Caracú (track #17)

CARACÚ (*)
©Lucio Arce

Where are you, caracú?
I don’t find you in the menu
Where are you, caracú?
You got me with a nasty face

Pucheros (**) were the ones from way back then
Generous, abundant
Like those good old pucheros
I enjoyed as a kid
Today money is not enough
Not even for the broth
You can’t make ends meet
And you eat bread with onions

Potatoes, carrots
Even corn on the cob are history
Today money is not enough
Not even for cheap vegetables
The market is looted
And the owner went back to Corea
They say they eat dogs over there
But mine is skin and bones

C’mon, boys, keep pretending
Pride always afloat
Even though you had no breakfast
and in spite of the big mess
C’mon boys, if there’s misery
Please, don’t let it show

Like that Nicanora
The fifteen minutes are gone
The party is over
And the orchestra has left
Those who have it, hide it
But we already know where
Behind the walls and wire fences
Here in the outside, cat fish is biting (***)

(*) Caracú: bone marrow on the osobuco. An ingredient of “puchero”.
(**) Puchero: traditional Argentine stew with caracú.
(***) Cat fish is biting: an analogy for being hungry.