TANGO HISTORY

The history of tango is as colorful as the dance itself - evolving from folk
dance and milonga, having at its heart a multitude of cultural influences.


TANGO ETYMOLOGY
It is said that the essence of a thing is contained in its name. Thus before
we examine the history of tango, let us pause, briefly, and focus on the
word tango itself.

Etymology is the study of the history of words and how their form and
meaning have changed over time. So what does the etymology of tango
show us?

Well for one, whilst there are no proven derivatives of the word, there are
a large number of theories in place as to how the word came to be. Given
that it is a very recent dance (circa 1880) the implication is that tango
arose from a number of sources simultaneously - and indeed that is true.

The most widely held theory for how the word 'tango' arose

Argentina was colonised by Spain in 1542. During the centuries that
followed, millions of African slaves were imported, and more than two
thirds of these came from the Eastern and Equatorial regions of Africa
called Bantu. The drum-based music and dance that originated in Bantu -
still played today - is called Candomb. Those slaves used the
word tang both for the drum used to perform the Candomb, the place
at which they performed the music, and the dances themselves*.
* REFERENCE: V. Rossi: Cosas De Negros, Buenos Aires, 1926; and C. Vega: Danzas Y Canciones
Argentinas, Buenos Aires, 1936..

Later, in Spanish speaking Latin America, the word tango slowly came to
be applied to black dances in general - and eventually to the modern
tango.

Very interestingly, the Real Academia Espaola (Royal Spanish
Academy), which is the official organ responsible for regulating the
Spanish language, founded in 1713, defined tango in its 1899 edition as
a fiesta and dance of negroes or gente del pueblo [those that belong to
lower socio-economical class] in America. In 1803, tango was defined as
a variant of tngano, which meant a bone or rock used to play the game
bearing the same name. In the 1925 edition this definition was changed
to dance of high society, imported from America at the beginning of this
century as well as music for this dance and Drum of Honduras. It was not
until 1984 that tango was officially defined as an Argentinean dance! It is
thus no wonder that the Real Academia Espaola is sometimes criticized
for being somewhat slow to reflect language evolution.

The first written use of the word tango in its modern form is found in a
1786 document signed by the Spanish governor of Louisiana, which has
in it los tangos, o bailoes de negros meaning the tangos, or dances of the
blacks.

Other explanations for the etymological roots of word 'tango'
include:
A word from Africa meaning closed space or reserved grounds.
Derivation of the word tambo, used by slave traders to indicate
a place where the slaves were kept.
In his book Tango: The Art History of Love, Robert Farris
Thompson defines a list of further derivatives of African words related
to tango, including tanga (meaning festival, or a ceremony marking
the end of mourning), tanga dungulu (to walk or show
off), tangala (walk heavily orstagger), tangala-tangala (walk like a
crab), tangama (leap) and taganana (walk).
The sound of the Candomb drumbeat.
Derivation of an African dialect in which tang meant to touch, to
feel or get close to.
Derivation of the Latin verb tangere meaning to touch.
The music historian Carlos Vega wrote that a dance called tango
existed in the 18th century in Mexico, which was danced individually
and not as a couple.
Archives of the Holy Inquisition in Mexico refer to the ancient tango as
a song in 1803.
In the beginning of the 1800s, the tango was developed in Brazil in
the chorinho style.
A derivative of the name of the Yoruba god of lightning and
thunder, Shango, which would have sounded like 'tango' in Cuba.
A derivative of the word tangonette meaning a special variety of
castanet used in dancing.
Vernon and Irene Castle state in their book Modern Dancing that in
fact tango is not of South American origin but is a gypsy dance.
The Milford Mail wrote in 1914 that the tango was of Japanese
descent.
THE EVOLUTION OF TANGO
The evolution of tango is shown below. This evolution is described at
length within this article.



Evolutionary timeline of Tango



THE BIRTH OF TANGO
Tango was born of a complex melting pot of freed slaves, immigrants,
social segregation, poverty and racism. The major influences leading to
tango included the following:

African Slaves and Candomb

Buenos Aires was a major hub for African slavery, particularly during the
1800s - where almost one quarter of Buenos Aires inhabitants were
black. Unlike many other countries, slaves in Argentina were permitted
certain rituals - one of which being the drum-based music and dance
called theCandomb. After slavery was abolished in 1853, the
Candomb continued to flourish, evolving into the milonga, and
ultimately into tango.



