The death of a pinch

Before the Argentine men perfected the art of piropo (compliment), they frequently used pinching as a part of their courting arsenal.
Mercifully, the custom died in the yearly 1940s. Ruth and Leonard Greenup, a pair of the American journalists, witnessed the demise of a pinch. Pretty funny story (if you are not the one to be pinched).
The Greenups lived and worked in Argentina in the early 1940s and wrote a very engaging book about Argentina - Revolution Before Breakfast (1947, The University of North Carolina Press). Both lived like regular portenos, earning their living by reporting for the English-language newspaper.

The book touches a wide range of topics - from the rural life in Argentina to the obsession with horse races.

The theme tango for this segment is Aventi Pebeta!, composed by Ciriaco Ortiz in 1929. Alberto Paz of Planet Tango has a great page dedicated to it.

The translation of La Pipistrela came from Martha Savigliani's book Tango: The Political Economy of Passion

Playlist

Trio Ciriaco Ortiz - Aventi Pebeta!
Carlos di Sarli - Shusheta (means dandy)
Tita Merello - La Pipistrela
Alberto Castillo - Aventi Pebeta!
Rudolfo Rufino - Nido Gaucho

Special Thanx

Alberto Paz for maintaining the pages with tango histories and translations.