Astor Piazzolla (courtesy of Wikipedia)

After seeing the likes of Carlos Gardel, Juan D´Areienzo and Aníbal Troilo, naysayers and soothsayers declared that the Golden Age of Argentine Tango had passed  and the genre´s end was near.  Sad lyrics and elegiac tones seemed incongruous with the optimism of changing times, and the popularity of the slow, duple rhythm waned.

Around the same time that Juan D. Perón fell from power in a coup d’état, tango was presented with an age-old choice: whither or evolve.

Thus, throughout the fifties and sixties, a few lyricists, musicians and composers began to favour new, experimental sounds and themes over more orthodox styles.

One such man was Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla, an Argentine composer and bandoneón player who created musical scores by fusing an array of elements together in unprecedented, staccato beats that transformed traditional tango forever.

***

Piazzolla was born in the Argentine seaside town of Mar de Plata in 1921 to Vicente Piazzolla and Asunta Manetti, immigrants from the Italian region of Puglia. He moved to New York with his family at a young age, and it was on the streets of Manhattan that he first came into contact with the syncopated rhythms of jazz and the classical music of Bach that would eventually inform his unique approach to music.

The musician received his first bandoneón when he was six-years old. His father, a tango aficionado, decided that he wanted his only son to learn how to play and bought the instrument for US$19 at a New York pawnshop.

Wrapped in a box, Piazzolla was convinced that he had finally received the pair of roller skates he had asked for so many times. But in place of the skates, he found an awkward contraption that he was loath to cherish.

Over time though, the boy grew to love the instrument and initiated contact with musical greats who would come to shape his youthful talents. At nine, Piazzolla took lessons from pianist Andrés D´Aquila. Two years later, the prodigy débuted his first composition and then met Carlos Gardel, an Argentine tango icon who was on tour in the US.

After going back to Argentina in 1936, the 15-year old began to formally establish his presence in the world of tango by joining the orchestra of Aníbal Troilo as a bandoneonista.

He then continued his training with Alberto Ginastera and Raúl Spivak and in 1954, he set off on a journey to Paris to commence conservatory study with Nadia Boulanger, who would become the most influential figure in the virtuoso´s life.

Under Boulanger´s guidance, Piazzolla decided to pursue tango as a musician and classical music as a composer. He wrote the grand symphonic tango, “Tres minutos con la realidad,” and recorded 16 more tango oeuvres with the Orchestra of the Paris Opera that integrated the sounds of the piano and bandoneón.

Meanwhile, the musician managed to attract the ire of critics in Buenos Aires who resented his revolution. Piazzolla was boycotted by many musical outlets in his native country and forced to travel to New York, a bastion of artistic culture where he was able to write “Adiós Nonino” in tribute to his father who had recently passed away. The song was eventually considered one of his greatest works.

In 1965, however, the praise of his admirers overwhelmed the disdain of his critics. The musician collaborated with Jorge Luis Borges and produced the disc ¨El Tango¨ by putting music to the poems of the author.

Building upon his success, he began to blur new boundaries by fusing jazz and tango with the formation of the New Tango Quintet. The ensemble, which included a bandoneón, piano, violin, electric guitar and bass, would eventually give one of their greatest performances at the Philarmonic Hall of New York and serve as a precursor to Piazzolla´s recording of ¨Summit¨ with the renowned saxophonist, Gerry Mulligan in 1979.

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Astor Piazzolla died on 4th July 1992 in Buenos Aires.

Revered by intellectuals for making tango more academic and loathed by old-performers for sullying time-honoured forms of composition, his diverse influence remains indisputable. While tango may not live on in its purist form, it continues to be synthesized with most musical genres and played throughout the world.

And in response to the newest slew of doomsayers, who say that rock and punk are poised to send tango back to the brink of extinction, Piazzolla would probably say that both genres should become a part of its revitalisation.

Genre: Tango

Dates: 11th March, 1921 – 4th July, 1992

Most Well-Known Song: Adiós Nonino

Famous for: Changing the rhythm, timbre and harmony of contemporary tango

In his own words: ¨Music is more than a woman. You can divorce a woman, but you cannot divorce music. Once you get married to music, it´s an eternal love that lasts forever, and you go to the tomb with her.¨

Best to listen to: On a walk through the streets of Buenos Aires

Tango Festival 2011 Championships (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Buenos Aires’ annual tango festival kicked off on the 14^th August. More than 2,000 artists will perform in over 2,000 shows at venues across the city, drawing international tango-hungry crowds to the capital city. Organisers claim the festival will preserve traditional tango culture while bringing together emerging artists and international stars. However many are concerned that the festival focuses too much on tourism and international prestige at the expense of respect for the roots of Buenos Aires tango.

According to many traditional tangueros, older forms of the dance are under threat due to increased demand for the more flamboyant styles often favoured by tourists. While tourism is responsible for enormous investment in tango culture, many are worried that it also presents a threat to the integrity and long-term survival of authentic ‘tango culture’.

BA Tango: A Crowd-Pleaser

This year’s packed agenda of milongas, workshops, and concerts began on the 14^th August and will end with the Mundial de Baile2012 two weeks later. Last year’s festival attracted 400,000 people and this year’s could bring an even bigger crowd.

Hernan Lombardi and Gustavo Mozzi at the press conference for the 2012 Tango Festival (Photo courtesy of BA Culture)

Tourism is a defining feature of this festival and has been key to cultural policy in Buenos Aires ever since the ministries of culture, sport and tourism were combined in 2001. The Ministry of Culture today claims its role is to “project Buenos Aires into the international sphere of production and exportation of culture”. Culture Minister Hernán Lombardi is well placed to pursue this agenda, having served as secretary of tourism for the city in 1999 before leading both the Ministry of Culture and the City’s Tourism Agency between 2007 and 2011.

At a press release for the launch of Tango BA Lombardi called the event “the horizon of a new cultural geography in which the south has a privileged point of development and expansion in terms of creativity and the arts.”

Tango is an international business in Buenos Aires. However the relationship between tango and tourism is a difficult one, and critics accuse the city government of trying too hard to please transient visitors instead of investing in more projects to nourish tango culture within the city.

