Tango in Argentina

Passionate and sensual, fiery yet tender, tango is one of the most quintessential cultural representations of Buenos Aires, a tradition with a history as tumultuous and interesting as that of its beloved Argentina. It is a tradition that began in the brothels and lower-class districts of the capital city, and, in its 120 or more years of existence, has grown into a world phenomenon. In fact, it was declared a part of the world’s “intangible cultural heritage” by UNESCO in 2009.

While nobody knows exactly when tango originated, most speculate that it was in the early 1880s. At this time, Buenos Aires was a thriving city, burgeoning with immigrants from all over the world. The Buenos Aires of the 1880s was quite full of brothels, sustained mostly by immigrant women trying to make their way in their new country. Similarly, their clientele was mostly immigrant men who had recently left their entire lives — and wives — behind to find new opportunities in the Americas.

It was in these brothels that tango was born. Initially, it was simply instrumental music, played with a guitar, a violin and a flute. Eventually, the brothels’ management started hiring different musicians and groups to entertain the clients, and thus began the dancing. Shows became more frequent, as did the dancing. Eventually, a sort of standardization of the dance developed, and tango academies opened, holding organized tango ballroom dances, but for men only.

At this time, the closed hold (couples dancing together, not just facing each other) was still somewhat new in the world, and even a structured, separated embrace was considered scandalous by many. We can only imagine the scandal of this new dance, made up of flirtatious looks, interlocking legs, dancing cheek-to-cheek, chest-to-chest, suggestive of a lustful, passionate, tender love affair. As well-reputed women did not want any part in this outrageous new dance, and the women in the brothels had to be paid, men had no choice but to dance with each other. It was in this fashion that new steps were developed, each man looking to develop his own style so he could attract the attention of women, surprising them with his grace and skill.

Although the music was initially improvised, with the growth in popularity and organization of the accompanying dance, musicians started composing music, as well. Juan Perez is said to be the first composer, although other men were surely writing music at this time, as well. The music was purely instrumental at first, but lyrics were soon added. Considering the birthplace of the music and dance, it is not surprising that the original lyrics were obscene and lewd, full of sexual references. As popularity grew, however, many lyrics were changed, or their euphemisms began to lose meaning.

Tango music and dance grew hand-in-hand in the lower-class suburbs, and the tango culture made its way to the streets, to the slums, and eventually, to the cafes. It was in these cafes, that women were added to tango shows — the cherry on top. As more women started performing in public, it became more socially accepted, and so more women started dancing in public, as well, finally allowing the passion of the dance to be fully expressed between a man and a woman. Check in a Buenos Aires travel guide for places where to practice tango and/or for tango shows.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, tango had made its was to Europe in the hands of traveling dancers and musicians from Buenos Aires, and it soon took the continent by storm. In 1913, the United States caught the tango fever. Two different styles began to develop, both of which are still alive today: North American Tango, and International Tango. International Tango is most accepted in competitive dance, but both are well respected styles in the tango world.

With various economic crises and dictatorships in Argentina, tango has seen quite the tumultuous history, being suppressed for the majority of the twentieth century, save a brief revival under Juan Perón’s government. While the culture lived on a smaller scale, 1983 brought new life to it with a show called Tango Argentino in Paris. Tango has continued to grow since then, worldwide.

Buenos Aires is the birthplace of this incredible dance, and remains the ultimate place to study and see the dance and music. Milongas (tango dance halls) thickly populate the city, as do academies and shows. As the worldwide love affair with tango swells, so does the pride for its beauty felt in Buenos Aires.