Gato con relaciones
"Gato" (Spanish for cat) is a type of folk music and dance from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. It's danced by couples together, mostly without touching. They stop the dance to recite humorous verses that are called either "relaciones" (relations), "aros" (hoops) or "bombas" (bombs) depending on the country.
You can read some of these verses here...
Gato con relaciones
Gato with Relations
Canción tradicional
Traditional Song
(Spanish)
(English)
Ella:
Ahora que estamos juntos
una pregunta le haré:
¿Cuántos pelos tiene un gato
cuando acaba de nacer?
Él:
De la pregunta que me hace
la respuesta le daré
si no ha perdido ninguno
todos los ha de tener.
*****
Ella:
Desde que te vi venir
te conocí en el apero.
Gallo de tan pocas plumas
no vuela en mi gallinero.
Él:
Me dices de pocas plumas
y en verdad tienes razón,
porque vos me las robaste
para hacerte tu colchón.
*****
Él:
Le vu' a pedir cuatro cosas
si es que las merezco yo:
una be con una e
y una ese con una o.
Ella:
Válgame Dios de los cielos
qué mozo tan imprudente
ponerse a pedir besitos
delante de tanta gente.
*****
Él:
Cuando pasé por tu casa
me di un fuerte tropezón
y no viniste a decirme:
-Levantate, corazón.
Ella:
Cuando te vide caer
lo mesmito que una piedra
te dijo mi corazón:
-Levantate como puedas.
She says:
Now that we're together,
I'll ask you a question:
How many hairs does a cat have
When it's just been born?
He says:
To the question you ask,
I'll give you an answer:
If it hasn't lost any,
It must have all of them.
*****
She says:
As soon as I saw you coming,
I recognized you by your tool.
A rooster with so few feathers
Doesn't fly in my henhouse.
He says:
You say I'm "of few feathers"
And in truth you're right,
Because you stole them from me
To make your mattress.
*****
He says:
I am going to ask of you four things,
If truly I am worthy of them:
A "k" with an "i"
And an "s" with another "s"*.
She says:
My goodness!
What an imprudent young man!
To start asking for kisses
In front of so many people!
*****
He says:
When I went past your house,
I stumbled hard
And you didn't come to tell me,
"Get up, sweetheart."
She says:
When I saw you fall
Just like a stone,
My heart told you,
"Get up however you can."
Notes
*In the original Spanish verse, the word beso is spelled out (b-e-s-o), meaning "kiss".
Spelling:
5th verse, 1st line: the correct spelling is "Le voy a pedir…
Last verse, 2nd line, the correct form is "lo mismito"
Comments
Odila wrote, "I read your site and I liked remembering some songs I learned in my childhood. I'd like to add to your nice work with some 'relaciones' that are said while dancing the 'gato' which is an Argentinean traditional dance. It's very old but it's still danced during folkloric gatherings." –Odila.
Thanks!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Odila Pueblas for contributing these "relaciones". Translation by Monique and Lisa.
¡Muchas gracias!