Candomb music



Original slave sale document dated 1797 showing the sale and official
ownership in Peru of a 16-year-old woman slave who arrived through
Chile and was sold in Buenos Aires


Habanera, Contradanza and Polka

Another dance brought into Buenos Aires by black slaves was
the habanera, at about 1850. This dance originated from Havana, Cuba,
and was co-derived from the Spanish contradanza. It combined the
African undulation of the hips with something similar to the European
waltz. This was further fused with the polka to act as a major stimulant for
the origins of tango.

Gauchos

The word gaucho described a rough individual, normally traveling alone
or with a woman - having as baggage only the clothes on his back and his
knife. Gauchos were intricately familiar with the landscape and were
considered the very best breed of cowboys. Gauchos regularly
held payadasin which the payadores (a paydore being a singer at la
payada) competed through improvisation with guitars.



The Life of a Gaucho



Gaucho - 1870

Creoles

The word Creole (Criollo in Spanish) described those working class
Argentineans of "old stock", often descendants of mixed race Spanish
and Afro background. The term was negative, implying someone who has
lived for so long in Argentina that they have gone as wild and barbaric as
the countryside - in other words, gone native. Creoles had very strong
influence on tango - almost mythical - and in fact Carlos Gardel's
repertoire was known as creole rural music, consisting
ofestilo, cifra, triunfo, cielito, milonga, zamba and vals criollo.

Gringos

Gringos were the descendants of European migrants, mostly Italians; like
Creoles, they were often poor and working class.

Compadres and Compadritos

Around 1880, the Argentine government distributed much of the country-
side to aristocratic owners and European immigrants. As a result, many
gauchos were forced to move into the poorest suburbs of Buenos Aires.
These gauchos eventually became to be known as compadres. These
compadres had roots in the rural areas, and were often employed in the
slaughter houses that proliferated around there. Compadritos were very
similar to compadres, but were of city background rather than rural -
many of these resided in the arrabales, which were the outmost slums of
Buenos Aires. Both compadres and compadritos were the men who hung
out on the streets of Buenos Aires - reputed to be macho but likeable
scoundrels, often carrying knifes, avoiding work, and living for women and
tango.

Simon Collier, the notable tango historian, has vividly
described compadres in The Popular Roots of Argentine Tango as
follows:


The free nomadic gaucho world had more or less vanished by the 1880s, yet
the suburban compadre did perhaps inherit certain gaucho values:
pride, independence, ostentatious masculinity, a propensity to settle
matters of honor with knives. More numerous than the compadres
were the young men of poor background who sought to imitate them
and who were known as compadritos, street toughs well depicted in the
literature of the time and easily identifiable by their contemporaries
from their standard attire: slouch hat, loosely-knotted silk neckerchief,
knife discreetly tucked into belt, high-heeled boots. The tango was thus
populated by compadres and compadritos at a time when the gauchos
heroes were important in popular culture and literature. Gauchos and
compadritos, in a kind of unusual blending, become, during this
period, related to the ideology and objectives of the traditionalist
movement in Argentina.

A 1913 tango called El Apache Argentino depicts the compadrito as
follows:


He's the Argentine outlaw,
proud to be a thug.
He'll defend to the death
the woman he loves.

Sharp and cocky,
he gambles on his life
when rivals show up,
making bets with his knife.


Brothels

There are many sources that claim that tango originated from being
danced at brothels. This is amyth and is examined at length in the article
around Tango in Brothels.

Criminals

Tango was in its early days the dance of the poor, the lower class, the
dispossessed, and many of those were bandits and criminals. In fact quite
a few early tango songs are in Lunfardo, which was the language of the
criminals that evolved into the Buenos Aires street lingo.


MILONGA
A milonga was a place where dancing in close embrace was practiced,
considered scandalous and immoral by the upper classes - since at that
time, only dances without physical contact were deemed acceptable. It is
at this time that the Bandonen was introduced as well.

