Tango In Argentina example essay topic

The man and woman face each other, with the man holding the woman's right hand in his left, and with his right arm around her. The Tango is the third dance to use this hold for couple dancing. The Viennese Waltz is the first dance done in this couple hold. It was very popular in Europe in the 1830's. Couple dancing before the Viennese Waltz was very formal and did not involve a lot of physical contact just mainly holding hands.

About 10 years after the Viennese Waltz came the Polka. Also taking Europe by storm, the Polka became the newest craze to use this scandalous new hold. Tango was extremely different from anything that came before it, and was the biggest influence on all couple dancing in the Twentieth Century. The story of tangos evolution is a mystery but, what is known is that it was immigrants coming into Argentina who brought these new couple dances with there more intimate hold. The first piece of written music that called itself Tango was written and published in Argentina in 1857.

"Toma mate, che" was the song. In this period the meaning of Tango probably meant Tango Anda luz, Andalucia n Tango, a style of music from eastern Europe mainly Spain. The origin of the word "Tango" in Argentina is still a mystery but it is believed to come from Argentina. The most common theory was that the community of African descent put the name of their god with the Spanish word for drum (tabor) and then came up with the word "Tango". In Argentina Tango had a much different meaning then that in Spain. Members of the African community in Buenos Aires certainly joined in and influenced the development of the dance and music, just as members all the other communities in Buenos Aires did.

Nowadays the Tango is something of high class or upper society. It's very sophisticated but, during the times of its origin, it became popular in the slums, or the underbelly of Argentina. The immigrants of Europe, Africa, and other unknown ports streamed into the outskirts of Buenos Aires in the 1880's. They would find their amusement in drinking and sex. They would go to the whorehouses to satisfy their need to keep busy.

From this came a mix of cultures and eventually the creation of the Tango. Although it can't be proven that this is its exact origin this is the theory that is most logical. The relentless rhythms that the African slaves, the, beat on their drums (known as tan-go); the popular music of the pampas (flatland's) known as the milo nga, which combined Indian rhythms with the music of early Spanish colonists; and other influences, including Latin. Some say the word 'tango' comes from the Latin word tangere (to touch.) It was the dance of sorrow. It speaks with body language. More then just frustrated love, it is also said to speak of death and pain.

It was the perfect dance for social outcasts; it epitomized their feelings about their life. The act in the Tango was originally intended to be for a prostitute and her pimp. Even some titles in the tango referred to characters in the world of prostitution. Other acts were for two men to fight for the love of a woman where it would always end in death. The tango was very sexual and violent, not literally but that's what it was intended to mean.

In 1912 the lower classes were allowed to vote because of the universal suffrage law in Argentina. The lower class saw to legitimize many of its cultures mainstream, including the Tango. It was still seen as an obscene dance during this time. When wealthy sons of Argentine society families made their way to Paris and introduced the tango into a society eager for innovation and not entirely averse to the risqu'e nature of the dance or dancing with young, wealthy Latin men. By 1913, the tango had become an international phenomenon in Paris, London and New York. There were tango teas, tango train excursions and even tango colors-most notably orange.

The Argentine elite who had shunned the tango was now forced into accepting it with national pride. It developed into a worldwide phenomenon. Everyone was doing it and it wasn't long until America was to. In the U.S.A. the women used "bumper", which was a sort of padding, to not rub to closely to the male dance partner. The dance appeared in movies and tango singers traveled the world. By the 1930's, the Golden Age of Argentina was beginning.

The country became one of the ten richest nations in the world and music, poetry and culture flourished. The tango came to be a fundamental expression of Argentine culture, and the Golden Age lasted through the 1940's and 1950's. The tango became an art of Argentinean high society. Tango was reigning supreme in the cabarets and theatres frequented by the rich. Out of this culture, the tango musician became elevated to professional composer status. ' The 20th Century is a trash heap.

No one can deny it,' Was a famous line by Enrique Santos Discepolo a philosopher / singer of tango. It was in response to a military coup in 1930 that ended the citizen's right to vote. The people of Argentina felt as if they didn't have a say in anything anymore. Tango revived in the late 1930's when the Argentinean masses regained a good measure of their political freedom. They celebrated their social rise with the tango, which became a symbol of their physical solidarity and part of their daily life.

Again, tango musicians emerged who took the form in new directions including Fre sedo, de Caro, Pugliese, and Anibal Troi lo. Tango's fortunes have always been tied to economic conditions and this was very true in the 1950's. During this time, as political repression developed, lyrics reflected political feelings until they started to be banned as subversive. The dance and its music went underground as large dance venues were closed and large gatherings in general were prohibited.

The tango survived in smaller, unpublicized venues and in the hearts of the people. When Juan Peron rose to power in 1946 the tango again reached the pinnacle of popularity in Argentina, as both he and his wife Evita embraced it wholeheartedly. Yet, with Evita's death in 1952, the tango again fell from the mainstream spotlight. The necessity of going underground combined with the eventual invasion of rock and roll sent the tango into decline until the mid-1980's when the stage show Tango Argentino opened in Paris.

Once again Paris was ground zero for igniting tango excitement worldwide. The show toured the world and stimulated a revival in Europe, North America and Japan that we are part of today. Work Cited 1. Band onion: A Tango History by Javier Garcia Mendez, Arturo Penon 2. The Argentine Tango As Social History, 1880-1955: The Soul of the People (Latin American Studies, Vol 3) by Donald S. Castro 3. Tango: An Art History of Lovely ROBERT FARRIS THOMPSON.