Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tango Music
Small musical ensembles that accompanied early tango dances were influenced by polka,
habanera, Spanish and Italian melodies, plus African
candombe
drums. The
bandoneón,
a
type of small accordion, was brought into these sessions and has since become tango's sig-
nature instrument. The tango song was permeated with nostalgia for a disappearing way of
life; it summarized the new urban experience for the immigrants. Themes ranged from pro-
found feelings about changing neighborhoods to the figure of the mother, male friendship
and betrayal by women. The lyrics, sometimes raunchy and sometimes sad, were sung in
the street argot known as
lunfardo
.
No other musician has influenced tango like Carlos Gardel, the legendary singer who
epitomized the soul of the genre. He achieved stardom during tango's golden age, then be-
came a cultural icon when his life was cut short by a plane crash at the height of his pop-
ularity. Over the years, other figures like Osvaldo Pugliese, Susana Rinaldi and Eladia
Blásquez have also given life to the tango song. It was Àstor Piazzolla, however, who com-
pletely revolutionized the music with his
nuevo tango,
which introduced jazz and classical-
music currents into traditional songs - and ruffled some feathers along the way.
Today, a clutch of new arrivals is keeping tango music alive and well, and in the spot-
light. The most popular is the 12-musician cooperative
Orquesta Típica Fernández Fierro
(
www.fernandezfierro.com
)
, with its charismatic singer Walter Chino Laborde and several fant-
astic albums boasting new arrangements of traditional tangos. An award-winning docu-
mentary was made about them by Argentine-born, Brooklyn-based director Nicolas Entel.
Two other young orchestras to watch out for are
Orquesta Típica Imperial
(
www.elafronte.com.ar
)
, which plays on Monday and Wednesday at Bendito and Maldita Mi-
longas in San Telmo (both at Perú 571).
