One of the most popular expressions in Venezuela is to "kill a tiger" (Spanish: "matar un tigre") that refers to doing a piecework, to freelance or simply doing a job. Although it is used in all professions (designers "kill a little tiger" when making by order the logo of a company, the masons do the same when building a wall in a house, also "kills a tiger" the teacher who makes a substitution to his colleague, etc.). The sector in which this expression is most used is that of the musicians: "Last night I killed a tiger in a bar", "Tonight I have a tiger with the salsa orchestra", and another phrase (sadly common): "I have not been paid for the tiger of the past month".

If you analyze the expression, it makes no sense, since most of the time you find that this type of popular phrase has some connection with the trades, but in Venezuela there are no safaris ... (> _ <)

Well, the reason why the sector that most uses this saying is that of musicians, is because in that environment is born and coined the expression.

Caracas, the 20s

In the capital of Venezuela, product of the oil exploitation that was few years, begins a development that initiates the transformation of that "rural town" into a "modern city", chariots and trams are replaced by motor cars and motor buses, immigration begins, both from people from the interior in search of new opportunities, as well as from foreigners who come in search of a better life, fleeing from wars or as part of the oil and non-oil multinationals that make their headquarters in Venezuela.

San Jacinto Marketplace, Caracas 1920 Image source

With these migrations and the installation of foreign companies, cultural changes also come and this is how the companies with North American capital and personnel bring with them part of their culture, which is irrigated and spread among the Creoles.

The music back then

One of the most popular musical forms in the United States, at that time was the ragtime and there were lots of Dixieland groups. And that was the music brought by the US employees who came to work in this country and it began to spread among the Venezuelans .

This music and its performers made such impact in the Caracas of the 20s, that the local musicians adopted almost the same orchestration used by the dixieland bands to interpret Venezuelan music and this became one of the elements that contributed to the birth of the music movement born in Caracas known today as "cañonera music". In this previous note there is more information about that moment. (Spanish only. I’m sorry!)

The musical successes

Although the most important songs of the "cañonero" groups were "Carmen, which was 16 years old", "Sultana del Ávila", "Alay Cuy Cuy" or "The girl from the 17", songs from the north country also became fashionable. Without a doubt one of the most successful songs was the ragtime "Tiger Rag".

This song, which was recorded in 1917, became one of the most recorded jazz standards in history. And, as is to be expected, it became a classic in the Venezuelan capital too.

One of the characteristics of this piece is its speed, which requires a great technical mastery of the instrument, a mastery that was scarce in the new capital musicians, who "suffered" interpreting the famous rag of the tiger. Because of this lack, in many of the cases, the poor "tiger" got injured with those performances at parties and celebrations. However, the crowd asked for it again and again. From there began to be referred: "We just killed the Tiger in Mr. So-and-so party", "Last night we had to kill the tiger 3 times" and others. Of course, it was always in reference to the playing of the Tiger rag. From then on the expression began to expand to refer, in general, to the fact of having had any performance.

What at the beginning was an expression of musicians exclusively, soon transcended to other professions, until becoming today one of the most popular and common expressions of the Venezuelan lexicon.

Spanish version: ¿Qué es eso de "matar un tigre"?

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