In Argentina, Mother's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of October.
Globally, this day does not have the same date since each country celebrates it at different times of the year.
The reason why each country celebrates Mother's Day on different dates is due to specific cultural, historical, and religious factors in each region.
The tradition of honoring those who fulfill the role of mother in Argentina has its roots in 1931, when Pope Pius XI established October 11 as the day of the Divine Motherhood of Mary.
This religious tribute arose in commemoration of the Council of Ephesus, a key event in the history of the Church that, in the year 431, recognized Mary as the mother of Christ in Catholic doctrine.
The Argentine government, under the de facto presidency of José Félix Uriburu, adopted the religious celebration and decreed that Mother's Day be celebrated on the Sunday closest to that date. Over time, the celebration was moved to the third Sunday in October, thus establishing it as the official date to honor mothers in Argentina.
In tango, the maternal figure has a very special role. Many tangos have been dedicated to her, and she is often evoked as a symbol of sacrifice, unconditional love, and longing, central themes in the tradition of tango.
In my personal opinion, there is one tango that I like the most among all those dedicated to mothers, and I like both versions. It's very interesting because it has two lyrics, always written by the same author, Héctor Marcó, and three of its recordings are very popular in the tango scene.
It is usually misinterpreted; only those who listen carefully understand it, and those who don't speak Spanish and only know its title think it's dedicated to romantic love—this tango is “Que nunca me falte.”
Both versions are dedicated to the mother. The censored version shows us a mother who, with her unconditional love, can calm and appease the madness of her son capable of killing, and the second version presents us with a tender mother, always consoling, full of love, this time with softer, sweeter, and more pleasant words.
This second version of the lyrics is due to the censorship imposed in 1943 by the coup d’état of the nationalist United Officers' Group (GOU), which established the censorship of tangos in lunfardo on the radio. Although these lyrics didn’t have much lunfardo, they still had a strong message that was perhaps not considered appropriate for diffusion into the Catholic households of Buenos Aires families.
We can assume that Version I is the original, which was later censored since we have a 1937 recording by Oscar Alonso. Then we have two very popular recordings from 1943, those of Laurenz-Podestá and Tanturi-Campos, and later on, the original lyrics reappear in a recording by Pugliese-Morán.
Most likely, given the intensity and dramatic vocal-interpretive style that characterized Alberto Morán, Osvaldo Pugliese decided to return to the first version of this tango since it has more dramatic lyrics and therefore suits his expressiveness, both as a singer and in the orchestra.
Below, I’m sharing both versions of the lyrics as well as a link for you to listen to each version.
And to close this article on tango and the celebration of mothers, I’d like to share the video that, for many, was the demonstration of a tango that goes beyond romantic love and includes a love that encompasses everything.
The recording of this video happened spontaneously during the filming of our educational videos. While we were on a break, and I was breastfeeding Nicolás, who was 5 months old, I said to Oscar: "In the end, we never got to record a tango while I was pregnant! What a shame!" And he replied, "But we can do it now!" So, that's what we did. He chose a tango that was at hand, “Poema,” and I carried Nicolás as I used to, wrapped with a baby sling, and we went out to dance.
There were no rehearsals, no multiple takes, no preparation of any kind... it was done in one go, and that’s how it stayed. A beautiful tango in an iconic Buenos Aires tango venue, the famous "Salon La Argentina," a place where even the great Carlos Gardel performed.
I believe, without any kind of pride, that this family tango was an inspiration for many who saw it possible to combine tango life with life with children and also, and above all, changed the vision of tango, mainly in people who until then saw tango as a romantic couple's dance but who were able to broaden their vision and managed to understand that tango is a dance of union between people who share an embrace of harmony and universal love.
Our life as artists and tango masters has always, fortunately, been in perfect union with motherhood and family. We managed to share all the moments and here is one of them, during a photo set, while my hair was being done I took advantage of the break to breastfeed Nicolas, and he also took the opportunity to be in the photos.
Yes, I know someone will say that he was too old to be breastfed but I am one of those who thinks they have to decide when to stop since I consider breast milk an emotional food, and that was when he was 5 years old 😀. In the picture he is about 3 years old.
Lyrics II (the most popular version) "Que Nunca Me Falte"
The storm of the years has whitened your hair
Little mother with lively eyes who sighs for me,
And Santa Rosa has come, which is your saint’s day
And I want to give you a kiss like I never have before!
The gardens are watered by the vaporous fairy
Spring is coming, another winter has succumbed,
And in the world, my dear mother, everything is dressed in pink
As if singing your name as happily as I sing.
May I never lack your tender caress
My life needs to feel your warmth,
May I never lack the light of your eyes
That brighten my nights of cruel pain...
May I never lack your voice of comfort
Oh, dear mother!... You soothe my sorrow!
Because I assure you, if that day comes,
I would also want to fly with your wings.
(This part of the lyrics is not in the recordings)
Noble little white head, like a piece of moon
That lights up my darkness and gives warmth to my chest,
You don’t know how much I love you, you are my whole fortune
And my hours are happy under the mantle of your love.
And in the heartfelt kiss that I place on your forehead
I am grateful to God... filled with happiness...
There is no love like yours and your love is infinite
Because your name, my dear mother, is love for eternity.
Lyrics: Héctor Marcó (Héctor Domingo Marcolongo)
Music: Héctor Morales (Héctor Urbano Díaz)
Lyrics I (probably the original version) "Que Nunca Me Falte"
How many times have I wanted to put an end to my tragedy,
How many times have I felt the temptation to kill.
To walk away from this life, which is just a comedy,
Where I am a character destined to fail.
Many times, feverish, in my hours of bitterness,
I felt for my soul, searched for my chest, to cure myself once and for all.
But the touch of a hand, loving and kind,
Came to stop my arm and then caressed me.
May I never lack her tender caress,
My life needs to feel her warmth.
May I never lack the light of those eyes
That brighten my nights of cruel pain.
May I never lack your voice of comfort,
Oh dear mother, you soothe my sorrow.
Because I swear to you, if that day comes,
There will be no one to stop my fierce dagger.
I too would want to fly with your wings.
Noble little white head, like a piece of moon,
That lights up my darkness and calms my resentment,
You don’t know how much I love you, you are my whole fortune
And my hours are happy under the mantle of your love.
From your life, my dear mother, two others depend,
Because the day I lose you, I will seek out that ungrateful one,
And the pain they have caused you, so many bitter tears,
I will repay with the bill of their infamy without mercy.
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Listen to this tango in the version by Pedro Laurenz and Alberto Podestá:
Listen to this tango in the version by Enrique Campos and Ricardo Tanturi:
Listen to this tango in the version by Osvaldo Pugliese and Alberto Morán:
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In case you’re interested, here are the dates when Mother’s Day is celebrated around the world:
Argentina: Third Sunday of October.
Uruguay: Second Sunday of May.
Mexico**: May 10.
United States, Canada, and most European countries: Second Sunday of May.
Spain: First Sunday of May.
France: Last Sunday of May (or the first Sunday of June if it coincides with Pentecost).
United Kingdom and Ireland: Fourth Sunday of Lent (approximately in March).
Panama: December 8.
Indonesia: December 22.
Costa Rica: August 15.
Norway: Second Sunday of February.
Russia: Last Sunday of November.
Thailand: August 12 (in honor of Queen Sirikit’s birthday).
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