This tango, which is considered one of the original tangos - the tango of all tangos ("el tango de los tangos"), was composed in 1917 by the Uruguayan youth Rodriguez as a march (la cumparsita, Spanish = "small street parade"), but was reworked into a tango in the same year by the Argentine tango musician Roberto Firpo. The present arrangement for 4 double basses is designed in such a way that the first double bass plays in the high register throughout and the voice becomes lower and lower as the bass numbers descend. The fourth double bass is then notated in bass clef throughout.