The milonga is considered by many historians to be the predecessor of
the tango. It is an urbanized folk dance derived primarily from a fusion of
the Cuban Habanera, the Mazurka, the Polka, theBrazilian
Macumba and in particular the Candomb and the Payada.

The earliest tangos were mostly milongas rather than true tangos, with
ensembles consisting of bandonen, flute and guitar.

See this website's article on Milonga for extensive information on this
subject - a must read for those interested in Tango History.


QUEBRADA
In the late 1880s and 1890s, there was a new style of couple dancing
called the baile de corte y quebradas (cut and break dance), which
featured sudden stops called cortes. In the Candombmen and women
danced apart whilst in the Quebrada they danced together. John
Chasteen, in his book looking at the Origin of Tango wrote that:
The characteristic profile of modern tango choreography finally emerged
from an encounter between Candomb moves and the closed-couple
choreography of the international ballroom repertoire.
Simon Collier in his book looking at the Roots of Tango also said that:
The tango... was just a fusion of disparate and convergent elements: the jerky,
semi-athletic contortions of the Candomb, the steps of the milonga
and mazurka, the adapted rhythm and melody of the habanera.
Europe, America and Africa all met in the arrabales of Buenos Aires,
and thus the tango was born by improvisation, by trial and error, and
by spontaneous popular creativity.


PIVOTAL MOMENT IN TANGO (PUN INTENDED)
The 1890s presented a momentous point for tango - a halt in movement
was introduced, in which the man would stand still while the woman
would dance aside him in a rotating style - in other words, the creation of
that most beautiful, the infamous, the sensual ocho.

This led to the embracing of bodies, touching of faces, and the man
leading and woman following.

True tango was born!


TANGO CRIOLLO
Tango Criollo or Creole Tango, first appeared around 1897 and was
popular until about 1910. This was used to differentiate the lyrical Spanish
tango from the Habanera. Later, the local names ofTango
Orillero, Arrabalero and Canyengue developed as derivatives of Tango
Criollo, due to subtle changes according to who or where the tango was
danced. When tango first begun, it is extremely unlikely there were any
differences between these styles; however as tango evolved, so did the
differences appear in their interpretations.

The Tango Criollo marks more of an evolution of other dance forms - the
Waltz, Polka and Habanera - into tango, than pure tango itself. Much of
this music was played by ensembles called Conjuntos, often consisting
of a violin, guitar and flute. Sometimes the harp, clarinet or a harmonica
were present as well. Towards the 1910s, the pianola was introduced.

At times the Tango Criollo was danced between men, with
accompaniment by a small organ calledorganito.

The original Tango Criollo had a fairly small repertoire. Movements were
limited to caminata(walking), caminata cortada (clipped
walking), refiloneo (walk to the side), corrida o
carrerita(running), vuelta (turn), ocho para adelante (ocho from side
step with crossed end) and ocho para atrs (backwards ocho). Breaks in
movement were limited to the corte (stop), parada (one partner's foot
stops the other) and quebrada (the 'signature pose' of tango).


TANGO ORILLERO / TANGO ARRABALERO
Tango Orillero and Tango Arrabalero both mean 'Tango from the
outskirts of the city'. Tango Orillero's signature is short, sharp steps with
strong embellishments.

Tango Orillero was danced in relatively large spaces and did not
necessarily follow a line of dance. For this and socioeconomic reasons, it
was banned from the indoor tango dance salons.


TANGO CANYENGUE
Canyengue is a streetwise slang word of Buenos Aires that meant 'lower
class'. It is a another particular style of tango that was danced outdoors -
probably on the dirt.


TANGO LISO
The name of Tango Liso, or Plain Tango, was introduced around 1910 to
describe a new genre of tango which was simple and without complex
figures. This was the most popular dance at tango venues of the time,
with the exceptions of ballrooms.


TANGO DE SALON
This was the name given to social, systematic tango dancing, from about
1910 onwards. Tango de Salon reached Paris at about 1910, and gained
complete acceptance throughout the world about 1913. Features of
Tango Orillero, specially embellishments, were incorporated into Tango
de Salon of the 1940s, particularly in the outer suburbs of Buenos Aires
where there was more space on the dance floor. Some of the more
exaggerated movements of tango Orillero were later incorporated into
stage tango.