Traditional Tango: Everywhere and Nowhere 

  One such critic is Cherie Magnus, a 2006 finalist in the Tango World Cup who now teaches traditional milonguero tango with her partner, Rubén. Milonguero tango is the traditional form of the dance, partly inherited from Argentine gaucho culture. It centres around the close embrace and is an improvised dance based on a core set of steps led, of course, by the man.

Cherie Magnus and Ruben Aybar dancing tango at Nuevo Chique Milonga in Casa Galicia. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Magnus feels that the city government’s focus on the tango festival and world championship risks a neglect for more long-term investment in everyday tango culture, like the nightly milongas which take place across the city.

“Milongueros go to their favourite milonga and they keep going where they always go. They have nothing to do with the festival. The championship has also gotten so political, so cookie cutter, no one cares about it anymore except the foreigners” she says.

Tango gatherings known as ‘milongas’ are nightly dances which take place in dance halls across the city. Tables are arranged facing the dance floor and constantly interchanging couples dance for short bursts of, often live, tango music.

Milongas have always been the lynch pin of tango culture. However they are independently financed and generally receive no financial subsidy from the government. Coordinating and sustaining a milonga is a precarious business. The organiser must rent a salon, hire a band, and pay to market the event. Often the salon owner takes all the money from the bar, leaving only the money from the door to cover the rest of the costs.

“There are fewer and fewer lovely traditional milongas, I’m sorry to say, because people just don’t have the money… It used to be that milongueros would go every night to milongas, but that hasn’t passed on. A lot of them are dead, a lot are sick, or too poor,” says Magnus.

Like many other devotees to traditional ‘milonguero’ tango, Magnus feels there is an increasing divergence between traditional and tourist tango circuits, which do not see an equal flow of investment.

“At some of these milongas, everyone is foreign, everyone speaks English, everyone is dressed differently, everyone dances differently. People don’t understand that they should be going to the traditional milongas to dance with local people, not to dance with each other.”

The Buenos Aires tango scene runs on demand, and is firmly dependent on tourists with money to spend. These milongas need tourists or locals to continue going in order to stay alive, however many remain under the radar of the tourist scene and suffer the consequences. In addition, many traditional clubs do not cater to the increasing demand for unorthodox forms of ‘nuevo tango’, more popular with international crowds.

‘Nuevo tango’ involves a more flamboyant repertoire of steps and can be a more choreographed form of dance. The embrace is not as close as with traditional milonguero tango and the steps are usually larger, with higher kicks and more dramatic flourishes.

Walter Piazza agrees that the situation of many milongas is precarious, “there are very historic milongas in traditional places that really need financial help, they don’t show up in tourist guide books but they’re very important.”

Dance and Diversity: Tango Today 

Academia Nacional de Tango above Cafe Tortoni on Av de Mayo (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Piazza is secretary to the president of the National Tango Academy and it is his job to know about all forms of tango, including the increasingly popular new forms. Founded in 1890, the Academy was established to preserve tango heritage in Argentina. The ornate building which sits above the famous Cafe Tortoni is home to an enormous library of tango music, poetry, and literature; housing over 20,000 original music scores.

Piazza is adamant about the need to preserve tango heritage, however he also sees tourism as the key support for the tango industry in the city and believes the Festival plays a major role in this.

“I think the tango festival is an excellent thing,“ he says. “Inside the city here, there are those who try to preserve orthodox tango, but tango doesn’t come from just one place, it comes from a mixture of cultures and people.”

“There is no such thing as one pure tango culture. The key is to move forward while respecting your roots,” says Piazza.

According to Buenos Aires Mayor, Mauricio Macri, this is exactly what the festival will do. “The increasingly large young crowds that come to the festival give rise to new codes on the dance floor, new poetic styles, new sounds, and new expressions,” he said in a press release. “The tango festival isn’t a nostalgic longing for better times gone by, it reflects a capacity for creativity in a society moving forward, with an optimistic eye to the future.”

The definition of ‘tango culture’ has been historically slippery, as reflected in its 2009 designation by UNESCO as ‘intangible cultural heritage’. This designation recognised the importance of “the mix of European immigrants, descendents of slaves, and creoles” in the creation of tango culture.

The UNESCO award did not come with financial aid, but Lombardi told BBC Mundo at the time that he would establish US$3 million worth of tango projects and preservation per year.

Tango for Who? Community Investment

Frente Cultural Raymundo Gleyzer at a protest. (Photo courtesy of FCRG)

Many claim that the money promised by Lombardi has not filtered down to community level, however. On the 25^thJune 2012, cultural centres across the city gathered in Parque Centenario to protest against the government’s focus on festivals and tourism at the expense of investment in everyday culture in Buenos Aires. The protest was organised by the Frente Cultural Raymundo Gleyzer movement, an umbrella organisation for cultural centres who are railing against what they see as a consistent short-term view towards government investment in culture.

“Since taking office as mayor of the City of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri has applied a constant policy of disinvestment and budget cuts in cultural matters,” says director of El Gleyzer, Jonathan Thea.

“Today the budget for culture is just 3.1% of the total, which is aimed at the development of mega-events which are profitable from the economic point of view, but not representative of our history, identity and culture.”

There are over 51 cultural centres in the city, forming the backbone of community-oriented cultural provision, including tango classes and workshops. However the city government budget for festivals is six times higher than the budget for neighbourhood cultural projects, and the culture budget has been reduced by 20% in recent years.

According to El Gleyzer’s manifesto, “the City government wants to turn Buenos Aires into a tourist mecca in South America, and that explains the unification of the ministries of culture and tourism.”

However, according to Thea, “a city with social and spatial segregation can’t have a cultural policy based on big events which only benefit a small sector of society.”

The Heart of Tango: Still Beating 

Lombardi and tango festival organiser Gustavo Mozzi are keen to deny this assessment. Both have stressed the inclusive and community-oriented nature of the festival which remains 100% free for all events. The leaders claim it will bring needed investment and rejuvenation to important community areas connected to the roots of tango, like the historic neighbourhood of La Boca, which has recently seen the opening of Usina del Arte cultural centre.

