Looked down upon by the wealthy and aristocratic residents of Buenos Aires, the tango gradually danced its way into the upper classes, who took it to Europe where it became the rage in Paris in the early 1920's.
From there, it returned in triumph to Argentina, where in the 1940's and 1950's it enjoyed great popularity, and a number of tango singers, such as Carlos Gardel, Anibal Troilo and Astor Piazzolla surged to great fame.
With the change in musical tastes of the 1960's and beyond, it looked like the tango had passed away, with only a few diehards still dancing. Then along came a show called Tango Argentino in the 1980's, and this sensual, emotional dance came back in force.
Today, people all around the world dance the tango. It is wildly popular in Scandinavia, in Japan (see this Norika - Tango Argentina VCD movie in Japanese with Chinese subtitles) and other countries. Tango schools and clubs offer lessons. There is a language associated with the dance, as seen in these Tango Terms.
Though the steps of the tango are stylized, the individual dancers personalize the dance. It is an expression of romance, of mood and emotion, of love gone wrong, of heartbreak and passion, of life and death. It's an intimate, silent conversation between the dancers. The music tugs at the heartstrings. Tango singers convey the emotional content of the lyrics with their voices. Today, the dancers and singers perform in clubs, in shows, and wherever tango fans congregate.
The annual Festival Buenos Aires Tango and the Congreso Internacional de Tango Argentino (CITA) are to Buenos Aires what the samba competitions during Carnaval are to Rio de Janeiro. Tango clubs and schools vie, dancers from around the world swell the dancehalls and the clubs. See this El Mapa del Tango for Milonga and tangueria locations.
There is dancing in the streets of Buenos Aires. Tango dancers often dance in the streets of various barrios, often for money, at any time of the year, but during the festival, as outlined in Tango-tour, Buenos Aires and its porteños are highlighted.
Please read the next page for some of the many resources about the tango.