THE FIRST DOCUMENTATION OF TANGO'S BIRTH
The first recorded documentation of Argentine tango's birth occurred on
September 22, 1913 in the Buenos Aires mass-circulation popular
newspaper called Crtica, founded only a few days earlier. A man under
the alias of Viejo Tanguero (translated as Old Tangoer) - who has never
been identified - wrote an article in which he said that the tango was
created as a parody of the dance, by the young campadritos.

He claimed that in the year 1877, the African Argentines of the region
of Mondogo improvised a new dance which they called tango. This
dance, which was danced apart (not in an embrace) had all the elements
in it of candombe. The article stated that compadritos frequented Afro-
Argentine dances, and saw a candombe-like dance that the negroes
called tango. The campadritos liked the dance and took it back
to Corrales Viejos, which was a southern slaughterhouse district in
Buenos Aires, and in the low-class bars and dives these ruffians wove it
into the milonga, which was soon danced in other parts of the city.

This is corroborated by a book by Ventura Lynch who in 1883 wrote
that the milonga is danced only by the compadritos of the city, who have
created it as a mockery of the dances the negroes hold in their own
places.

Thus it truly seems that at its beginning, tango was derived from, and
formed a new way to dance, the milonga. The campadritos borrowed from
the Afro-Argentines two elements: the quebrada, which consisted of an
improvised jerky distortion, and the corte, which was a sudden pause in
the dance, and fused these together.


THE EFFECT OF IMMIGRANTS ON TANGO
Argentinean tango was heavily influenced by many external cultures, and
in particular the following:
Italians: players and instrumentalists as well as the melancholic and
nostalgic aspects of this music.
Spaniards: songs and dances, including flamenco.
Jews: violinists, piano, bandonen, lyricists, conductors, arrangers,
composers, singers and klezmer.
French: at the turn of the century and thereafter, many musicians
went to Paris. While playing there, they introduced their own
compositions, and were invited to record the music, and taught the
dancing of tango in newly opened dancing studios and schools.
FIRST TANGO COMPOSITIONS
Juan Prez and Anselmo Rosendo Mendizabal, both tango composers,
are momentous in the story that is tango.

Juan Prez

Juan Prez is credited with creating the first known tango song Dame La
Lata (Give me my tin). It was written some time in the 1880s,
in Lunfardo, the Buenos Aires street lingo. The title alludes to the tin that
clients bought from the dance clubs, who then gave it to the woman they
chose to dance with. This represented their right to dance.



Dame La Lata

Anselmo Rosendo Mendizabal

Anselmo Rosendo Mendizabal (1868-1913), a pianist in Buenos Aires,
created El Entrerriano in October 25 1897. This is the first known written
structured tango.



El Entrerriano

First tango recordings

The first sound recordings of tango started to appear in the early 1900s,
with the first tango recorded around 1905 by Angel Villoldo. The song
was El Choclo, a widely recognizable tune even today. Here is a 1929
audio recording of it.



El Choclo


ENSEMBLES AND THE ORQUESTAS TPICAS
The early tango ensemble was played in a trio usually consisting of the
following instruments:
Bandonen
Flute
Guitar
After 1910, many ensembles had expanded into sextets:
Two bandonens
Two violins
Piano
Double bass
After 1913, these sextets developed even further:
Two bandonens
Two violins
Piano
Flute
Tango ensembles were called orquesta tpica criolla (creole traditional
band); eventually the termcriolla were dropped and ensembles were
called simply orquestas tpicas.


THE FIRST TANGO STARS
The first tango stars emerged about 1910, including:
Francisco Canaro (1884-1964) - violinist
Roberto Firpo (1884-1969) - pianist
and Vicente Greco (1888-1924) - bandoneonist
Please refer to the Tango Legends page for further information.


TANGO LYRICS
Most early tangos were completely improvised and had no lyrics.
Structured lyrics only began to appear after 1910, particularly
with Pascual Contursi - thought to be the most important tango lyricist.
His most successful song is Mi Noche Triste. Here is a Carlos Gardel
rendition of that song.



