Thread: Gauchesque verses

Hola everyone!

In Ascasubi's "Paulino Lucero", when Lucero dances with his woman, I cannot understand the following lines:

"¡Ah, china! si la cadera
del cuerpo se le cortaba,
pues tanto lo mezquinaba
en cada dengue que hacía,
que medio se le perdía
cuando Lucero le entraba."

In the second line, "se le cortaba" is "se le quebraba" in some other version.

I'm confused, as the words I looked up in the dictionary only give meanings like this to me:

The girl's hip was broken? so she dodged in every move she made? And she lost half of it when Lucero entered her or her hip? That's a bit nasty, right?

So I'm totally confused.

Can you give me some hint what these lines mean? Gracias!

Hello bigguydiego,
As a native speaker and with this context of dancing, I understand "se le cortaba" o "se le quebraba" as a movement that makes the hip looks separated as the movement is quick or violent.
I've found some explanations for the other words.

mezquinar2. tr. Arg. Esquivar, apartar, hacer a un lado. Algunos caballos, cuando se les va aponer el freno, mezquinan la boca.
Diccionario de la lengua española - Edición del Tricentenario

dengue
4. m. Arg., Ec. y Méx. contoneo.
Diccionario de la lengua española - Edición del Tricentenario

Thank you danielr!

Can you clarify: Does the "si" in the 1st line mean "as if"? So the whole stanza says something like this:

As if the hip was separated from the body, so she dodge like this, in every swagger she made, and halp lost it when Lucero approached her.

Muchas gracias!

You are welcome.
That "si" means "if", but I can understand it in a more expressive way too. That "si" can be replaced by "y cómo se le cortaba..." or something that enhances the surprise caused by the movement.
What do you think?

Thank you danielr.
Do you think I understood the whole stanza correctly, more or less?

"As if the hip was separated from the body, so she dodge like this, in every swagger she made, and halp lost it when Lucero approached her."

Gracias!

I would say:
"As if the hip was separated from the body, so she dodged like that". Then I am not sure of the uses of "swagger", "halp", lost" and maybe "approached" could me modified to make it more precise.
A native will give you a better opinion too. Let's wait to see who comes.

Thank you for your patience, danielr.
"halp" is a misspell, it's "half lost it..." I cannot imagine the guy actually entered her hip in a dance, so I guess "entraba" is "approached", but yes, only a native can be sure.
Gracias again.

You are welcome. Maybe someone who also knows that kind of dance could explain what "entrar" means. I guess it could even be a classic step or movement.