Milonguita carlos gardel biography

Learning tango, whether as a dance or as a genre of music, becomes more meaningful when you understand the tango lyrics you’re dancing or listening to.

Many dancers believe that knowing the words to tango songs allows them to deeply feel the music.

But did you know that tango songs have a fascinating history, and tango lyrics have evolved dramatically over the years?

Some take tango lyrics seriously, while others see tango songs as merely a way to provide some background music for the tango dance.

But regardless of your opinion on tango music, it’s helpful to understand how tango evolution has occurred over time.

The Birth of Tango Music

Argentine tango has its roots in the 19th century when tango music was first created. Immigrants from Europe and Africa experimented with different music genres, and it quickly became popular throughout Argentina.

Initially played in brothels, tango songs were predominantly instrumental, and the lyrics weren’t as important as the music.

The genre was also called the music of the

•

The second part of the Guardia Vieja period lasted from approximately 1910 to 1935. I say approximately because the styles and changes of this period blended very smoothly with the preceding and following periods. It is not as if on January 1, 1910 people started composing and playing differently.

This period saw:

• Tangomania sweep Europe and the US
• Greater acceptance by the middle and upper classes of Buenos Aires
• The formation of the Orquesta Tîpica
• Carnivals
• Tango-canción take off with Carlos Gardel
• The advent of the women's orquestas.

Tangomania
Up until the early 1910s, tango had largely been a past time of the lower classes. It had been played and danced in cafés, bordellos, restaurants, conventillos but not in the salons of the elite. After Tangomania swept Europe and the US, this all changed and tango began to be embraced by the middle and upper classes of Buenos Aires. It is impossible to understate the popularity of Tango in Europe. It was the rage of the salons and made headlines in newspapers.

Enrique Saborido, the composer of many tan

•

Carlos Gardel

While Carlos Gardel is an icon - he is to Argentine people what Elvis is to Americans - his music was made for listening not necessarily dancing.
Gardel is very famous and thus his recordings are widely available. You can find them in any record store and because of this many people think that they is popular for dancing. Actually, in my experience Gardel is rarely, if ever played in the milongas I have been to in America or in Argentina. In fact, he died tragically young in a plane crash in 1935 before the Golden Age of tango dancing in Argentina even happened. The golden age was from the late 1930s through the 1950s. This is when the bulk of recordings suited for dancing were made. The big orchestras were namely those of Juan D'Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, Osvaldo Pugliese, Anibal Troilo, Miguel Calo, Francisco Canaro, Angel D'Agostino, Alfredo De Angelis, Pedro Laurenz, and Ricardo Tanturi. The songs of these orchestras had strong, clear, steady yet complex dance rhythms. You do not find this in most of Gardel's music. Unfortunately these orchestras