Dancing legends Gloria and Eduardo Arquimba perform at the press conference (Photo courtesy of BA Culture)

“With its arrival in the Usina del Arte, the tango festival has regained a space in a neighbourhood closely related to its origins and its identity in music and dance. Tango lived in La Boca, taking shelter in modest dance clubs and cafes when it was banned from main stages and fancy venues,” says Lombardi.

Across the eight different categories in the agenda, the festival showcases veteran stars like pianist José Colángelo and dancing legends Gloria and Eduardo Arquimba, as well as innovative new dancers and musicians like band Tanghetto. The event showcases a vibrant tango culture which, despite its difficulties, shows no sign of dying out just yet. Sitting in his office surrounded by tango memorabilia old and new, Piazza agrees.

“There are still plenty of people who respect this way of life, this tanguero culture. People from the older generation -70, 80 years old- but also people much younger than me, who want to continue the line. It’s going to continue for a long time, this culture is very much alive and well.”

What do Argentines think about the relationship between tango and tourism in the city? Click here to find out.

Tango has taken the world for a twirl as dance festivals are erupting in major cities everywhere, from London and Berlin, to Kiev and Budapest. This year’s tango festival in Buenos Aires promises to draw crowds of international tango fans and dancers to the city, but many wonder whether the government is doing enough to invest in tango culture at the community level, and to preserve the spirit of ‘tango culture’ from the claws of the tourism industry.

We took to the street to ask what local people think of the complex relationship between tango tourism in the city.

Photos by Diego Cupolo

Melida Radian, 59, antiques vendor, La Plata

Tango is very important for culture and identity of Argentina. It’s important for tourism because people are interested in how to dance, how to do the things that we do. The government supports tango a lot. In the government house, they invite a lot of tango musicians when they hold events for others to show them a part of our culture. They already support and fund a lot of tango.

Eduardo Ruiz, 64 1/2, restorer, Caballito

 In the past, tango has been very important for Argentines. It’s our dance, it’s what tourists come to see, to dance. Tango is important first, because it was born here and, second, during the 1930s the dance developed to symbolise melancholy. It developed the meaning of tango and made it more dramatic, it’s very passionate. It’s also a political statement. It used to be prohibited by the military, but it rose from the lunfardo [porteño slang], from the streets.

This is what we share with the world when they come here to see Argentine culture. We don’t need more festivals for tango, though. Tango is not supposed to be a big deal, it’s quiet, the way it used to be. For me, we put on some music in the morning and sip some mate and that is tango. It’s much quieter.

Rafael de Elejalde, 29, sales, Córdoba

The dance is important for Argentina, for sure. I’m from Córdoba so we don’t have a tango culture like Buenos Aires does. If tourists are looking for tango they come to the city, but it is still very important for the country. The dance is good the way it is, too. It’s nice when it is not as commercial, when you can find it in different neighbourhoods or in smaller areas. When people come to learn tango, it’s better when they learn the classic tango, when it’s not as organised. Argentina doesn’t need more tango show business. It’s part of our identity and we are very proud of it.

Mica Piñero, 22, art student, Abasto

Tango is classic Argentina. I don’t know much about tango, but I know that it is important to us and to the country. I am not sure if more festivals or more funding would be better for tourism because people already come here for the dance, to learn the dance, to understand this part of our culture. I don’t dance tango but I have many friends that go to Catedral every week to dance. It’s what we do, and tourists come here to know more about it.

‘Pipo’ Gonzalez Varela, 55, leather-maker, Floresta

Tango is the most important part of the people’s culture in this country. The music, the dance, everything. Argentina is a very interesting country because it’s like you need to know tango to be Argentine. Even the younger generations are learning it. Tango espectáculo is a new tango and it has a lot of big moves and is very showy. There is a guy who sells albums of tango mixed with electronic music just down the street and it is very good, very beautiful music.

People come from all over the world to experience this and so government awards and funding is very important to keep supporting it. Right now there are not big festivals for tango, but later in time, who knows? Maybe it could be a big festival, like carnaval.

Bajafondo at London Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Georg Schroll)

Originally named Bajo Fondo Tango Club, Bajofondo are known as pioneers of “electronic tango” music. Founded by Argentine and Uruguayan musicians, they aimed to create a mixture of electronic music with Latin roots and, as a result of their talent and ingenuity, succeeded in creating a style that was completely different from anything known at the time.

Incorporating a variety of sounds and instruments the band is currently made up of Uruguayan musician Juan Campodónico, Uruguayan DJ Luciano Supervielle, Uruguayan VJ Verónica Loza, Argentine bandoneon player Martín Ferres, Argentine violinist Javier Casalla, Uruguayan bass player Gabriel Casacuberta and renowned Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla – now a two-time Oscar winner in the category of best film soundtrack.

When Santaolalla and Campodónico first met, Campodónico was playing with the Uruguayan band ‘El Peyote Asesino’. Making samplers from the vinyl records of acclaimed tango composers such as Astor Piazzolla, Eduardo Mateo, Susana Rinaldi and Alfredo Zitarrosa the band produced a sound that was a fusion of hip-hop and tango.

Both Santaolalla and Campodónico wanted to make a sound that transpired the urban life of the Río de la Plata and shortly after their paths crossed, formed Bajo Fondo Tango Club. Initially more of a project than a band, the group began as an association of musicians, producers and singers composing and experimenting with different types of sounds.

Their first album, launched in November 2002, was called ‘Bajo Fondo Tango Club’ and featured several well-known musicians such as Jorge Drexler, Adriana Varela, Cristóbal Repetto, Adrán Iaies. Didi Gutman and Pablo Mainetti.

The album was the first production of record label Vibra – a label owned by Santaolalla that aimed to invest and investigate different types of Latin American styles with electronic music.

Selling over 300,000 copies worldwide it was a huge hit, winning the Gardel Award for best electronic album in Argentina and the Latin Grammy for best instrumental pop album.

Bajafondo in concert in Portugal. (Photo: Mário Pires)

A second album, ‘Bajofondo presenta: Supervielle’, followed in 2004 and featured guest musicians Daniel Melingo, Uruguayan hip-hop band ‘Contra Las Cuerdas’ and Jorge Drexler.

