Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tango in Popular Culture
Buenos Aires is sometimes called a “tangopolis” or tango city.
Music plays on taxi drivers' radios, graffiti is on the walls, and
even films about contemporary issues often include a track of
old tango to conjure up the capital city's ineffable melancholy.
Tango in street art
is
popular and seen in murals
and graffiti decorating
walls all over Buenos Aires,
including this brightly
colored relief in the
La Boca area.
Tango in film
was first used in
Rudolph Valentino's
The Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse
, in
1921, to suggest illicit passion.
Tango in pop art
is usually
portrayed as a colorful and
vibrant social experience
by Argentinian painters,
despite the seeming
sobriety of the music.
This atmospheric work,
La Milonga 2
, was painted
in 2004 by Diego
Manuel Rodriguez.
The Best of Tango
Tangueros
(tango fans) all have their own halls of fame. Yet
everyone accepts that Carlos Gardel was an inspirational
pioneer and that Ástor Piazzolla was the last great revolu-
tionary to pick up a baton and lead tango down a new
path.
Bandoneón
legend Aníbal Troilo and singer Roberto
Goyeneche are up there in the pantheon too.
Carlos Gardel
was an
enormously popular
tango singer during the
early 1900s. His death in
an airplane crash at the
height of his career
created an image of a
tragic hero. For many
music fans, Gardel
embodies the soul of
Argentinian tango.
Adriana Varela
, with her smoky
voice, is a popular contemporary
tango singer. She is also outspoken
about her left-wing leanings.
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla
is
considered the most important
tango composer of the late 20th
century. His compositions revolu-
tionized traditional tango by adding
elements of modern jazz.
Juan Carlos Copes
is widely
recognized as the greatest dancer
of the modern age. He is famed for
his performances in the 1980s
show
Tango Argentino
.
