Coplas Pa'l Pata I'Lana by Mariana Carrizo: Couplets for Woolenfoot

I mentioned wanting to hear more stories, cultural archetypes and tropes from Latin America and Argentina in particular. Songs are a great place to find them. That same day I was listening again to Mariana Carrizo’s 'Coplas de Sangre' album. She is a folk singer, especially of bagualas [Baguala de Amaicha], vidalas [Vidala para mi sombra] and coplas [Strangeness and Awe] [Musical journeys], from the mountainous northwest of the country where there is a particularly strong tradition of folk music.

The album contains a story and song Coplas Pa'l Pata I'Lana. Primarily an Argentinian concept, the pata i'lana is the backdoor man, the side piece, the fancy-man, the lover. He is the counterpoint to the cuckold. In Mexico he is apparently known as Sancho, or Lechero.

It is the creeping subversiveness I find most entrancing. So-called innocence and experience and a dangerous game, transgressive of traditional morals is repackaged, little by little into something harmless, then into something good, then into a service, then something that could be sold, and then to something positively angelic. I marvel at the sleight of hand and wish I could make up a song about those with that ability who use it sometimes lightly, sometimes to more treacherous ends.

Best of all, we are never quite sure of the singer's take on it all. Smart, elusive, playful, she won't be pinned down. Are the women in the song pitiful or clever or simply acting as women abandoned in the home may do? Or, in modern times, now that women can apparently be pata i'lanas themselves, have they taken charge of their destinies? It is a thoroughly modern twist to a traditional idea. Or are we taken in wholesale, just as the pata i'lana is presented first as something naughty and indulgent and then into a commodity, sold to satisfy a need?

In some ways the song is an inversion of the supposedly macho tangos where the man rails against the woman who betrayed him. It is very much in the vein of Quiscaloro - people doing what they can get away with.

I think of it too against the contrast of Me voy pa’l pueblo, the song popularised by Los Panchos where the man leaves the woman at home to go drinking - an opportunity for the pata i'lana if ever there was one.

*

Story:

El limón debe de ser verde para que tiña a mora’o¹ y el amor para que dure debe ser disimulado, reza el pata i'lana.  

The lemon must be green to turn purple, and love, to last, must be discreet, so says the pata i'lana. 

El pata i'lana² dícese, del señor que tiene las patas, livianita³, livianita, como su nombre lo explica: “pata de lana”. 

The pata i'lana, they say, is a man whose feet are light as wool, just as his name suggests, "pata de lana." [feet of wool].

Este señor tiene la habilidad de entrar, introducirse y/o, o/y penetrar, primero en los ranchos, las casas, viviendas; luego pasa al dormitorio y luego a la señora prohibida, legalmente casada o simplemente con dueño⁴.

This man is able to enter, sneak into, penetrate ranches, houses, homes.  From there he makes his way into the bedroom, and finally to the forbidden lady, legally married or simply a common law spouse.

El pata i'lana entra calladito, calladito, sin meter bulla, sin hacer ruidito, sin ningún ruidito, no deja ningún rastro ni pa’entra’ ni pa’ sali’⁵. 

The pata i'lana enters quietly, quietly, without making any noise, without leaving a trace, neither on entering nor on leaving.

Generalmente el pata i‘lana entra cuando no está el marido de su presita⁶, aunque algunas veces, también entra cuando está el marido. 

Usually, the pata i'lana enters when the woman's husband is not at home, although sometimes he enters even when the husband is there.

Esto pasa cuando el marido tiene el sueño medio pesa’o o el ronquido medio fuerte y bueno, ahí aprovechan estos amantes para estar juntitos.

This happens when the husband is in a deep sleep or snoring loudly, and that's when these lovers take the opportunity to be together.

Algunos dicen que la pata i'laniada es una debilidad, pero los hombres pata i‘lanas se consideran muy solidarios, grandes de corazón, porque su misión en este mundo es acompañar a las señoras, esas que están solitas porque algunos maridos se la pasan trabajando o se van a alguna fiesta o reuniones laborales o viajes de negocios o otras ocupaciones, pero siempre solito. 

Some say that being a pata i‘lana is a weakness, but the men who are pata i‘lanas consider themselves very supportive, great-hearted, because their mission in this world is to keep those women who are lonely company, because their husbands are always working or attending parties, work meetings, business trips, or doing other things but never with their wife.

La mujer queda en la casa con las guaguas⁷, con los hijos, los niños ¿no es cierto? Y los quehaceres domésticos.

The woman stays home with the babies, with the children, isn't that right? And with the household chores.

Y es ahí donde el pata i‘lana brinda su ayuda a esta mujer sola, triste y abandonada⁸. 

And that's where the pata i‘lana comes in to offer his help to this lonely, sad, and abandoned woman.

Es ahí donde él acude⁹ a hacerle el favor; el favor, digo, el favor de acompañarla, sobre todo en las noches, porque a las mujeres a veces nos sucede de que nos da miedito la oscuridad.

That's where he comes in to do her a favour; the favour, I mean, of keeping her company, especially at night because sometimes, women get a little scared of the dark.