Mi Noche Triste

Tango lyrics typically espouse the topics of the immigrant struggles, love
(and loss thereof), betrayals and hopelessness.


CARLOS GARDEL
Carlos Gardel (1887/1890-1935) requires a special mention because he
is considered the most distinguished figure of tango, with a most beautiful
baritone voice. He is commonly referred to as theKing of Tango.

From a humble beginning in the 1910s as a Buenos Aires local bar
singer, Gardel exploded into a world-wide phenomenon. His repertoire
was creole rural music (cielito, estilo, triunfo, cifra, milonga, zamba,
vals), which were loved all over Argentina.



Carlos Gardel

Please refer to the Carlos Gardel page for further information.


ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION OF TANGO
Various forces accepted or rejected tango in its early years:
Argentina: whilst tango was popular with the lower and working
classes, it was fiercely denounced by the upper classes and
diplomats.
The Church: tango was condemned by most churches (particularly
by the Vatican) and considered immoral.
France: there was widespread acceptance within Paris, including its
upper classes. The Parisian women saw the tango as very liberating.
In fact by 1911, tango had surpassed the waltz as the preferred
dance in France.
United States: generally condemned by Christians
MEN DANCING THE TANGO WITH MEN
The ability to dance well was considered an asset for men, particularly
because in some districts there was a significant shortage of women, and
hence women had the pick of the bunch. This resulted in male practicas,
where men danced together to perfect their Tango technique. It is worth
noting that in 1916 there came about an order banning dance between
men at public ballrooms.

See also the Men Dancing Tango With Men page.


THE OLD GUARD - GUARDIA VIEJA
The years from 1880 to 1920 form the first period of tango,
called Guardia Vieja or The Old Guard. It was dominated by violins,
harps, flutes and guitars. Musicians mostly improvised as the tango was
danced to rather than listened.

Eduardo Archetti described the Old Guard period as follows:
Urban life in Buenos Aires was rapidly transformed during the first two
decades of the twentieth century. Luxury hotels, restaurants, bistros,
hundreds of cafs, a world-famous opera house and theatres were built
by European architects. This ethnography needs to be replicated in
Argentina. This prompted changes in the use of leisure time and
created a new environment outside the walls of privacy and home. The
appearance of public arenas created new conditions for public
participation and enjoyment where cultural life, sports and sexual
concerns dominated... Later, at the beginning of the twentieth century,
the cabaret became a privileged public space for dancing, playing and
singing. It has been assumed that originally the tango was only music
and was mostly dances by male couples. However, the importance of
the dancing academies as meeting places for men and waitresses or
for couples cannot be overlooked.

Tango in Paris

Eduardo Archetti wrote of tango in Paris during the Old Guard period:
The tango as a dance arrived to Paris as early as in the in the 1910s and it was
seen as exotic as other musical genres: tropical Cuban music, flamenco,
Russian and Hawaiian dances, and, later, North American jazz. It is in
this context that an urban dance will be associated to a typical gaucho
bodily creation. The European gaze conditioned the evolution of the
dance and the way the opposition between wild and sophisticated
eroticism was presented. Dress was important in establishing the
symbolic frontiers and 1913 was the year when in France one could feel
that almost everything was related to tango: tea-tango, champagne-
tango, chocolate-tango, dinner-tango and exhibition-tango. The tango-
color, an intense orange, was popular in the making of women clothes.
A popular drink, the mixing of beer and grenadine, that even today is
possible to get in Paris was called tango. The impact on women dress
was also important: tango cocktail-dresses were designed, being the
harem trouser-skirt and the tango corset the most successful
innovations. The latter was defined as revolutionary because it was
flexible and led to many women to abandon orthodox fixed corsetry.
THE NEW GUARD - GUARDIA NUEVA
The New Guard, or Guardia Nueva, defines the period of tango after
1920. The piano and the bandonen were both introduced into tango
during this time. Tango become a more subtle art, improvisation was
reduced, and traveling orchestras entered the dancing halls and the
cabarets. However the most dramatic transformation came in the form of
lyrics, in which tangos used to tell moving stories of love and moral
questions of the times. Tango became a world wide phenomenon via the
media of movies, radio and recordings.

