The archetype of the instrumental tango Halfway through the decade of the ‘20s, the period of renovation headed by Julio De Caro, the veterans of the old guard felt the shakedown provoked by what they perceived as the transformation of the tango into “church music.” Meanwhile, the youngsters were treasuring the copies of the new [...]

Captain of the tango industry In memory of Francisco Canaro, who died on December 14, 1964 By Alberto Paz History does not keep records about weaklings. To name Francisco Canaro is to name somebody who represents the very essence of the development and growth of the tango both as a musician and a director. Few [...]

The decade that followed the establishment of the Sexteto Tipico as the standard formation for all tango orchestras, was a period of greatness for the evolutionary development of the tango, primarily as music to be listened to as well as danced. A reading of most chronicles of the time clearly indicates a condescending bias with [...]

Many Argentine expatriates who find themselves ever so far from Buenos Aires, find a consolation of sorts when they hear the musical notes of a sweet tango crying out from the bellows of a bandoneon. Many hearts have cried longing for Buenos Aires under the sun of another sky while listening to its nostalgic song. [...]

Those who have written about the tango and its origin, usually have not been interested in the popular aspect, only in the marginal, ‘forbidden” part. That makes all their body of work historically irrelevant for not being representative of the entire porteño society. As a consequence of quoting each other in their perpetuation of tales [...]

Long before the tango became the target of scorn because of its provocative choreography and the character of its practitioners, the puritanical arrows of disdain were aimed at another dance with similar uncertain origins that caught the imagination of European society. Historical records indicate that the origin of the word waltz refers to the action [...]

For many dancers it may not be clear what it is meant by the “code of the tango.” The ‘code’ is simple an agreed prescription for the way the woman crosses one of her legs relative to where the man is (her right or her left) when she dances around him. When she dances to [...]

When it comes to planning the music for a tango party, the ideal situation is to go with the “Big Bands” and the “Hit Parade.” A typical CD will run on the average for about an hour. On the average there are 20 selections on a CD. The use of computers makes it even easier [...]

The birth of the golden years By Alberto Paz Copyright (c) 2000-2011, Planet Tango. All Rights Reserved The business success of the Argentine tango posed a threat to the American record and film companies following the Great Depression. An all out attack was launched to sell the entertainment products coming from the North to a [...]