Band member Luciano Supervielle mixed the tango music of composer Piazzolla with the Camdombe music of Eduardo Mateo, and the excited shouts of sports journalist Victor Hugo Morales to win the band a second Gardel Award.

After focusing for a while on their individual careers, the Bajofondo members launched a remix album in 2005 that included new versions of songs taken from both their first album and the solo career of Supervielle.

‘Bajofondo Remixed’ won a third Gardel Award for best electronic music album, and was recorded in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Córdoba, Paris and New York with the participation of Uruguayan, Argentine and European DJs.

‘Mar Dulce’ followed and has remained Bajofondo’s most recent LP release. Recorded in 2005 in the cities of Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Madrid, the album reflected the band’s cosmopolitan influences and revealed a more mature sound.

As with their earlier albums, a huge number of musicians and artists from around the world were invited to contribute to the album including Elvis Costello, Nelly Furtado, Spanish rapper Mala Rodríguez, and Japanese bandoneon player Ryota Komatsu. Uruguayan musicians Lágrima Ríos and Toto Méndez, Argentine Soda Stereo member Gustavo Cerati and Bersuit keyboard player Juan Subirá also feature.

In recent years, the band have toured through several countries, playing the big name festivals in electronic and world music, such as Roskilde in Denmark, The Cactus Festival in Belgium, Pirineos Sur Festival in Spain and the Pohoda in Slovakia, as well as shows in 15 other countries.

They have also toured two times through the United States, where they had the honour of performing in New York’s Lincoln Center and, in 2007, played in London at the Barbican Centre, with additional dates in Brussels, Amsterdam and in Rio de Janeiro.

Genre: Electronic tango

Dates Active: 2002 -2007

In their own words: “We don’t like the label ‘electronic tango’, because we don’t consider what we produce to be either tango or electronic. We believe we make music from Río de la Plata, and if you wish to make music that represents the actual sounds of places like Buenos Aires and Montevideo – at least for us – genres such as tango, murga, milonga and candombe are obviously going to be present.” – Gustavo Santaolalla.

Most Famous Song: ‘Pa’ Bailar’

Famous for: Being a pioneer in Latin American music and electronic fusion.

Best to listen to: When you feel like dancing to upbeat Latin rhythms.

Iconic Carlos Gardel

Last Friday, 24th June, marked the 76th anniversary of the plane crash in Medellín, Colombia that ended Carlos Gardel’s life, but certainly not his legacy. The crash happened at the height of the tango legend’s career.

Gardel’s story comes replete with all the makings of a folk hero: immigrant origins, a middle class upbringing, musical genius, and a tragic death. As is typical of an artist as high profile as Gardel, controversy lingers surrounding the location of his birth: though his lawyer recently presented an original birth certificate of Charles Romuald Gardés, born in Toulouse, France, any Uruguayan will remind you that Gardel often affirmed that he was born in Tacuarembó, Uruguay: “My heart is Argentine, but my soul is Uruguayan, because that is where I was born,” he once declared.

Gardel grew up in the Abasto neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where he attained the affectionate nickname ‘Carlitos’ and learned to sing operas and Argentine folk music while working as a professional applauder in opera houses. He recorded his first tango, ‘Mi Noche Triste’ (My Sad Night) in 1917. Until then, tango had been an almost entirely instrumental form of music. Gardel’s music revolutionised the genre by bringing tango from underground dance salons to upper class and international popularity. His name continues to serve as a synonym for tango, and his songs live on as classics of the modern era.

Perhaps his most famous tango is ‘Por una Cabeza’ (By a Head), which tells the story of a horse-track gambler who is addicted to excitement and romance.

Carlos Gardel:

Genre: Tango

Dates active: 1917–1935

In his own words: My language, ladies and gentlemen, is Spanish. No, actually- it’s porteño.

Most famous song: Por Una Cabeza

Best lyric: From ‘Volver’

First love makes one always come back again.
The quiet [age-old] street where once the echo told me:
Her life is yours, her love is yours to earn,
Under the stars that mockingly look on me,
And now in their indifference see me return.

Famous for: Bringing Tango from underground salons to international prominence.

Best to listen to: When feeling romantic; nostalgic; melodramatic

On Sunday 24th June, tango lovers flocked to Chacarita Cemetery to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the death of the most famous Argentine tango singer of all, Carlos Gardel. The Orquesta Típica Esquina Sur brought all their instruments, including their piano, all the way from La Boca where they perform at Teatro Verdi. Juan Vivas sung some tangos with an acoustic guitarist to the crowd’s pleasure. Photographers Beatrice Murch and Madeleine Decker share their photos from the event.

Honoring Carlos Gardel on the 77th anniversary of his death at his tomb in Chacarita. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

A guitarist tunes his guitar in preparation for his next tango at the tomb of Carlos Gardel. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Singer Juan Vivas sings a tango accompanied by an acoustic guitar at Carlos Gardel's tomb on the 77th anniversary of his death. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Orquesta Tipica Esquina Sur pushes their piano through Chacarita Cemetery. (Photo: Madeleine Decker)

The sheet music to the tango 'Volver'. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Orquesta Tipica Esquina Sur performs tango at Carlos Gardel's tomb. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Orquesta Tipica Esquina Sur performs tango at Carlos Gardel's tomb on the 77th anniversary of his death. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

The shadow of Carlos Gardel looms over the bassist from Orquesta Tipica Esquina Sur on the 77th anniversary of his death. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Interesting people at Carlos Gardel's tomb commemorating the anniversary of his death. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

A lit cigarette rests in the hands of the statue of Carlos Gardel at his tomb in Chacarita Cemetery. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Ashes in the Cemetery. (Photos: Madeleine Decker and Beatrice Murch)

Shoes are a beautiful, often overlooked, part of tango. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

The crowd applauds after Orquesta Tipica Esquina Sur performs tango at Carlos Gardel's tomb on the 77th anniversary of his death. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

What does midnight look like in the Paris of South America? For those of us cursed with a golden-age mentality, Buenos Aires can be a reprieve from all the baggage that comes with modern reality.

