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It was born at the beginning of the 19th century, in the vicinity of the Rio de La Plata. Originated in the suburbs and brothels, it is considered one of the most famous and influential dances in the world. This sensual dance, emerged from the lowest strata of the Argentine society of the time and eventually would conquer the most elegant ballrooms of Argentina and the world.
The word “Tango” or “tambo” originates at the end of the 18th century to describe “party and dance of townspeople in America”. The first official use of the word appears in a statute of 1789, where Argentine authorities banned “Tango” meetings to oppress the working class. It was not until a hundred years after the word became common. However, it took almost hundred more years for the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy to define Tango as. “Argentine dance of linked couple, binary musical form and two-by-four beat, spread internationally.”
This sensual dance was created as a result of the cultural mix of .immigrants from different countries of Europe who came in search of a better life, slaves and native indigenous who already inhabited the area. Its culture and music gradually mixed, resulting in meeting places for music and dance. It is believed that the first composer was Juan Pérez, author of Dame la Lata. However, it is very likely that there have been other authors and previous songs. In addition to Pérez’s work, the first compositions were El Tero and Andate a la Recoleta.
Of particular language, the Tango was growing in the dance houses, bordering the Riachuelo, the tenement houses of the southern neighborhood. Street singers spread it through neighborhoods where it was common to see couples dancing in the streets. Over time, dance academies, milongas and theaters began to be created and the this popular dance gradually emerged from the suburbs to enter the city center. At the end of the 19th century, it was so popular that it began to expand outside Argentina, creating its own styles in Europe and North America. Soon records began to be sold throughout North America and Europe. In the 1900s, more than a thousand gramophone records were produced, along with countless new musical scores.
Among the Argentine singers, the figure of Carlos Gardel stands out. Like the Tango itself, its Uruguayan and Argentinean origins are disputed, but his voice is a world heritage site. He was a singer, songwriter and film actor. Initiator and maximum exponent of the Tango song, he was one of the most important interpreters of world popular music in the first half of the twentieth century. For the quality of his voice, for the number of albums sold as a singer and as a composer, for his many films related to this dance and for his worldwide impact Gardel became a myth and the best known representative of the genre in the history.
Although its origins still polemicize in the coffee tables, the prestige and recognition that the Tango acquired internationally is not discussed. It captivated singers, dancers and spectators worldwide and has become a central part of Argentine identity. Today you can enjoy Argentine Tango anywhere in the world, but nothing beats hearing it, seeing it and dancing in its native Argentina, and there is no place like Buenos Aires to feel it. There you will find from wide and crowded halls of “tanguistas” where you can receive classes to emblematic places where to see its history reflected in a thousand memories and photographs.
Contact us to star planning your Tango Tour in Buenos Aires and enjoy a full day, visiting the milongas taking a Tango Class and having a Tango Show Dinner in one of the typical cafes of Buenos Aires. Shall we dance? Show Tour