Entonces el pata i‘lana nos¹¹ acompaña en algunas ocasiones y de verdad que es una obra de caridad¹⁰, porque uno se siente protegida, contenida ante cualquier aparición de la oscuridad. 

So the pata i‘lana accompanies us on some occasions, and it's really a charitable act, because one feels protected, safe from any appearance of darkness.

Es una buena opción¹². 

It is a good option.

Así que usted, cuando tenga miedito, esté solita, agarre y llame al pata i‘lana, llame y ya haga su reserva¹³. 

So when you're feeling a little scared, alone, go ahead and call the pata i'lana, call and make your reservation.

Si llama dentro de diez minutos¹⁴ le regalamos dos más. Imagina dos patas i’lana y nunca más va a estar solita. 

So if you call within the next ten minutes, we'll give you two of them. Imagine¹⁵, two woolenfeet and you’ll never be alone again.

No se asuste por los nombres que le vayan a dar las otras opciones.

Don't be scared by the names other options might give you.

En el noroeste argentino se le llama pata i‘lana.

In northwest Argentina, he's called Woolenfoot.

En otros lugares se le llama “El Vientito”¹⁶. 

In other places he’s called The Little Wind.

En otros, el pata ‘i bolsa¹⁷.  

In others ?Bag foot

Modernosamente¹⁸ se le dice el amante a domicilio o simplemente el cadete¹⁹ solidario.

In modern times he is called the lover for hire or simply the "community courier". 

Tiempos atrás dice que el pata i‘lana era sólo una actividad del hombre.

In times past, it was said that being a pata i'lana was solely a man's activity.

Hoy esta labor también le atañe²⁰ a las féminas. 

Today, this task also includes women.

Así que también si algún hombre se encuentra solito puede llamar ya.

So if any man finds himself alone, he can call too.

*

Song:

Dele comida a sus perros pa’ que dejen de ladrar; y apague los faroles, que el vientito va a llegar. 

Feed your dogs so they stop barking, and turn off the lights, because the "little wind" is about to arrive.

Déjalo al triste a llorar y al tonto a cuidar lo ajeno²¹, sabiendo disimular se goza mejor que el dueño²². 

Leave the sad man to cry, and the fool to watch over what isn't his, knowing that pretending [how to disguise oneself] is more enjoyable than owning²³.

Yo soy como un angelito. Ay, que no sabe hacer diablura, pero sé entrar en la casa, salir por la cerradura.

I am like a little angel, who doesn't know how to be mischievous, but I know how to enter the house and leave through the keyhole.

Plantita'i simbol²⁴, hacerme el favor, hacerme el favor. 

Little simbol plant, grant me the favour, grant me the favour 

Juanito me llamo yo. 

I call myself Juanito. 

Zorro me dice mi vecina. 

My neighbour calls me Fox.

Cada [?vez] que está solita ya está lista tu gallina²⁵.

Each time she is alone, your chicken is ready.  

Cerca viene quien te mantiene, quien te mantiene.

Someone who takes care of you is coming near, who takes care of you

 

Ánima que andas penando detrás de este suceso, mi marido está en la cama, olvidé colgar el hueso²⁶.

Soul who is sorrowing behind this event, my husband is in bed, I forgot to hang up the bone.

Translation: The Outpost

---

1.  I find the lines also in the famous vals, La Zandunga:

El limón ha de ser verde
para que tiña morado,
el amor para que dure
debe ser disimulado.

Update 19.09. 24  Two Argentinians have suggested that mora'o is primarily chosen to rhyme with dismula'o.  The unusual metaphor of love as a lemon is unclear except for, as pointed out, it is a fruit of the region. The idea seems to compare lemons that have turned from green to purple to lasting love, but the only way to achieve lasting love is to hide it. The implied comment within the context, being that love within marriage won't last, but the love of the lover, the pata i' lana will because it is hidden.  So, the purple lemon? A bitter, unusual fruit? Is "morado" a typo for "maduro", ripe, only the rhyme then doesn't work.

2. The pronunciation (and the title of the song) is with ‘i, even if the correct spelling would be “de” - "pata de lana", literally, “foot of wool”. 

Pata refers to the foot of an animal or the leg of a person, colloquially. Originally I had in mind some mythological randy, satyr-like figure. But if so, poetic licence applies because animals with wool, even satyrs and fauns have cloven feet, that are probably noisy. If the pata i' lana was some kind of half man, half wooly animal, what could it be I wondered?  A South American camelid?  Alpacas are not common in north-western Argentina, but apparently the domestic llama, or their wild, high-ranging cousins, the vicuña and guanaco are.  And they have soft padded toes rather than hard, cloppy hooves. But unlike the goat associated with Greek satyrs and fauns, camelids have no such reputation for randiness.  Camelids are associated in Latin America not with sex, but with sacred ceremonies and wealth because of their wool, meat and milk.   Perhaps then, woolenfoot just means a bloke in his socks, carrying his boots.  

The trouble with that is that I have never seen an Argentinian of any dignity - and they have much - remove his shoes in public.  At the milongas, they arrived wearing the shoes they danced in, unlike foppish Europeans who carried a shoe bag with their dancing pumps.