This city is captivated by nostalgia, and even if a venue wasn’t born decades ago, many owners pay close attention to details in the hope of capturing a little of the magic of bygone eras. The bar at the Sofitel hotel transports customers to Montmarte with themed evenings every Thursday, whilst Sunday strolls in San Telmo’s markets act as a gateway to the past.

But once all of yesteryear’s magic gets into your system, where does one go when the lights go down? And just where, prey tell, do you plan to wear that poodle skirt?

From the city’s shadowy jazz bars to sultry milonga halls to lively peñas folklóricas, this week’s Top 5 brings you our pick of places to live out your dream era.

Club 74 gets its funk on Saturday nights (Courtesy of Club 74)

Disco Night at Club 74

Legend has it that the 80s stunted the growth of Club 74. Born in 1958, the club progressed with the ages until deciding to remain in a disco time capsule a few decades ago. The white stucco walls match the white stucco couches, giving the whole place an igloo-like feel.

The Saturday night fever is still burning every weekend, with a DJ who pretends he’s never heard of Lady Gaga. A surprisingly mixed crowd boogies on the dance floor – some dancing to remember, and some channeling moves they’ve surely only seen on TV.

The club has a celebratory atmosphere – there are usually several birthday parties going on – and it’s a refreshing escape from the moody indie-rock scene of today.

Saturday is definitely the night to go, as it’s the only night of the week when the dance-floor lights up, in true retro fashion like a flashing Rubix cube. And really, what good are revolving mirror balls without the neon lights?

Club 74 is also renowned for its themed parties, and April’s Madonna/Michael Jackson tribute doesn’t sound like one you can miss.

For more information on Club 74 visit club74.com.ar

Swing Dancing on Friday nights (Photo: Lauren White)

Swing Dancing at Teatro Mandril

There’s more than one way to swing in Buenos Aires, and if you choose the kind on offer at San Nicolas’s quirky Teatro Mandril, cameras are even allowed.

A little alcohol helps to loosen up limbs as the crowd make eyes at each other around a dimly-lit, college fundraiser-style bar. Every brand of hipster seems to be gathered there on a Friday night; the retro hipster, the punk hipster, the popular girl-turned hipster, even the odd Dad hipster.

Around midnight everyone starts to gather in the back room, near the stage and dance floor. Drinks are abandoned and tables shuffled against walls to allow for the gyrations of 200 or so guests.

Guys and girls are split and line up facing each other as a male and female instructor teach the sexes their corresponding steps. After a few minutes of learning basic steps the couples grab a partner and the room transforms into a fire inspector’s nightmare. Patrons spill into every spare corner and the dance floor becomes a mere suggestion of where you should be. After about 10 minutes of practice, the sea of men and women splits again to learn more complex moves.

The party loosens up around 1:00am when the swing orchestra starts playing, and those with less ability slink back to their drinks. A few men and women own the dance floor into the early hours, while the rest watch in awe or just abandon the moves and dance with friends.

To see a video of the type of music on offer at Teatro Mandril, click here.

Milonga de los Consagrados with Orchestra Ernesto Franco playing on the stage. (Photo: Cherie Magnus)

Tango Milonga at Centro Región La Leonesa

A gentleman lets his fingers walk up the bare back of his partner; the woman’s platinum-blonde bob allowing for full exposure of her elegant shoulder blades. Only when she is spun around do you realise the woman is pushing 60 years old, and dancing better than anyone you might have seen at more touristy milongas.

Welcome to La Leonesa, where the only clues to people’s ages are their faces and their elbows. Both men and women dress to impress. Some arrive in pairs and are seated at the black and white-clothed tables surrounding the dancefloor by a burly bouncer-type host in a velvet blazer. From then on, eyes dart around the room hoping to be caught.

After receiving their cue to dance, the women’s eyes take a rest, with many choosing to follow their partner’s lead with their eyes closed.

The large hall lends a slightly eerie, echoed quality to the music, and its yellowed Victorian wallpaper only adds to the authenticity for traditionalists.

Vendors seem to have found their target market here, as you can’t escape the kiosks of tango heels, posters and apparel positioned on the way into the hall.

Regulars say the best times to go are Thursday night’s Niño Bien event, or Saturday afternoons. You can dance if you want to, but you should know it’s very likely you’ll be out-shined by someone. Something about this place suggests it was no one’s first spin around the floor.

To read more more information on Centro Región La Leonesa click here

The art deco entrance of Virasoro Bar (courtesy Virasoro Bar)

Jazz Evening at Virasoro

Although not included on our Top 5 Jazz Clubs, Virasoro has a quaint appeal for a more tightly-knit, interactive jazz experience. Before going on stage, the band greets and jokes with the incoming crowd in the nook of a lobby. After a few beers they get up to play, leaving sheet music strewn about the floor. The venue’s unpretentious, art deco space holds a small crowd of mostly young enthusiasts who come with a small group of friends or as a pair.

The band performs in front of a continuously rolling, black-and white projection that plays jazz performances and interviews by yesterday’s great players.

The screen casts a blue-grey light on the seven band members, who play about three steps away from an audience consisting of only around eight crowded tables.

After a few glasses of wine, the candle-lit ambiance and gentle beats put you in a more subdued state, making it hard to focus on film screenings.

The only downside was the impatient waiters. Make sure you have your selection ready, and with a solid Spanish accent to hand, or be expected to, well, wait.

For more information on Virasoro Jazz Bar, visit virasoro.com.ar

Folklórica Los Cardones (courtesy Los Cardones)

Peña Folklórica Los Cardones

When a gringo pictures Argentina, Los Cardones is likely what he sees. Peña folklórica originated in the northern provinces of the country (Salta in particular) in the 1950s, and the culture has trickled down to Buenos Aires and beyond.

This large bar has walls block-coloured in bright yellow and orange, windows framed by flowery vines, and a photo of Jesus on the cross hung prominently behind the stage. The club pays homage to Salta by featuring a small menu of traditional regional fare, and a large photo of Salta’s cathedral that blankets nearly half of the wall.

