Tag: argentine tango

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How to Tango

1– Let Tango call you, seduce you, charm you, bewitch you.

“Tango you are an enchanter
of those who listen to your sounds.
Tango you attract hearts,
with your sweet songs
and your bandoneons.”

Listen to “Tango Brujo” by Juan D’Arienzo y su Orquesta Típica with Héctor Mauré in vocals (1943).

2– Tango is embodied. You can see it. It is that person or that couple dancing, which lets you know -intuitively, but nevertheless as undoubtedly real to you as objective empirical knowledge- what Tango is.
You want to Tango because you want to be different from yourself. You know that you have not fully expressed all your capabilities. You have been exhausting yourself in many cul de sacs of life, never reaching a sense of self-approval with your achievements, never being satisfied with the recognition you receive from others: your boss, your colleagues, your friends or family.
When you see Tango, you can see it, you get a strong sensation of knowing what you could be.
You realize that it is not anything on the surface. It is in the deepest knots of your web of existence that Tango has to be rooted.
You must learn Tango from whom presented it to you. You must ask to that person or that couple who made you become electrified, amazed you and made you feel that you must dance Tango, to teach you, or to recommend to you someone from whom you need to learn it. Tango is not a commodity. You cannot get Tango like gas from a gas station. You do not look for an advertisement for tango lessons and go to the one that is closest to your home, the most convenient or the cheapest.

Néstor La Vitola & Mónica Paz dancing at Cachirulo milonga, October 2007.

3– Tango defies you, challenges you, faces you, shouts at you, demands from you, puts you through pain. Take it all. Be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have pointed out to you what you do not like about yourself and maybe always tried to ignore and hide. It will all float to the surface of Tango and you will need to deal with it face to face. Continue reading at Medium.com.

“Pregonera” by Alfredo De Angelis y su Orquesta Típica, with Carlos Dante and Julio Martel (1945)

Alfredo De Angelis

After the mid-thirties, international music prevailed upon Tango to such an extent that our more traditional tango orchestras included foxtrots, polkas, corridos, pasodoble, congas, and rhumbas in its repertoire.
From Francisco Canaro, Francisco Lomuto, and the Típica Victor until Julio De Caro and Osvaldo Fresedo alternated tangos with the most extravagant music.
But the appearance of the audacious and fast beat of Juan D’Arienzo again placed tango into the preference of the young, who not only recovered the liking for its dance but also eagerly started to recreate it.
Hundreds of orchestras and vocalists sprang up, creating the revival of the two-four, and so came the wonderful forties.
Alfredo De Angelis belongs to the group of orchestras that focused their interest on dancing. However, this does not mean they lacked artistic value; on the contrary, they were precise in execution, with good arrangements, and lined up with great musicians and vocalists.
Our intellectual élite always looked down on popular things, on what was easily accepted by people’s choice, because they disregarded and disregard the sociocultural phenomenon represented by dancing.
I always heard people say that De Angelis was a merry-go-round orchestra, that it was only used for dancing rooms, and lacked creativity. I guess the expression alluded to the funny habit of the dancers of their displacement on the place, turning round following the outline of the dancing floor. From another point of view, the criticism may aim at the easy, elementary, and routine music of the merry-go-rounds (carrousels).
I find these definitions somewhat mistaken.
De Angelis had the beauty of a harmonious and synchronized work, from which a neat simple tango was evidenced, achieved through efficient handling of rhythm, a careful respect for melody, and the showcasing of the singer. Continue reading at www.todotango.com….

“El Pescante” by Lucio Demare y su Orquesta Típica with Raúl Berón (1943)

Homero Manzi

Poet and lyricist
(November 1, 1907 – May 3, 1951)

Manzi has given, like no one else, poetry to tango lyrics. However, he was a poet who never published a book of poems.

His poetry was evidenced only through songs, from country themes to urban music, the latter where he would be at his best. In this way he became immensely popular without giving up his poet feelings.

He resorted to metaphors, even surrealist, but never so much as to prevent ordinary people from fully understanding his message. Continue reading at www.todotango.com.

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José María Contursi. Argentine Tango music at Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires from Marcelo Solis collection.

“Gricel” by Anibal Troilo y su Orquesta Típica with Francisco Fiorentino in vocals, 1942.

Listen to “Gricel” by Anibal Troilo y su Orquesta Típica with Francisco Fiorentino (1942):

José María Contursi

A lyricist essentially poetic, sensitive and prolific, José María Contursi created a great number of hits. His huge work reveals a creator of even inspiration, careful and experienced though somewhat reiterative in his themes and only exceptionally original and truly daring. This prevents him from being among the supreme authors although some of his lyrics deserve to be within the most consummated of the genre. In fact, he aided, as few did, with his refined language to raise the average quality of the tango canción ( tango with lyrics to be sung ). He conceived numerous celebrated pieces in collaboration with various of the best composers, who saw in him a crafted lyricist, whose verses always produced the appropriate mood. His first known work, the waltz “Tu nombre”, dates from 1933, almost 20 years after his father Pascual Contursi, gave birth to the tango canción on some little Montevideo nights. Continue reading at www.todotango.com...

Ricardo Viqueira, maestro milonguero. Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires.

Ricardo Viqueira & Maria Plazaola

Ricardo Viqueira & Maria Plazaola dancing at Cachirulo milonga, 2014.

Ricardo Viqueira

Is a “milonguero porteño” and his connection to tango has deep roots. In his teaching Ricardo emphasizes the close embrace style and the roles of the axis and connection. He teaches his students how to recognize opportunities to change direction, develop the ability to dance in small or crowded spaces, and to create their own personal dance.

He is one of the most respected and sought-after teachers in Buenos Aires where he regularly teaches and in the rest of the world is well known exponent of the “milonguero” culture.

Ricardo is renowned for dancing Milonga with Traspié and Canyengue. He was the man behind the revival of the historic and well known Club Sin Rumbo in the neighborhood of Villa Urquiza. He also organized the Cristal Tango in Avenida San Martin in Buenos Aires.

Maria Plazaola

Started to dance with Gloria and Rodolfo Dinzel in 1993. She later taught at the Universidad del Tango de Buenos Aires and since March 2001 she has shared the directorship of La Academia at de Tango Milonguero with Susana Miller, where she gives lessons and seminars throughout the year.From March 2002 she danced professionally with Carlos Gavito, with whom she performed and taught workshops in Buenos Aires, as well as on tours and in festivals in Europe, Japan and Russia. With Gavito she performed innumerable times, including at the Palais de Glace in Buenos Aires, and the closing nights of the International Tango Festival organized by the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and the Congreso Internacional de Tango Argentino (C.I.T.A.) in 2003 and 2004. She continues to tour internationally, and has participated in festivals throughout Europe, Asia, the Pacific and the USA.Maria studied anthropology and her work in tango is characterized by research and teaching of the milonguero language, which she learned and still learns dancing in the best milongas in Buenos Aires, although these days she is also happily dedicated to being a mother.