Cambalache (Southern Cone Spanish for junkshop) is an Argentine tango written in 1934 by Enrique Santos Discépolo for the movie El Alma del Bandoneón (1935), released the following year.

It was banned by the General Office of Posts and Telegraphs in 1943 for its use of colloquial language. The ban was lifted by 1949; nonetheless, was banned again during the Dirty War by de facto government due to its lyrics' "subversive scepticism".

Development In 1934, anarchist porteño composer Enrique Santos Discépolo, known for his lyrics on Argentina's social and economic situation, was commissioned to write several songs for the film El Alma del Bandoneón (The Soul of the Bandoneon). He had previously planned a European tour where his compositions had become popular. During his preparations, he finished composing "Cambalache", a work which had taken many months to finish. Although Luis César Amadori had collaborated with him on various tracks, "Cambalache" was composed by Discépolo independently.

Lyrics In Argentine, Uruguayan, and Paraguayan Spanish, the term cambalache refers to a junk shop, a shop that sells cheap second-hand goods; Discépolo opted to use a mix, although minor, between colloquial speech (lunfardo and criollo) and Spanish's formal lexicon to make his lyrics more impactful. He had composed similar songs to "Cambalache" previously, such as "" (1926) and "Qué sapa, señor" (1931). Scholars have noted explicit parallels between "Cambalache" and "Qué sapa, señor," with historian Sergio Pujol describing "Cambalache" as a direct continuation of the 1931 composition.

Written amidst the days of the Great Depression and the Infamous Decade, the song uses satire and aggressive reflections that critique reality, the nation's social context, and the atmosphere of the times, unlike tangos of the previous decade.; ; Historian and author Norberto Galasso affirms that its verses serve as a sharp testimony to the collapse of Argentina's oligarchic regime, as well as a severe condemnation of global moral decadence and corruption. According to Pujol, Discépolo, in the fifth verse, disrespectfully juxtapositions several important personalities of the time, seen in the covers of the newspaper :, 07:2608:27; Alexandre Stavisky, who had permitted the unlawful enrichment of prominent figures in the French Parliament, and was considered, at the time, the global symbol of political corruption;, 07:2608:27; John Bosco (referred as Don Bosco), founder of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, was canonized in April of 1934; "La Mignon", whose interpretation is disputed; Juan Galiffi (referred as Don Chicho), an Italo-Argentine mob boss who had been deported the previous year; Napoleon, the French emperor; Primo Carnera, a boxer who was defending his world championship title against the Argentine Victorio Campólo; and José de San Martin, a national icon. On this topic, Galasso adds that "Discépolo [...] becomes the voice of the anonymous Argentine who watches, bewildered, as all values crumble: in that "Cambalache" it makes no difference whether it is Napoleon [...] or Don Chicho, the ‘maffia’ gunman, and with all faith in the country’s future now lost, ‘Primo Carnera’ might well take the place of General San Martín". Pujol sustains that the composition departs from the structure of a standard tango, as it isn't set in Buenos Aires or its surrounding area nor is it built around an emotional confiict. Additionally, he observes a sense of nihilism and describes its lyrical contents as "vaguely conservative and fatalist" as to him the song is critical of progressive politics in the regard of liberal positivism and Marxism, condemming the effects of a possible revolution by the masses. Furthermore, scholars Mark Falcoff and Ronald H. Dolkart suggest that the song's second and fifth strophes echo the final words of poet Leopoldo Lugones: "There is nothing but filth, filth, and more filth!".

Release and reception Although intended to debut with the release of the film, Amadori had showed Sofía Bozán "Cambalache" in 1934. She subsequently scheduled a live performance of the tango at the Teatro Maipo, despite objections from the film's producer, . In response, Mentasti arrived at the venue with a lawyer with the intention to halt the performance, but Amadori persuaded the director on how the performance would serve as effective publicity for the upcoming film. El Alma del Bandoneón (The Soul of the Bandoneon) premiered on 20 February 1935 in the Cine Monumental. In the film, the song is performed by accompanied by Francisco Lomuto's orchestra.

Starting from 1933, Discépolo compositions decreased in quantity; nevertheless, "Cambalache" became a huge success and marked his comeback to social poetry. In retrospect, "Cambalache" has been noted for its lyrics that never seem to be out of date. This had led to some to label as the country's real national anthem, or as the anthem of tango. Musician Luis Salinas in an article on why "Cambalache" is his favourite song recalls that: "It’s only as the years go by that you come to understand the lyrics better [...] when you have so many dreams, so many aspirations, you think: 'Well, it can’t really be like that.' Later on, as you go through life, you realise that many things really are like that".

Censorship After the 1943 Argentine Revolution, the General Office of Posts and Telegraphs issued a ban that obligated radio stations to stop transmitting media containing colloquial language; instead, radio stations had to transmit media that employed exclusively vocabulary. The ruling was enforced with greater force on tangos, which included "Cambalache". This ban was institutionalized when Juan Domingo Perón founded National Commission for Intellectual Cooperation in 1946. In 1949, under Perón's first presidency, the rulings were lifted.

"Cambalache" was banned again in October 1981, during the Dirty War as the National Reorganization Process added the song to a blacklist given out to radio stations and record shops due to its lyrics' "subversive scepticism". The de facto government was known for its brutal censorship and repression along with its cancellation of human rights and constitutional guarantees. In spite of this, an outrage by several newspapers occurred after it was censored; Clarín referred to the never-changing validity of Discépolo’s lyrics, while El País humorously stated that "It is not entirely clear to the citizens of this country whether the suppression of pessimism in poetic form is intended to prevent the existing pessimism from deepening further".

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