Bar.
“Por Una Cabeza” is adored by many as one of the most romantic tango songs. However, one would be surprised to know that its lyrics are not as romantic or enchanting as one might expect when translated into English.
So, contrary to popular belief, “Por Una Cabeza” might not be the best song for weddings or celebrations after all.
The phrase “por una cabeza,” which means “to lose by a head,” was created by Carlos Gardel and lyricist Alfredo Le Pera. There are a few English translations circulating the internet, but one that is often cited in various sources is the translation from planet-tango.com:
Losing by a head of a noble horse
who slackens just down the stretch
and when it comes back it seems to say:
don't forget brother,
You know, you shouldn't bet.
Losing by a head, instant violent love
of that flirtatious and cheerful woman
who, swearing with a smile
a love she's lying about,
burns in a blaze all my love.
Losing by a head
there was all that madness;
her mouth in a kiss
wipes out the sadness,
it soothes the bitterness.
Losing by a head
if she forgets me,
no matter to lose
my life a thousand times;
what to live for?
Many deceptions, losing by a head...
I swore a thousand times not to insist again
but if a look sways me on passing by
her lips of fire, I want to kiss once more.
Enough of race tracks, no more gambling,
a photo-finish I'm not watching again,
but if a pony looks like a sure thing on Sunday,
I'll bet everything again, what can I do?
Looking at the translation, “Por Una Cabeza” is a song that compares one’s addiction to horse racing to an addiction to women. It talks about how the man, from whom the song’s perspective is based, is constantly beleaguered by his enchantment of different women whose passing glances and momentary displays of supposed affection are enough to make him swoon and “gamble” away his love.
The song concludes with this alleged love being lost “by a head” — the distance in which a horse might lose a race — yet the man emerges none the wiser as he would once more helplessly bet on this love should another woman come along.
From a modern perspective, this may seem rather strange — how can horse racing be equated to the love of a woman?
In understanding the meaning of this song, one must view it within the context of the decade during which it was composed. For “Por Una Cabeza,” it is important to remember that back in the 1930s, horse racing was considered a passion of the porteños, or the so-called inhabitants of Buenos Aires.
According to the American Historica Association “The horse race track of Palermo and the constellation of people and customs around it, including gambling, were romanticized in Argentine culture, especially in tango lyrics. Composers borrowed from the specialized lingo of horse racing and hybridized these terms with lunfardo, the slang of marginal Buenos Aires that tango adopted as its truest voice.”
Thus, horse racing as a pastime carried with it romantic undertones for the masses. It was with this mindset that Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera wrote and performed the much-celebrated piece.
Strange as it may seem to modern audiences, “Por Una Cabeza” depicts the lifestyle of the particular era in which it was made and paints a picture of love as something rather easy, almost like a pastime that people indulged in. Life to them was but a simple progression that revolved around unembellished routines, quite unlike the sophistication that was often displayed by the wealthy.
It is because of this tragic yet somewhat comedic sentiment that gained “Por Una Cabeza” its standing as one of the most iconic and well-known tango songs today.
Carlos Gardel: The Man Behind “Por Una Cabeza”
One cannot talk of “Por Una Cabeza” without discussing the life and times of Carlos Gardel. According to a post from bothellmusiclessons.com, he helped tango gain an appreciation even among middle and upper-class audiences worldwide.
While there is a mystery as to Gardel’s birthplace, various sources assert that he was born on December 11, 1890, in Toulouse, France. However, Gardel himself insisted that he was born in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. According to a post The Most Recognized Yet Most Mysterious Tango the museum in Tacuarembó included his “identification card, his death certificate, his passport, and several newspaper clippings,” and that “Gardel was not only born in Uruguay but he was born three years before the acknowledged date of birth.”
The Epic Life Of The Man Who Made Tango The Most Sensual Genre In History delves deeper into Gardel’s history: Carlos Gardel, born Charles Romuald Gardès, was a child out of wedlock to an unmarried laundress and a married man.
Being ostracized for the unconventional and rather socially unacceptable circumstances of his birth at that time, it is alleged that this marginalization was what caused his mother to move to Buenos Aires to begin a new life with her then six-year-old son.
At the age of 16, the young Charles dropped out of school to sing at bars, cafés, and private parties to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. At the time, tango had become a rather popular genre with which he fell in love. With ambitions of gaining fame for his talents, Charles changed his name to the more local sounding Carlos Gardel and began to sing folk songs that would captivate audiences from all social echelons. As he reinvented himself, Gardel met Don José Razzano, an Uruguayan singer with whom he recorded his first album.
Original choreography 2018 by Polish choreographer Magdalena Targoni uses a mix of tango and ballroom steps in a casual manner
The various ballroom-based wedding websites promote the mix dance choreographies to Por Una Cabeza - copying from each other. Here-same choreography - copied year later.
Gardel’s close encounter with death in 1915, when he was shot in the chest during a bar fight, only strengthened his resolve to make a name for himself. Despite tango’s status as a genre of music only fit for the lower classes, he seized the opportunity to turn it into something that would make him shine among his peers. With his charming personality, he soon moved on from singing in bars and cafés and performed in movies where he became a national symbol in Argentina. According to britannica.com, “Gardel’s huge popularity as an interpreter of the melancholy ballads of the tango was confirmed in the 1920s and ’30s in nightclubs and motion pictures.”
However, his fame — beginning in 1917 with his song “Mi Noche Triste,” which, according to sfsymphony.org, had sold more than 100,000 copies — was cut short due to a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia on June 24, 1935. The same source further states that “in the course of his brief life, [Gardel] recorded 770 pieces, of which 514 were tangos. His suave demeanor was captured in eleven films; the first of them was silent, but the rest show that his dramatic, seductive musical stylings were fully supported by his personal bearing, which had something in common with that of Humphrey Bogart.”
Gardel’s tragic death was mourned so deeply that, according to britannica.com, he was given a funeral and funeral procession in Buenos Aires via a horse-drawn carriage, witnessed by thousands of Argentines, and that his tomb, similar to Rudolf Valentino’s, “became an object of popular pilgrimage.”
“Por Una Cabeza,” his final recorded song, carries with it Gardel’s memory even today.
Ida and Paul consciously choose to dance to Por Una Cabeza as they would have almost missed each other por una cabeza. They’ve danced instrumental version. Choreography by Hernan and Anita from Ultimate Tango
Popular Isn’t Always Perfect
Due to Gardel’s iconic status in tango and the popularity of his songs, “Por Una Cabeza” remains a favorite among weddings and celebrations. However, many might not be entirely familiar with the song’s meaning.
In the interest of picking a more fitting song joyous, loving occasions, one may be better served with selections such as “Al Compás del Corazón” (To the Beat of the Heart) by Miguel Caló, or “Esta Noche de Luna” (This Moonlit Night) José García. These songs speak more about the kind of romantic love better suited to unions instead of the loss of love as depicted in “Por Una Cabeza.”
Amanda and Ryan wedding dance rehearsal to the song Esta Noche de La Luna. Choreography by Hernan and Anita from Ultimate Tango
While “Por Una Cabeza” is perhaps more renowned than the other songs, it is interesting to note that picking the most popular might not always be the best choice. After all, the same can be said of modern songs — one certainly wouldn’t pick The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” for a wedding song should their bride happen to be named Lucy.