Enrique Domingo Cadícamo ( Luján, Buenos Aires province, July 15, 1900 –

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, December 3, 1999) was a prolific Argentine

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. From an initial Symbolist bent, he developed a distinctive,

lunfardo Lunfardo (; from the Italian ''lombardo'' or inhabitant of Lombardy in the local dialect) is an argot originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and from there spread to other urban are ...

-rich style from an early age, and by 1925 he had his first piece, ''Pompas de jabón'', sung by Carlos Gardel. Other notable compositions include ''Madame Ivonne'', ''Che, papusa, oí'', ''Anclado en París'', ''Muñeca brava'', '' Al Mundo le falta un Tornillo'', ''Pa' que bailen los muchachos'' and ''Los mareados'' ("The dizzy ones"), originally titled ''Los dopados'' ("The doped ones"), about a couple that vows to get drunk after realizing their love is over.

Career

Also prolific as a writer, he published three volumes of lyrical

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

(''Canciones grises'', 1926; ''La luna del bajo fondo'', 1940; and ''Viento que lleva y trae'', 1945), three biographical and historical books (''El debut de Gardel en París'', ''La historia del tango en París'' and ''Mis memorias''), some theatrical works (''La epopeya del tango'' and ''La baba del diablo'', both co-written with Félix Pelayo, and ''El romance de dos vagos'' in collaboration with Germán Ziclis) and the narrative pieces ''El cantor de Buenos Aires'', with Alberto Ballerini, and ''Los cuentos de un príncipe'' with Martín Lemos. In 1936 he wrote and directed the film '' Noites Cariocas''. As a recognition to his career, he was declared Illustrious Citizen of the city of Buenos Aires in 1987, and Emeritus of Argentine Culture in 1996. He died at 99 from heart failure. ''Los mareados'' has enjoyed several revivals; it has been part of Mercedes Sosa's repertoire since the 1980s, and was also covered by

Roberto Goyeneche Roberto Goyeneche (January 29, 1926 in Saavedra, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires – August 27, 1994 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango singer of Basque descent, who epitomized the archetype of 1950s Buenos Aires' bohemian life, and became ...

and

Andrés Calamaro Andrés Calamaro (Andrés Calamaro Massel, August 22, 1961) is an Argentine musician, composer and Latin Grammy winner. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential rock artists in Spanish. He is also one of the most complete artist ...

. Another Cadícamo lyric, ''Por la vuelta'' (" toastto urreturn") is a mirror image of ''Los mareados'': two former lovers meet a year after splitting up, find that their mutual friendship has survived their estrangement, and agree to drink to that. Incidentally, the drink of choice in both stories is

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

Works

Books

* ''Canciones Tristes'' * ''La Luna del Bajo Fondo'' * ''Viento que Lleva y Trae'' * ''"Historia del Tango en París'' * ''El otro Juan Carlos Cobián'' * ''Bajo el Signo del Tango''

Theatre

* ''Así nos Paga la Vida'' * ''La Baba del Diablo'' * ''El Romance de Dos Vagos'' * ''El Cantor de Buenos Aires'' * ''La Epopeya del Tango''

Tangos

* ''Los mareados'' * ''Por la vuelta'' * ''Nostalgias'' * ''Pompas de Jabón'' * ''Muñeca Brava'' * ''Vieja Recova'' * ''¡Che, papusa... Oí!'' * ''Madame Ivonne'' * ''Nunca tuvo novio'' * ''Notas de bandoneón'' * " El canto de Buenos Aires" * " La casita de mis viejos"

Films

The life of Carlos Gardel Producer Martin Deluca scrimplay by Enrique Cadicamo * '' Passport to Rio'' (1948)

External links

Biography
* Gardel 2008 film original screenplay by Enrique Cadicamo& Martin Deluca Adaptation & translation English by Martin Deluca 1900 births 1999 deaths Argentine film directors Tango poets Argentine people of Calabrian descent Argentine people of Italian descent People from Luján, Buenos Aires Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery 20th-century poets Tango lyricists 20th-century Argentine male writers {{Argentina-poet-stub