Tango is something that Argentina is known for around the world. It is a "rioplatence" (from the Rio de la Plata) musical style that comes from the cities of Buenos Aires and Rosario in Argentina, and Montevideo in the neighboring country Uruguay. Its main instrument is the bandoneón (called bandonion by its German inventor, Heinrich Band) plays an essential part in the sextet that makes up the tango orchestra. Its choreography is extremely sensual and complex, based on the constant hug of the couple dancing.
Tango has, since its origin between the years 1850 and 1890, always had a general theme expressing the sadness, especially caused by love, that a man or woman from the town feels. The letters are usually written with a sort of slang from this part of Argentina known as lunfardo, and, as one of the tangos greatest poets, Enrique Santos Discépolo, once said, tango is like "a sad thought that is danced."
Just like the tango dance first formed in Argentina when a wave of immigrants came here to settle in the middle of the 19th century, it was made internationally known by Argentineans travelling to some of the greatest cities of the world, like Paris and New York, where it soon became a common nightlife spectacle. This newly acquired world fame gave the dance the possibility to develop, adding more complicated movements than was commonly used in the traditional tango danced in humble bars that were its origin.
In the 1960 the tango dancing took a deep fall in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and could only be seen in a few "milongas" around the city. But then, in the 1980:s a new tango fever was started thanks to the success of the "Tango Argentino" show put on by Claudio Sgovia and Hector Orezzoli, first in Paris and later on Broadway.
Currently the City of Buenos Aires is full of "milongas" and "tanguerias" with orchestras and dancers open for the public. Many restaurants have live tango shows, giving people the possibility to experience the meats and wines of Argentina together with the famous tango shows. There are also several small bars where the more traditional tango shows are held. Small spaces with room only for the most daring dancers and tango lovers in search of great performers.
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