Eduardo Archetti wrote of the New Guard period:

The new tango developed after the 1920s, and has been called the tango of la
Nueva Guardia or the new Guard. Both the musical composition of
this period and the new orchestras gave more freedom to the soloists,
drastically reducing the degree of improvisation and the conductors
became more concerned with details and nuances in the orchestration
than with the performances of improvised solos. In this sense, the
tango evolved in the opposite direction of jazz. The most important
change, however, can be observed in the lyrics. The new authors of the
tango tell compressed, moving stories about characters and moral
dilemmas that were easily understood and identified by a vast,
heterogeneous lower and middle class audience. Thus, the tango
shifted from being first and foremost a musical expression to being
primarily a narrative interpreted by a plethora of extraordinary singers,
both male and female.

The orchestras also entered into the dancing halls and in the cabarets.
The cabarets of Buenos Aires in the 1920s were generally elegant, but
also dark and secretive, definitely not a place for family entertainment.
The cabaret became both a real and an imagined arena for timing out
and, for many women, for stepping out, even though only a minority
of women actually moved into its sphere. It was both an existing
physical space, and a dramatic fictional stage for many tango stories. In
the tango lyrics the cabaret appears as a key place for erotic attraction,
a powerful image to contrast to the home, the local bar and the barrio
(the neighborhood). In this setting, as well in the different dancing
arenas, the clothes were urban, modern, elegant and sophisticated.
Neither dancers nor orchestras or singers used gaucho clothes, a
matter evidently out of place. Tango was thus disconnected from the
rural origins, the mixed dress of the compadritos, and turned into the
representation of a quintessential urban way of life.

The globalization of tango took place during this period with the help
of modern technology: radio, movies and records. Some of the singers,
as ... with the case of Carlos Gardel, and the orchestras became famous
worldwide. This very process of globalization served to invent a
tradition, a mirror in which Argentines could see themselves precisely
because the others began to see them. The narrative, the dance and
the music of tango became a key element in the creation of a typical
Argentine cultural product.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF TANGO
The Golden Age of Tango originates in 1935 with Juan D'Arienzo and
Rodolfo Biagi. These stars created a tango with a quicker rhythm, which
dancers found irresistible; the tango returned into its original function -
music for dancing, rather than for listening. Whilst conservative tango
dancers were appalled, the general tango community loved it. The new
music evolved into one of the most beautiful couple dances in the world.

During the Golden Age the orchestras grew larger and more
sophisticated, with conductors, composers and arrangers. Singers who
were trained and professional became integral to the music.


ASTOR PIAZZOLLA AND NEUVO TANGO
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was a tango composer and bandonen
player, in Buenos Aires. In the 1950s he caused outrage by fusing jazz
rhythms and classical music into tango. The style became known as
Tango Nuevo, and revolutionized tango.

Please refer to the Astor Piazzolla page for further information on
Piazzolla.

Please refer to the Tango Nuevo page for detailed information on that
genre.


BEYOND THE GOLDEN AGE OF TANGO
1955 brought in a coup that ousted Juan Pern and brought in a new
government which discouraged tango. This conservative government, in
conjunction with members of the upper class and some leftists,
denounced and rejected tango as they considered it made the women
prone to 'work in bordellos'. Tango went underground for many years.


TANGO ARGENTINO
In 1983 the military junta in Argentina fell and the massively successful hit
show Tango Argentino premiered. This caused the spread of tango in
Buenos Aires and throughout the world.


NEO-TANGO
Neo-Tango evolved about the year 2000 - primarily from the USA and the
rest of Europe, rather than Argentina itself. It is danced to music that is
not traditional tango, such as electronic music calledelectrotango It
contains many new forms of steps such as the over-extended step
(almost a leap) and incorporates the separation of lead and follower, in
which embraces are broken.

Please refer to the Neo-Tango page for detailed information on that
genre.

TANGO CORRUPTS THE SOUL
Around 1913 and 1914, tango was the in thing around the world: Paris,
Berlin, London, Prussia... everywhere the tango was being danced and
embraced. This is despite - or perhaps because of - the fact that at the
very same time, tango was being denounced as barbaric, evil, corrupting
the soul.

