What is Tango?

Tango. The origins are debated, but it's influence is on the world's dance scene is not! It is a unique style of music, not unlike a mix between a waltz and polka. In the 19th century, it was associated with the bordello, and was a favorite in Argentina among poorer laborers and immigrants. The first piece of music written and published in Argentina describing itself as a tango appeared in 1857. It was called "Toma maté, ché" ("Drink maté tea, dude"). The tango spread across the pond in the earliest 20th century, to become refined. It probably came into France first through the port of Marseille, where Argentine sailors would dance with the local girls, and tango was the couple dance they preferred. There is evidence of a couple dancing tango on stage in Monmartre (then a "seedy" part of Paris) by 1909. But it was in 1912 that the tango took Paris by storm.

By this time Argentina was the seventh richest country in the world, with an average per capita income four times that of Spain or Italy. While the poor stayed poor, the rich got very rich indeed, and it became the fashion for families to send their young sons to Europe, either to go to university, or simply to do the Grand Tour and finish off their education.

So who's the guy in the hat? Not Desi Arnaz of "I Love Lucy!" No, it is Carlos Gardel, who bacame tango's superstar in the 1920's. His distinctive voice and vibrant personality was noted in Hollywood, but his untimely death in a Columbian plane crash in 1935 afforded him mythical status.

Tango was pretty much banned after the overthrow of Peron in 1955, ushering in Argentina's "dark age," lasting until the Falklands war of 1983. The military junta outlawed Argentina's national symbol. With the downfall of the military government, Argentines renewed their pride on being Argentines, and the tango was reborn. The classical ballroom tango (tango de salon) was retaught by the old masters, and a faster, and perhaps more seductive form, the milonga tango, also became popular.

To a "gringo," the tango looks intimidating. It is a complicated series of steps where the man seems to do 90% of the work. Nevertheless, I never felt belittled in my struggle to learn it in Buenos Aires. Many portenos (those of Buenos Aires) encouraged me along. I then danced along with the pros of the "Confiteria Ideal," a signature ballroom in the heart of Buenos Aires. People routinely tango in the streets of La Boca (see picture), and Palermo, especially on a Saturday afternoon, where young and old alike dance. Tango bed and breakfasts abound in the capital. And it has made a resurgence in Paris, where one can dance Sunday night along the left bank of the Seine.

Take advantage of some of our outings during the Second Interamerican Congress of Emergency Medicine to experience for yourself the legend of tango. For the more adventurous, classes abound in Buenos Aires, and we can set you up with a tango B and B if you like. You may contact us at worlddoc@comcast.net for more info.