Eventually, I met a young Argentinian whose family was from the region, whose grandfather had been a coplero, and sang bagualas.  He told him, the pata i' lana traditionally wore a wooden slipper or sock over his shoes. 

3. The song is full of words with the diminutive ending “ita” or “ito”: livianita, patita, presita, solita plantita, calladito, ruidito, juntito, solito, miedito, vientito, angelito. It is the most obvious device in this song that affects the tone. The effect is to render the thing referred to cute, charming. The tone becomes informal, playful, whimsical, affectionate or exaggerated. It can make something seem tender or vulnerable. “Patita” referring to pata i‘lana turns something sneaky into something fun and harmless. Similarly, “juntito” [together] turns cheating on the spouse into something fun and understandable. Indeed the collective use of these diminutives, transfigures something morally transgressive into something light-hearted. “Livianita” adds to the idea of lightness in light-footed. “Calladito” adds the idea of being very quiet, in the exaggerated way you might tell a story to children, whispering, heightening how quietly he enters, “Miedito” turns a woman afraid of the dark “miedo = fear”, into a woman feeling a little fear, perhaps cowering supposedly cutely and supposedly needing protection. “Solita”, alone instead of “sola” and “presita” (darling), has a similar effect. “Juanito” turns the grown man Juan who may cuckold his neighbour into someone harmless.

But the teasing effect of the trope also makes us wonder how serious is the singer about the woman needing the company and especially the reassurance of the pata i'lana? If she is just pretending about being afraid of the dark in order to achieve an end and reduce the guilt of the act, perhaps the whole song is a kind of pretence, just as some say that tangos are not macho, but ironic.

4. The idea in society and in law of a woman being the property of a man in marriage no longer exists in Europe but persists, culturally in castellano, even if the meaning is simply of a non-legally binding partnership or of a proprietary or exclusive relationship.. 

5. Many of the words in the song are colloquially cut short: morado, para, salir, entrar, pesado etc

6.  Presa is literally prey, but here means the female romantic object of affection. Once more the traditional contrast is used to describe relations between the sexes of something weak and vulnerable against something strong and dominant.

7.  This word apparently comes from Quechua, meaning baby or young child, maybe because onomatopoeically, because they cry. It is particularly common in the Andean region. The same word is used for buses, in the Canary Islands, one theory being that young children could travel free so to travel by guagua was to travel very cheaply.

8.  No doubt, given the playful tone we are supposed to take this description tongue-in-cheek.

9.  Acudir - to attend or respond to a need or request

10.  From transgressive act to something harmless, to something charitable and good...

11.  “Nos”: the singer is a woman so the audience now refers to women

12.  As opposed to being lonely in the dark - and the dark must be quite dark in some Andean villages and ranches.

13.  The “charitable act” has now become a service - possibly even one paid for.

14.  All pretence is gone: from service to sales pitch...

15.  …including marketing!

16.  Because he can squeeze through keyholes and past locked doors.

17.  Uncertain - maybe because a bag over boots quietens the noise or stops dirt being brought in to the house?

18.  A version of “modernamente”.

19.  In Argentina, “cadete” has connotations of someone who runs messages, makes deliveries or performs services or errands i.e. someone who goes house to house doing these jobs.

20.  Atañer - to concern, pertain to, affect.

21.  Proverb ("refran"): https://archive.is/wip/KT887

22. Another saying in songs from the regions: From: Catamarcan songs in Cuentos y leyendas populares de la Argentina. Tomo VI, p155 and https://archive.org/stream/CoplasPopularesEnElEcuador/coplascarnabal_djvu.txt

23. Like “picaro”, which doesn’t have a good translation in English, it is quite a Latin idea: a fool, especially in the context of women, has what’s coming to him, “all’s fair in love and war”.  It is the one-upmanship between males that finds its apogee in the machismo of patriarchal or recently patriarchal societies. It is echoed soon after in the idea of “zorro” the crafty fox.  If he steals a hen by cunning then that is his nature and not too much harm done.  It is the way of the world.

24. Plantita i' simbol - i' here means "de" or "of", just as it does in pata i'lana. So simbol is a type of plant, specifically a sedge, of the Cyperus genus used for weaving baskets and mats. It is unclear whether it is also being used in some kind of incantation.

25.  The pata ' lana, who "takes care of" "his" willing and waiting hen, i.e. the woman, the neighbour who calls him fox.

26. Ánima que andas penando detrás de este suceso, mi marido está en la cama, olvidé colgar el hueso: This is a quotation from other folk songs. The Lydia Cabrera referred to was a Cuban writer and folklorist specialising in Afro-Cuban culture. The article says that hanging up the bone was a warning to the lover that the husband was at home.

Ánima is a country word for alma or soul. Hanging up bone also has another meaning. Traditionally, you hang up a bone in that area so that no suffering soul can enter the house and bring misfortune on the family. But on this day the woman "forgot" to hang up the bone at night, therefore letting the "sorrowing soul" - the impatient pata i‘lana - that, because her husband is in bed, he could in fact enter the house.

Thanks to JCM, GGM and MS for their comments.