Pa' Un Amigo Cantor (Milonga)

For a Singing Friend (Milonga)

Pa' Un Amigo Cantor (Milonga)

Today I sing to the troubadourHoy le canto al trovador
From the cliffs of BelgranoDe barrancas de belgrano
For being a good humanPor ser un buen ser humano
Besides being a great singerAdemás de buen cantor
A goldfinch, a nightingaleUn jilguero, un ruiseñor
At thirty years of ageDe treinta años de edad
And with great skillY con gran habilidad
When he strums a guitarCuando pulsa una guitarra
And shows off his talentY así demuestra su garra
This true artistEste artista de verdad

Born in Buenos AiresPorteño de nacimiento
But raised in Mar del PlataPero criao en mar del plata
His presence is pleasantSu presencia es grata
Friendly at all timesCordial en todo momento
With very noble feelingsDe muy nobles sentimientos
Among friends and strangersEntre amigos y extraños
He started at eight years oldComenzo a los 8 años
In the art of folkloreEn el arte del folklore
He stands out among the bestResalta entre los mejores
And never disappointsY no causa desengaños

And so fate took himY así lo llevo el destino
With Victor Abel GimenezCon victor abel gimenez
Through life's ups and downsDe la vida los vaivenes
Also with Perla CarlinoTambién con perla carlino
And by walking these roadsY a fuerza de andar caminos
Radio Atlantica saw himRadio atlantica, lo vio
On LU 13 he sangEn lu 13 canto
And LU 28 saw him arriveY lu 28 lo vio llegar
On Channel 8 performEn canal 8 actuar
And even on Channel 10 he stopped byY hasta en el 10 recalo

Don Roberto CambaréDon roberto cambare
Became his godfatherLlego a ser su padrino
And also Perla CarlinoY también perla carlino
Later became his godmotherDespués su madrina fue
I think I know whyYo creo saber porque
He received that distinctionRecibio esa distincion
It must have been the admirationDebio ser la admiracion
That both felt for himQue les produjo a los dos
The grace that God gave himLa gracia que le dio Dios
And his noble heartY su noble corazón

He has one conditionEl tiene una condición
And that’s the spirit of sacrificeY es la del sacrificio
Where he showed his craftDonde demostro su oficio
With great determinationCon mucha resolucion
It’s not for just any guyNo es pa' cualquier varon
To spend twenty hours singingPasar veinte horas cantando
In the square and waitingEn la plaza y esperando
To be crowned championConsagrarse así campeon
And since that occasionY dende aquella ocasión
They’re still talking about itAun lo están comentando

A follower of Oscar del CerroSeguidor de Oscar del cerro
Also of Rogelio ArayaTambién de rogelio araya
He followed without failSiguio sin ninguna falla
The path of Alberto MerloLa línea de alberto merlo
And I loved to see himY me daba gusto verlo
Caught up in the guitar jamsPrendido a las guitarreadas
Always behind his stringsSiempre atrás de su encordada
Eager to meet himDeseoso de conocerlo
To have him close byPara muy cerca tenerlo
And ask him for a favorY pedirle una gauchada

They asked me to singMe pidieron que cantara
At a festival, one dayEn un festival, un día
But there, I had no onePero allí, yo no tenía
To accompany meNadie que me acompañara
Then how strange it wasEntonces que cosa rara
Benegas offered to helpBenegas se me ofrecia
And I stepped forwardY yo del paso salia
Seeing his smiling faceViendo sonriente su cara
And for me to singY para que yo cantara
He offered me his handEl su mano me ofrecia

To offer himself in that momentBrindarse en ese momento
Since I was a strangerPues yo era un desconocido
It left me very movedMe dejo muy conmovido
Filled with gratitudeLleno de agradecimiento
For this feelingPor eso este sentimiento
Of friendship for RubenDe amistad para ruben
I share it with who isYo lo comparto con quien es
My dear wifeMi muy querida esposa
Whose name is Ilda RosaCuyo nombre es ilda rosa
And she’s his friend too.Y es amiga de él también