This is a classic love song, beautifully rendered by De Angelis’ orchestra with the voice of Raul Beron.

The title “remolino” (whirlwind) refers to how the poet feels for his lost love but can also be taken more literally as the whirlwind of the dance. You can very well imagine this couple at what used to be their favourite milonga, him sitting at a corner table in “rage” and “pain” and her dancing the night away, in “joy” and “laughter”. A whirlwind of sentiments and of twirling skirts.

In tangos, the last verse of this song is often omitted, which some milongueros regret, for it is a verse of forgiveness, a verse in which ultimately, loves wins over resentment and bitterness.

Translating a song is an art and not a science and there’s often a trade-off to be made between staying true to the original meaning of the text, whilst using impactful words, creating rimes and rhythms which will trigger an emotional response.

We did face such a dilemma in this song, with the verse: y ¿para qué te quiero así? In Spanish, querer means both “to love” and “to want”. The closest translation of this verse would be “O why must I love you so?”. However, this translation doesn’t have much rhythm and doesn’t rhyme, which is why, in the end, we chose to use the second meaning of querer, “to want”, creating a beautiful rhyme and a stronger emotional response.

Remolino has been translated by Tanguito, Argentine Tango Academy in London, with the help of a fantastic milonguera friend. If you have any comment or have other interpretations of the lyrics, please feel free to share your opinion, we’d love to hear what you think