Juncal twelve, twenty-four; call without fear.
Juncal Telephone Central
1540 Arenales Street.
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This verse has probably been discussed and disputed by writers commenting on the lyric of A Media Luz more than perhaps any other verse of the poem. There have been and indeed still are those who believe that Lenzi was talking about a second tango-club, similar to our Corrientes 348, and located at 1224 Juncal Street. Even Gypsy Donato who was present in the room in Montevideo when Lenzi wrote the lyric for her father's composition, at one time believed that the Juncal reference was to a second tango-club. There are others, however, of whom I must admit of being one, who have always held that Juncal 12, 24 was the telephone number of our Corrientes 348.
Some of the reasons for holding to the latter belief is the fact that in the Buenos Aires of the 1920s telephone numbers were preceeded by the name of the Telephone Central that served the address in question. Corrientes 348 is no more than 3.5 kilometers from the Juncal Telephone Central which at the time was located at 1540 Arenales Street between Montevideo and Paraná streets. The average maximum distance for Central service was approximately 5.5 kilometers.
Another interesting point in the poem is that immediately following the verse Juncal 12, 24 the next verse promises confidentiality by saying: telefonea sin temor or "phone without fear".
1540 Arenales Street remained a telephone exchange until early 1981 when the central was relocated to new facilities. The Arenales location was refurbished and converted into a telephone and telegraph museum. It was further renovated - this time extensively - in 2003.
It is worthwhile mentioning as an aside what a wonderful promenade it is from our Corrientes 348 to the Juncal Telephone Central. One walks west on Corrientes to the Plaza de la República, then north on Carlos Pellegrini to Santa Fé, then west on Santa Fé to Montevideo or Paraná. Turning north on either one of these streets brings one to 1540 Arenales. From a tourist's point of view, there is nothing one cannot find or buy along this beautiful little promenade.
Approximate location of the Juncal Telephone Central
The Golden Map©,Dogma BS AS, provided by Oscar Giovannini, Córdoba, Argentina
The second part of this verse presents a logical problem. "Call without fear" seems to guarantee some level of confidentiality. I have not been able so far to verify whether in the 1920s the telephone system in Buenos Aires was automatic. There is a good possibility that if nothing else the Juncal Central was because both its location and the areas it served were in rather classy and opulent districts of Buenos Aires.
My problem arises from the possibility that the Juncal exchange was not automatic and therefore telephone calls were not direct. In such a case, 'A' could not directly call 'B'; 'A' had to call the exchange, give B's number, and be connected to 'B' by the operator (female during the day shift and male at night-time). Under such circumstances, how could the management of our tango-club promise confidentiality to a caller when a third party was involved in the phone call? The exchange operator knew who was calling (a light would come on on the board indicating the calling number), and the operator would also know the number being called since it must be given to her/him in order to establish contact between the two parties. Two is perhaps confidential; three is definitely a crowd.