Traditional folklórica is performed with three guitarists, one drummer, and perhaps a violinist. This is frequently varied however, with some acts featuring only one smiling guitarist, and an occasional drummer that seemed to be part of the crowd until he was given the nod to go up on stage. The atmosphere is friendly, loud and proud. The audience is frequently encouraged to join in by clapping with the music, and is never told to “shhh” like in other bars.

Raul, the club’s MC, introduces each performance with the same enthusiasm you’d expect if he were opening for his own son.

“We’re the first peña folklórica in Buenos Aires,” he boasts several times before the musical acts begin, and encourages the crowd to sit so close to the stage they’re almost on it.

For more information on Los Cardones, visit cardones.com.ar

Rock and Roll Dancing at La Viruta (Photo by Celine Massa)

Do I like rock and roll music? Definitely. Do I want to get up and groove? Without a doubt.

This week, rumours of my rock dancing turned in to a reality when I headed to Palermo’s La Viruta for my first class.

I arrived to the informal class a fledgling rock and roller, and while there are three levels of competency, I was directed to the beginners section of the floor. Standing beside me, in ‘beginners block’, was anyone from 20-year-old students to 70-year-old grandparents.

Myself and 13 other novice dancers were taught by two teachers, one male and one female. The class size was ideal, big enough for my dodgy footwork to go unnoticed, and not so small that I couldn’t sheepishly hide from the teacher’s glare. It was hard work though, as energetic as an aerobics class but much more refreshing, and a fun type of sweat-inducer.

First we learnt the four basic steps of rock and roll, which weren’t too complicated to grasp, and when we’d mastered these, we were allowed to dance with a partner and the turn was introduced. And this was when things turned tricky and feet were trampled upon.

“Cambien la pareja!” the teacher would shout frequently, prompting us to sidle over to someone new, and escaping the embarrassment of the last turn, when moves went slightly haywire.

A Very Rock and Roll Couple at La Viruta (Photo by Celine Massa)

Pablo Orellano, a regular dancer at the night, told me: “The most important thing with rock dancing is self-confidence, and not being embarrassed to loosen up and just have a good time dancing. It’s much more relaxed than other dance forms.”

But even for the rhythmically challenged, these classes are more fun than complex. Smiles and giggles are commonplace, and afterwards there’s still time to practise any newly acquired moves with whoever takes your fancy!

Perhaps, best of all, is that the music bestows the feel good factor on everyone. Ranging from the 1950s to the 1980s, and including hits from the likes of Bill Halley and his Comets and the Beatles, as well as some typical Argentine rock, it’s the type of music that demands at least a knee tapping when listened to. And the extensive menu of La Viruta’s bar is always on hand for when the rock and roll takes its toll.

Am I still a fledgling rock and roller? Very much so. Am I improving? Well, it may take a couple more classes to reach acrobatic rock and roll standards, but I’m on my way.

So how about trading tomorrow’s gym class for a glass of wine and joining me for some infectious rock and rolling?

The alluring term milonga is used to describe an event where people come together to dance tango. This sexy, sultry dance remains one of Argentina’s defining traditions, and with Buenos Aires holding fort as tango capital of the world, many see it as the soul of the city.

Influenced by a wave of European and African immigrants, tango was formed at the end of the 19th century and developed mainly within working class communities, who found refuge in its steps. Originally a popular means of passing the time, men would commonly dance with one another outside brothels whilst waiting for their turn. In the past 20 years, it has regained much of its popularity, with an array of fashionable milongas to choose from on any night of the week.

According to one dancer I met, “you can’t dance the tango badly, you can only move badly.” So, before you tie up your tango shoes and move badly, here are some tips on where you can go to dance or simply enjoy watching some of the city’s most authentic tango.

La Glorieta (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

1. La Glorieta

A traditional, quintessential milonga; I felt like this was the ‘true’ Argentina, where locals come to dance real tango.

Located in Belgrano’s beautiful landscaped park, I watched the dancers arrive and assemble under the same picturesque, open-air gazebo as orchestras and political groups have historically gathered under. As they change in to their tango shoes, I notice jeans are rare and elegance is a standard etiquette.

When they’re ready to begin, I witness the famous ‘tango invitation’, where the eyes do the talking and a man will stare intently at a woman before asking her to dance. At this milonga, you can feel the magnetic and compelling energy between couples as they dance, even though they may have been strangers to one another only moments before.

For many, La Glorieta isn’t merely a way to pass a few hours; it’s a way of life for a whole community of dancers, many of whom go to several dances a week. The gazebo fits a surprising 200 people, and at weekends, you’ll find it full. Whilst there are classes available, this particular milonga is better for those with a bit more experience, since the dancers here are serious!

But if you already have the basics, head to La Glorieta and get practising- if for nothing else than to talk to friendly, tango loving locals and admire their dancing.

Free entry, Saturdays and Sundays 7-11pm. Classes cost $20 and start before the dance at 5pm. For more information, click here.

La Catedral (Photo: Karine Lambin)

2. La Catedral

According to the doorman at La Catedral, this is Argentina’s, and therefore the world’s, most famous milonga.

Housed in a building that dates back to 1880 and which from the outside is unassuming, you can’t help but be hit by the wow factor of La Catedral’s dancehall. Impressive, charming and atmospheric all in one; recycled furniture fills the room and a huge heart–shaped sculpture hangs from the ceiling. Candle lit tables and dim lighting add to the already mysterious mood of this old warehouse.

The activity is non-stop. After the classes there’s a free milonga, followed by a 1am show. Nevertheless, you won’t be alone if you’d rather sit back and enjoy the quirky location; there’s a large bar area, which also serves food and the sociable atmosphere makes meeting people a certainty.

More accessible than most, La Catedral is tailored for beginners and intermediates. Tuesdays is the most popular day to go when the dancehall is packed.

Everyday from 9pm onwards. Entry costs $20 or $25 including a class. For more information click here.

Tango in San Telmo (Photo: Montecruz Foto)

3. La Milonga del Indio

What better place to dance tango than the place it first emerged?

San Telmo’s Sunday market is a ‘must do’ in Buenos Aires; full of street performers, antiques and many other quirky discoveries, Plaza Dorrego definitely draws crowds. But as dusk falls and the stalls are being dismantled, the sound of drumming is replaced with the songs of Carlos Gardel, and new crowds gather for something entirely different.

