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"La negra": An advertising tango by Enrique Delfino
by León
Benarós
Out of Enrique
Delfino's compositions whose important work, with the collaboration
of the author himself, was classified by Pompeyo Camps, we find
"La Negra", a tango
dedicated to the now disappeared Compañía de Carnes Congeladas
(Congealed Meat Company) which ran the cold-storage plant whose trademark
logotype was the side view of a black woman's head with her big circular
earring, inside it, a capital S letter was drawn on a large scale.
The cited Delfino's tango has no lyrics. The sheet
music is printed in the printing house Arista of Buenos Aires.
The surname Sansinena brings back to our memory the
personality of Elena Sansinena de Elizalde, who did so much, from the
Amigos del Arte institution (Friends of Art), for the Argentine culture,
exposing herself to narrow-minded criticism, with the revolutionary
painting exhibitions, such as those of Emilio Pettoruti and Juan Del
Prete, at their time, beautiful editions and invitations to great figures
of the world culture.
What was it, what was this now disappeared and then
renowned Compañía Sansinena de Carnes Congeladas (Sansinena
Frozen Meat Company) like?
The useful 1899 Pillado Yearbook reports: "Compañía
Sansinena de Carnes Congeladas. This corporation was legally constituted
on September 26, 1891, with the purpose of purchasing and operating
the cold-store plant known as "La Negra" placed on the south margin
of the Riachuelo (Province of Buenos Aires) and also the branches based
in London, Paris, Liverpool, Santos, Havre and Dunkirk.
Apart from the purpose above mentioned the corporation
has also the faculty to engage in all operation concerning chattels,
real estate or livestock, letters of exchange, etc.
The authorized capital is $ 2.000.000. gold,
divided in 20.000 shares of $ 100 each one, which could be increased
according its statutes, up to $ 3.000.000 gold. The corporation will
last 30 years as of the date of the statutes approval (26 September
1891)"..."The company exported in 1892, 408.218 ram cattle heads, and
8784 young bull quarters; and in the year 1898 its export figures were
882.818 ram cattle heads and 44.888 young bull quarters.
The board of directors is composed of: Ernesto Tornquist,
president; Adolfo G. Luro, vice-president; Samuel A. Pearson and Hugo
von Bernard, directors; Miles A. Pasman director manager; Walter G.
Salmon, deputy manager; Juan P Oliver; plant administrator; and Guillermo
Cook, administrator in Europe.
Domicile: Piedad 455, Buenos Aires."
It's been a long time that "La Negra" disappeared,
the same happened to what would have been a sort of counterpart: the
cold-store plant "La Blanca", to which the tycoon Benito Villanueva
was linked. Piedad street is today Bartolomé Mitre street...
Everything changes... But it is worth rescuing from the list of tangos composed by Enrique Delfino, this advertising tango, which even though its origin of commercial interest, it possibly has something or much of the talent devoted to his works by the great composer of Milonguita.
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