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Tango
In Gloucester |
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Genesis: Tango is the bastard offspring of African rhymns, Italian song, Hispanic dance steps and Gaucho guitar. Emerging in the late 1880's in the slums of Buenos Airies, it soon progressed to the whorehouses, and from the 1900's on, into the posher city center clubs and dance salons. The period up to 1940 is often thought of as a "Golden Age" - tango boomed in the ballrooms of Buenos Airies and France, and Carlos Gardel took tango canción (tango song) on tour to the US, Spain and across Latin America and into films. Beneath these crackling old tangos is buried the aspirations of Argentina and the passions, miseries, nostalgia and pain of all Argentina.
Evolution: Argentina changed in the 1940's and 1950's - the city grew, the Perón's ushered in a period of popular socialism with a fascist slant, and tango's dominance in the Capital and other big urban areas was challenged first by folk music and then by jazz and rock. The milongas (dance halls) went into decline. The best composers - Triolo, Pugliese, Pizzolla - kept tango alive and found their own styles by focusing on the music innovating. This is an age of virtuosos, daring solos, aural experiment and lyrical sophistication.
Contemporary: He might of been spurned by musical conservatives in the 60's, but the death of Astor Piazzolla in 1992 generated a lot of grief among tangueros and left a gaping hole in the tango scene. Happily, the genre was reborn as a myriad of strands and styles. Visit Buenos Airies now and you'll hear live shows by neo-classical quintets, rock-oriented outfits, folksy fusioneers and electronica DJ's. The best of these manage to keep the essential emotions of tango- melancholy, nostalgia, senesual delight - and tie it to big drums or cutting-edge lyrics aimed at young audiences tired of manufactured pop.
