Tango

Tango is a world wide known Argentinian dance.

It started in early 1900's in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, in the ghetto areas.


The reason why tango is a dance that implies a lot of physical contact and sexy costume, is because Tango started as a technique used by protitutes to attract clients.

Back in those days protitutes only worked in brothels, where there was usually a band playing.



Both protitutes and men would sit at tables so everyone could see everyone and choose who they wanted to be with.

That way they would ask eachother to dance and fix a price.



In those times, immigration in Argentina was at its peak, and so French, Italians and Spaniards mixed their musical styles all together and Tango started.


Throughout Tango's popular period, Argentina wellcomed over 7 times more immigrants than its original population.

The first Tango lyrics were only about the ecomomic crisis and poverty, as it was underground music that reflected the low class life.


With time, Tango grew bigger and the lyrics developed into everyday life issues.

But Tango could never talk about anything else than sad things.

Tango lyrics are often about someone's departure or death, or someone's heart being broken.


Buenos Aires hosts the International Anual Tango Championship in wich people from all over the world compite on both stages of the contest:

"Traditional tango" (Tango salón)

and "Acrobatic Tango" (Tango exibición)


Lots of places in Argentina offer free tango classes as not many argentinians seem to show much interest for this dance.

music

 

Argentina from most aspects is nothing but a big mix of different cultures, and its music is certainly not the exception.

However, all this mix is spiced up a little bit and so transformed into what makes it ours.

This is what makes Argentinian music very different from Latin American music, and hence has given our bands and various artists international fame.

However, modern Argentinian music didn't actually take off until the late 80's or early 90's.

Before this(60's and 70's), it was european and american artists who'd flood the markets and radios with their music, and of course there's always the local artists trying to impersonate the big foreign bands.

Even previous to those days (30's-50's), Tango had taken over everyone and everything, and before Tango, it was Old European minuets and walz.

This is what makes Argentinian music very different from Latin American music, and hence has given our bands and various artists international fame.

However, modern Argentinian music didn't actually take off until the late 80's or early 90's.

Before this(60's and 70's), it was european and american artists who'd flood the markets and radios with their music, and of course there's always the local artists trying to impersonate the big foreign bands.

Even previous to those days (30's-50's), Tango had taken over everyone and everything, and before Tango, it was Old European minuets and walz.

But it was in the late 80's/ early 90's that Argentinian bands broke the mold of Latin American music which consists generally of dramatic solos, like ballads, and decided to include various rythms of different cultures and so come up with our own national style.

But it was in the late 80's/ early 90's that Argentinian bands broke the mold of Latin American music which consists generally of dramatic solos, like ballads, and decided to include various rythms of different cultures and so come up with our own national style.

Jazz, reggae, blues, flamenco, rock, ska and other styles were mixed between each other, and with our language and culture to create what's known in Latin America as Argentinian Rock. This was one of the first countries in Latin America, if not the first, to "export" our music to the rest of the continent.

Most Argentinians say that the peak of our Rock has passed though, as now the markets are more invaded of American bands and not long-lasting artists.