The open-air location, beneath trees adorned with coloured lighting, is rather romantic; and surrounded by classic, timeless cafes, you’re spoilt for choice picking somewhere to enjoy a post tango beverage. Indio Milonga attracts many young travellers keen to learn from the locals, so it’s a good place to practise if you’re feeling rusty or just want to try out your steps.

As well as tango, alternative music and folklore is also played, but be prepared – when the organiser orders ‘a bailar’ (dance!), the crowd instantly transforms in to enthusiastic tango dancers. 

Free entry, Sundays at 7pm. For more information, click here.

La Viruta (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

4. La Viruta

If La Viruta’s stark dancehall and coloured lighting reminds you too much at first of high school dances and runs the risk of appearing too commercial, it’s definitely worth sticking around to settle in.

Without wanting to limit themselves La Viruta offers classes in rock, salsa and tango, and as well as the typical after-class milonga, also hosts a show on certain days.

Perfect for beginners, their tagline boasts ‘you’ll enter walking and you’ll leave dancing’. And true to their promise, because it’s always busy you’ll feel less self-conscious if like me, your dance moves are more primitive than professional.

If La Viruta’s overflowing popularity appears a little more claustrophobic then classy, its distinguishing factor is how sociable it is. Pedro Soria, a frequent dancer, told me, “people come here to dance tango, but also to meet people, maybe as a dance partner, a relationship or simply a lover.”

In true Argentine fashion, the milonga continues in full swing until 5:30am, and as the surrounding venues close their doors, people head here for a concluding dance.

Every day except Monday. Entry costs $29 and $25 on Tuesdays. For more information click here.

Queer Tango in San Telmo

5. Queer Tango

The music from Queer Tango lures you in from the historic, cobbled streets of San Telmo.

As the name suggests, it’s no surprise to see dancers of the same sex here. While some are partners, others simply want to learn the role of the opposite sex in the dance. Traditionally in tango it’s the man leading the woman, but putting gender aside, it’s easy to see who has the female role since the female often dances with eyes closed, allowing themselves to be led by their partner.

A night at Queer Tango boasts a regular mix of locals and foreigners, and its casual location is definitely inviting for mastering the basics. Although the hall has a slight school theatre feel, it offers a light and jovial atmosphere in which to drink a beer and maybe eat an empanada or two whilst spectating tango with a twist.

The idea behind the night, which began in 2007, was to host an event where no presumptions are made, and where you can dance whichever role you desire in a relaxed setting. Mariano DoCampo, tango teacher and organiser explains its success, ”Queer Tango is important for the gay community, no-one asks any questions and people can enjoy dancing tango with their partners.”

In a city that’s home to an extensive gay community and an exciting destination for many more, we can’t see Queer Tango’s attraction fading any time soon.

Every Tuesday. Entry costs $25 with classes starting at 8:30pm and a milonga from 10pm-2am. For more information click here.

Tango Show at La Viruta in Palermo (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

She closes her eyes and instantly the crowd fades away and her perceptions are heightened, her senses intensified. She hears his breathing close by her ear, her nose is full of the man-smell of him. His hand at her waist, almost imperceptibly pressing into her flesh, incites her to even greater abandon. The world itself has become the encompassing circle of his arms and her heart beating in time with the music. There is nothing she wouldn’t do to please him.

He deftly sidesteps and avoids collision with a less experienced couple. He stops-corte-and whirls her around him-giro-as he guides her counterclockwise over the floor. Tonight her movements are so fluid, like water in his embrace; guiding her is a delight. Had she challenged him, or fought him, or even tried to anticipate his lead, he knows that this timeless moment would have been impossible. She conquered him by surrendering herself entirely, and he is entirely at her service, a slave to this thing of beauty in his arms. She smiles and he feels, literally, a pang in the area of his heart as her trust moves him, inspires him to care for her even more, and each step they take transports them into another realm, where music and man and woman are one.

No, this is not an excerpt from Danielle Steele’s latest novel. This is an apt description of what happens every single night at the various milongas in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This is tango, and it rightly deserves its reputation for sensuality. The reported effects of tango are as heady as any drug, as deep as any meditation, and as earth-shattering as orgasm. If yin and yang dance – they dance tango.

What is it that makes tango so distinctive, so appealing?

A Brief History

The origins of tango can be found during the second half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries in Buenos Aires. The city at that time was a mixture of elegance and cosmopolitanism blended with poverty and misery, where the arrabales, or outskirts, of the city was a concentrated blend of immigrants, freed slaves, displaced guachos and native indigenous peoples, most of them poor. Unlike the immigrants who went to the US and settled in ghettos, those disembarking in Buenos Aires were more often than not forced to live under the same roof in conventillos, manors abandoned by the rich and built along a traditional Spanish colonial style with a central patio, which facilitated the exchange and sharing of cultural practices amongst the different peoples that settled here. Like all marginalised sectors of society, those living in the arrabales had different social codes than the economically privileged. Between the activity of the ports and slaughterhouses, the city received a constant influx of newcomers and rose to the challenge to meet their needs. Bars, music halls, eateries, whorehouses all thrived in the slums of Buenos Aires, as well as the human vices and violence that usually accompany them.

From this melting pot of cultures, languages and traditions, the tango was born. The underprivileged, having no wealth or possessions with which to distract themselves, had to subsume their misery in other activities. It comes as no surprise that they should seek solace in the most ancient of rituals: dance. An article in Critica in September, 1913, describes how men living in the conventillos would make fun of the Afro-Argentine candombes from the Mondongo district by dancing in this style to the music of the milonga, a folk music typical to the pampas. The combination of exiles, displaced peoples, sailors, migrant workers, white slaves – all with their own histories – was perfect for creating the crowded yet intimate scene which today is associated by the whole world with tango.

Bandoneon at center stage (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

What is tango?

