It Takes Two to Tango: An Exploration of the Intercultural Exchange of Buenos Aires and Modern America

Danielle Bodette

  The Tango, an explicit dance from the roots of Buenos Aires, has gone through many changes and received many embellishments to become one of the most popular styles of music and dance in the world today. It has survived the test of time and has grown from the ghettos to the glorious settings in which it is performed. Although its storied past and globalizing journey has expanded for over a century, it has become a phenomenon that captivates people even today.

The History of the Tango

  The history of the tango begins with the huge influx of immigrants Buenos Aires experienced in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. According to The Unity of Music and Dance in World Cultures, these immigrants consisted of "mostly poor people seeking a new way of life" (Akombo 125). Few of these poor people were women and even fewer families. It consisted of mostly young men looking to make their fortunes which led to the creation of a large lower class of males in the region. Buenos Aires also hosted many young sailors stopping at the port, which had become a popular break in travel for sailors. With the creation of the lower class and the hosting of sailors came the development of brothels, bars, and gambling casinos. It also led to the development of "conventillos," housing for poor immigrants that had large common areas where tenants would enjoy personal time and eventually became a social square where tenants would dance.

  The tango of Buenos Aires, Argentina is actually a fusion of African, Indian, Spanish, and European music. According to The Tango in the United States, the lower class in Buenos Aires "copied and imitated what they heard, laying the groundwork for the birth of Argentina's very own rhythm" (Groppa 14). Tango music became quickly associated with the underclasses. The dance developed soon after, in the brothels between lower class men and women, often prostitutes, and was created "as an aggressive dance, expressing the dancer's sexual instincts more than their feelings" (Groppa 15). As an early form of dance where touching between the female and her male dancing partner was highly emphasized it faced immediate backlash and criticism. Many people of the higher social classes initially looked down on it and merely saw it as a scandalous act of the underclasses.

  The Tango quickly spread through the lower class realm in Buenos Aires through brothels and prostitution. As the tango became more popular, it began to represent, as described in Dancing Across Borders, "the body dancing to latin rhythms analyzing and articulating the conflicts that have crossed its identity" (Shay 170). According to Tango, "prostitution ran right through the social scale, and the tango itself soon found its way into high-class" awareness (Cooper 48). The scandalous dance began to gain more acceptance as higher class members began to enjoy it in various settings. David Castro points out a large difference in its presence in the two different classes in The Argentine Tango as Social History by stating that "for the lower classes the tango expressed the frustration and alienation of urban life, while for the upper classes it provided a means of escape from moral and social restrictions" (Castro 7). The tango continued to expand through the social hierarchy, from brothels to high class "tango teas," where professional dancers were paid to dance the tango during the afternoon tea, but it was "not until the late 1920s did all Argentine social classes accept the tango" (Castro 7). Eventually those travelling to Buenos Aires, and immigrants returning to their home countries, brought awareness of this new dance to other countries and their cultures, sparking great global interest.

The Globalization of the Tango

  After 1900, the tango went on an upward climb to triumph. From the high class societies of Argentina, it "invaded the dance floors of Pairs and London and was taken up by high society" (Cooper 61). From there the tango began to travel all across Europe, not only changing what people thought of music and dance but also gender roles and society in general. Tango! points out that "the tango transformed conventions and scruples: women who, a few years earlier, would not have left the house unaccompanied, lost the fear instilled by their mothers; and allowed themselves to be closely embraced by dancing partners" (Cooper 77). As it travelled across Europe and eventually the world, it left its footsteps and changed various aspects of society. But it was not until it reached America, more specifically New York, in 1913 did it truly burst in popularity.

  The tango went from harsh criticism in Argentina to headlines reading "All New York Now Madly Whirling in the Tango" in America (Cooper 91). However, through the process of the tango being globalized, its identity became mangled and the "Argentinian tango in the United States was based not on the authentic tango but on the European tango Americans listened and saw danced in Paris and later in London" (Groppa 3). This is what first started the frustration that the tango had been "Americanized" when really it had taken on aspects of various cultures before entering America. With that being said, at first Americans did not want to acknowledge the origins of such a dance, and it wasn't really until the 1980s that it became to be referred to as the Argentine tango in America where the originating culture eventually gained curiosity and respect.

  The "Americanized" tango formed fairly quickly in the social culture of the United States. Many wondered why Americans responded to the tango in such a way and as explained in Dancing Across Borders, "Latin America music, with its frequently African base, is driven, above all, by compelling rhythms, which mainstream Americans perceive as hot and fiery" (Shay 169). All of this Latin "hotness" was initially displayed by cinema and ballroom dance star Rudolph Valentino and others who created an intriguing spin-off of the traditional dance. From the traditional, somewhat sexualized dance from its roots in Buenos Aires, America created a more intense image of a very sexualized, dark, and rigid dance dressed in red and black lace surrounded by deep red roses. In Buenos Aires, as noted earlier, the tango was created as an expression of the frustration and alienation felt by the lower classes but Americans have come to see it as a "sexy deliciously dangerous form of choreographic expression" (Shay 169). Although the idea of the tango has slightly changed since it first came to America, the United States has definitely left a mark on the history of the dance.

The Tango Today

  In present day, the tango is more popular than ever, especially in American entertainment culture. The most prominent examples we see today are the constant feature of the tango on Dancing with the Stars and even more recently on the American competitive dating show, The Bachelorette. In Dancing with the Stars, each week there is usually always at least one couple dancing the tango, a great example being the attached video of this past season where Ginger Zee and dance professional Valentin Chmerkovskiy depict the "Americanized" image of the tango. Interesting enough, the tango has become so popular, musicians are finding ways to remix popular songs in American culture to incorporate a rhythm and 'mood' to them that could fit the tango while entertaining a modern audience. In The Bachelorette, this past season depicted a destination date where Joelle Fletcher and her date spent the day with a professional tango dancer in Argentina learning how to tango properly. Another interesting aspect about this destination date is that although Joelle was in Buenos Aires, the home of the tango, she still dressed in the American tango image with curled hair and a deep red dress.

  With that being said, since the 1980s there has also been a revival of culture appreciation for the history of the tango and more people than ever before are looking to its roots when learning the Argentine tango. Many travel to "search for a real and authentic dance experience" and "the newer generation . . . seeks the authentic and makes the pilgrimage to Argentina to experience the 'real' tango" (Shay 170). This cultural awareness came with the resurgence of the tango in the late 1900s where before older generations had merely focused on the tango's violations of at-the-time social constructions and expectations.

  The interest in the tango continues to grow not only in America, but worldwide. Its storied past is full of inspiration, romance, and temptation but has come a long way in its development. From a criticized expression from the underclasses to the main entertainment in higher class societies, it has remained as a remarkably bright and exciting dance over the years and has become a prominent aspect in the music and dance worlds. It is undeniable that the tango has had an enormous impact on the Argentinian national identity and has become an integral part of its culture.