Big Blog 2: The Tango of Argentina

 In this blog, I will be talking about the Tango of Argentina. I've known about Argentina because of their amazing pro soccer/football program. I've never researched Argentina but this will be my chance to learn more about the people who live there, their culture, and Argentine Tango. I will be talking about how it originated, the elements of the Tango, the dance of the tango, the different styles of tango, and Tango festivals and events.

The Argentine Tango

Argentine Tango originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay in the late 19th century. The African candombe, Cuban habanera as well as waltzes and polkas are the roots of this dance. It was a popular dance with European immigrants, former slaves, and the working and lower class. But during Argentina's political struggles the dance was forced underground and performing it was considered an illegal act. People started seeing it in the light more in the 1980s and it soared again before spreading throughout the world. 

Buenos Aries, Argentina

Some distinct musical elements of Argentine tango are rhythm, instrumentation, phrasing, form, harmony, and melody. The music is more varied than ballroom dancing and is a clear repetitive pulse with a strong tango rhythm. With Argentine Tango having a large repertoire of music the dancing could so very late into the night. Some of the most notable composers of Argentine Tango music were actually descendants of Italian immigrants like Di Sarli, d'Arienzo, Troilo, and Pugliese. In the 1990s it experienced a resurgence in popularity when young dancers started to pair the tango steps to more contemporary music like trip-hop and blues.

Bahia Blanca - Carlos Di Sarli  - Tango Clásico

Juan D'Arienzo - Alberto Echuagüe - 12 Grandes Exitos - Vol. 1

The Argentine Tango involves many styles that have evolved across regions and eras and throughout the years the venue began to crowd the fashion started to change. The Argentine Tango's main focus was to match the speed and emotion of the music while improvising the steps. It is danced with two people in an embrace that can vary from being open which is when the leader and follower dance at arm's length or closed which is when they are chest-to-chest. The follower alternates their weight from foot to foot never resting weight on both at the same time. The follower is led to alternate feet by the leader who is outside the follower's legs. It depends a lot on improvisation but there are some basic steps to form a foundation of the style like, embrace, walk, cross, figure eight, cuts, breaks, half moon, and rotation.

There are many different styles of tango like Canyengue, fantasia, Tango Nuevo, and many more. The Canyengue originated in the 1920s and '30s and is the oldest form of the Argentine tango style. It is characterized by a close embrace and a slight "V" position. When doing this style dancers normally will bend their knees, some will use exaggerated body movements and all use short steps that follow the 'staccato' rhythm at the time. Music from this era had a faster tempo lending the dance to have a rhythmic feel which is similar to that of modern milonga. Another style is Tango Salon which is one of the smoother and more elegant styles but it is also where close embrace is key. The embrace will loosen during ochos, turns, and giros, to give both partners some space and allow the lady to have more freedom to express herself. It includes all of the basic tango steps with an emphasis on precision, smoothness, and elegant dance lines. The Tango Salon is usually danced to the strongest beat played by famous orchestras such as Di Sarli, Calo, and Pugliese. Lastly, Tango Nuevo is the latest development for tango, it is characterized as an open and flexible embrace where both partners maintain their own balance and positioning, making innovative shapes with their bodies. You can recognize it easily because the dancers emphasis more on movements and fluidity, rather than connection. The founders of the style think that it's not a style in itself yet it has become accepted by many as a separate and distinct style of tango. Which is considered by many of the most famous practitioners of Tango Nuevo which is, Gustavo Naveira, Norberto "El Pulpo" Esbrés, Claudia Codega, and many more. 

5 Styles of Argentine Tango

Since tango has become so popular in Latin America they decided to make a world cup competition for doing the tango and now it is going 20 years strong. During the Tango Festival and World Cup that takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina the whole city turns into tango central with more than 500 dancing couples that battle to be crowned the best dancers in two separate categories. People from all around the world come to compete in this competition as far as Japan and Russia. The festival has films, merchandise, shows, and classes that are dedicated to tango history, practice, or appreciation. The neighborhoods in Buenos Aires are the perfect backdrop to a dance that made the lower and working classes experience nostalgia before becoming a worldwide phenomenon. Uruguay and Argentina go hand and hand with tango's history in the Tango Festival and World Cup in Buenos Aires. A famous Argentine tango dancer Carlos Gavito said, "I think those who say that you can’t tango if you are not Argentine are mistaken. Tango was an immigrant music, so it does not have a nationality. Its only passport is feeling.”

Two Argentinian Couples Win 2021 Buenos Aires Tango World Cup

The Tango of Argentina has had a big impact on the world starting with African candombe, Cuban habanera as well as waltzes and polkas are the roots of this dance to them having a festival dedicated to Tango and having it where it all started in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm so glad I got to learn about the Argentinian culture and about their tango. 

Work Cited

I asked ChatGPT for an outline

Dance Studio, Elite. “The History of the Argentine Tango: Elite Dance Studio: Edmonton.” Elite Dance Studio, 18 Oct. 2019, www.elitedancestudio.net/blogs/the-history-of-the-argentine-tango/#:~:text=The%20Argentine%20Tango%20originated%20in,well%20as%20waltzes%20and%20polkas.

Abeele, Bruno Vanden. “Tango Dance Styles.” Tanguito, Argentine Tango Academy, 2019, www.tanguito.co.uk/tango-culture/discover-tango/argentine-tango-dance-styles/.

https://www.puentesabroad.com/buenos-aires-destination

Amigo Energy. “Guide to the Tango Festival: World Cup in Buenos Aires 2023.” Amigo Energy, 9 Oct. 2023, amigoenergy.com/blog/a-guide-to-the-tango-festival-and-world-cup-in-buenos-aires-2023/#:~:text=During%20the%20Tango%20Festival%20and,away%20as%20Japan%20and%20Russia.

“Argentine Tango.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_tango.