Tango is first and foremost a musical style, with distinctive instrumentation, usually a sextet with violins, piano, bass, and bandoneon, with great emphasis on base rhythm, usually 2/4 time. The bandoneon, whose name is a corruption of this glorified concertina’s patent, Band-Union, is one of elements which lends tango its characteristic sound.  Some say there is a predominance of minor keys used in tango, which no doubt lends to its melancholy air, representative of the lost hopes and dreams, or faraway loves of those who developed the genre. There are distinct periods to the history of tango as music, but these are perhaps best savoured as they are expressed by Astor Piazzola, reluctant tango genius, in his Suite ‘History of Tango in 4 movements’: (Brothel 1900, Café 1930, Nightclub 1960, Concert d’Aujourd’hui).

Secondly, tangoes are songs, often of a nostalgic, reflexive nature. Enrique Santos Discepulo, one of the main lyricists/composers of tango (see Cambalache) during its Golden Age in the 20th century said: “Tango is a sad thought that you dance to.” While many tango lyrics are full of sexual innuendo, or double entendre, there is an element of melancholy that seems to mirror the lament of the bandoneon. The glory of days past, lost loves and opportunities, forgotten playthings or sunsets, and sad farewells are all grist to the tango mill. Arguably, the dramatic tone of tango lyrics reflects the lives of those who, unseen and unheard – except for the tango – made Buenos Aires what it is today. Tango became the mouthpiece of the masses, the way of expressing their sorrow at leaving their homes and their families, soothing their fear over the uncertainty of their futures in this new land, verbalizing their anger and criticism over the injustices that abounded at the time, and yes, crooning about their loves, both new and old. All these people had had to leave behind some aspect of their identity before arriving in Buenos Aires; tango was the voice of their new identity, and Carlos Gardel was and is their undisputed hero.

Last, but far from least, tango is a type of dance, at present either salon style or staged dancing. As refers to salon dancing, tango was and is danced in crowded rooms; there is a theory which claims that its complicated moves and counterclockwise lanes result from this reality of the milongas (tango dance hall) of Buenos Aires. The true innovation of tango in the area of dancing is that tightly closed embrace allows the hips and legs to be entirely free, giving rise to one European noble’s question: “Is it supposed to be danced standing up?” Dances such as the waltz, or polka, are sequence-based, that is, the same steps are followed at the same time. Tango allows for improvisation: the man must lead (especially if he doesn’t want to run into another couple) and the woman must follow – and never anticipate what the man’s next move might be. As one self-described tango maniac claims: “It is the male partner who makes it possible to be at one with the music.”

The Tao of Tango

Many Argentines will decline an invitation to attend a tango concert or competition, claiming the following to just name a few: a) I don’t like tango because it’s so male-oriented, so machista; or b) To dance tango you need a mysoginist and a defeatist:; or c) Women like tango because it fulfills their need for rape fantasy that otherwise they would get from romance novels. In reality, tango allows both dancers to fulfill the archetypal roles of male and female in equilibrium. Human rhythmic arts (i.e. dancing) are, according to Steven Mithen, author of The Singing Neanderthals, “rooted in courtship ritual”. Leave to the Argentines to get to the heart of the matter; tango is, without a doubt, courtship ritual taken to an aesthetic extreme. The balanced union of male and female each gracefully moving within the sphere of the other is a perfect embodiment of the yin-yang symbol, where male and female create the One, the Tao.

Salon Canning in Palermo (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Nevertheless, the generations born after the 1955 coup d’etat which ousted Peron grew up in a world where tango was censored and banned. Curfews made dancing at milongas practically impossible (although they seem not to be enforced in places that played imported music, such as rock-n-roll). Time and time again, the Argentine government in turn expressed distrust and fear before local expressions and favored foreign influences in all areas of society: agriculture, construction, engineering, economics, music, film and television among others. As a result many Argentines today never learned to dance tango or enjoy their most famous heritage—or have they? Argentines themselves have tango so incorporated into their daily lives, that the music and dancing oftentimes become superfluous. Tango could be described as a meta-culture, a culture that underlies the strata of the porteño’s mind. In other words, an Argentine lives and breathes tango; he/she doesn’t have to think it. Tango is a part of who Argentines are: their identity. This is why it is so important to delve into the world of tango to understand the local mentality; Argentines move to 2/4 time; they improvise; they sail through crowded streets and venues like nothing. In other words, all Argentines tango, whether they dance it or not.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

In October, 2009, the tango was declared world heritage by the UNESCO. Thanks to this induction, Argentina (and Uruguay) receive an annuity for “the promulgation, preservation, and education of this intangible cultural heritage”. Already there are efforts to foment new compositions, teach lyric writing and in general renovate the faltering genre. Milongas flourish, and more and more young people are showing interest in playing the bandoneon. As is fitting for a New World phenomena, tango is one of the youngest inductees into the UNESCO registry. Approximately one hundred years old, tango has penetrated modern man’s psyche unlike any other recent form. Although the joke is on the UNESCO: there is nothing intangible about the tango; it’s all hands-on.

Homero Manzi tango show in Boedo (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

It really does take two

The relief described by both men and women upon dancing tango appears to be related to this surrendering of unhealthy or irritating roles in daily life. Women seeking release from competitive, “masculizing’ roles professionally, or men who seek to assert their masculinity gracefully – these are some of the people who are attracted to the milongas. It would seem that each is able to carry out the archetypal part assigned to them: for the space of three minutes, the man encompasses and protects his prized partner; he is knight, prince, and hero all rolled into one. The woman becomes the centre of his universe, the end-all and be-all of his existence, his muse and goddess, cosseted and secure, while she yields to the subtle directions that he sends through his hands, totally given over to the experience. Tango practised thus fulfills all of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – from the physiological to self-actualization during one tanda (set of four tango dances). No wonder tango dancing has been described as a parallel universe, the effects similar to deep meditation and overflowing joy.

A Word of Warning

Tango is not for the faint of heart, nor is frequenting milongas. If you are in Buenos Aires (or Montevideo) and are determined to explore this side of life, please take a few tango classes where the codes which rule the game will be explained to you, and thus save you any uncomfortable misunderstandings once seated at your table. If you only want to listen to tango music, try the Centro Cultural Torcuato Tasso.

For a list of places to take tango classes, click here.

For a list of milongas to watch, or join in, click here.

Many thanks to the Biblioteca Nacional del Tango and my patient partner.