Below are some incredible newspaper articles about tango from those
years. They provide significant insight as to the popularity and the (mostly
religious) bigotry against tango.

[Note: to provide this for your reading pleasure, this author took scans of
the original newspaper articles, fed these into optical character
recognition (OCR) software, and corrected any recognition errors on the
textual output.]

NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 16, 1914:
POPE DENOUNCES 'NEW PAGANISM'

Cardinal Pompili on His Behalf Issues a Pastoral Letter Attacking
Recent Developments.

GIVES WARNING TO PARENTS

Says the Tango and Certain Newspapers, Theatrical Performances, and
Fashions Pervert Souls.

ROME, Jan. 13. Cardinal Basillo Pompili, Vicar General of Rome,
representing the Pope, has issued a pastoral letter denouncing the
tango and also certain newspapers, theatrical performances, and
fashions, which, he declares, are perverting souls. The Cardinal says:

"The tango, which has already been condemned by illustrious Bishops,
and is prohibited even in Protestant countries, must be absolutely
prohibited in the seat of the Roman Pontiff, the centre of the Catholic
religion."

He urges the clergy courageously to raise their voices "in defending the
sanctity of Christian usages against the dangers threatening and the
overwhelming immorality of the new paganism."

He warns parents that if they do not protect their children from
corruption they will be guilty before God of failure in their most sacred
duties.


NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 5, 1914:
PRIEST DENOUNCES TANGO.

Orange Pastor Warns Parents Against Dancing Clubs.

Special to The New York Times.

ORANGE, N. J., Jan. 4. The tango, turkey trot, and other modern
dances were condemned from the pulpit of the Church of Our Lady of
the Valley in Orange this morning by the rector, the Rev. John F.
Boylan. He warned Roman Catholic parents to exercise greater
vigilance over the conduct of their sons and daughters.

The priest said that many social clubs had been organized merely for
the purpose of allowing their members to engage in dances which were
not permitted at public balls. He told the parents that they should not
allow their sons and daughters to go to dances unless they had the
assurance of those in charge that none but respectable dances would be
allowed.

UPHOLD THE TANGO.

Mrs. Israels and Miss De Wolfe Call It a Beautiful Dance.

Mrs. Charles H. Israels, head of the Committee on Amusement
Resources for Working Girls, in discussing the propriety of the tango,
said yesterday:

"The tango is a beautiful dance, if it is danced beautifully. But most of
the dances called the tango are not the tango at all. As a matter of fact
very few can dance it. In public restaurants a tango is played, as a rule,
only once or twice in an evening, and then only a few get up to dance it.

"When the tango is spoken of as an improper dance, it is usually a
mistake in terms, the word tango being used to describe dances which
the tango really does not resemble. On the other hand, I think it is a
mistake to condemn all the modern dances. Many of those which have
been danced in the last two years or so have been ugly, ungraceful, and
unaesthetic, but we arc now in a period of transition to more beautiful
dancing. The tango is a sensuous danceremember, I said 'sensuous'
and not 'sensual.' The propriety of it as a matter of correct position. It
is unobjectionable when it is danced correctly. That is true of all the
modern dances. If the correct position is followed by the dancers, there
is no reason for criticism. For that reason the Committee on
Amusement Resources for Working Girls sends model couples to the
dances it supervises, in order to teach correct dancing, and all are
permitted to dance the tango, if they dance correctly."

Anthony Comstock, when his opinion of the dance was asked, said:

"I have never seen the tango danced, and therefore I am not in a
position to criticise it. If what is said about it is true, though, I do not
see how am decent people can dance it or allow it to be danced in their
homes."

This is Miss Elsie De Wolfe's opinion:

"The tango is a chaste, refined dance. To me, it is the greatest rest,
because there is in it so much repose, after the violence of the onestep.
There is no eccentricity in the tango, properly danced, as there
frequently is in the one-step. It is more like the minuet than anything
else."


NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 6, 1914:
ALL DENOUNCE THE TANGO.

French Bishops Condemn It Cardinal Likely to Issue a Decree.

Special Cable to THE New York Times.

PARIS, Jan. 6. The French ecclesiastical authorities appear
determined to kill the tango. The Archbishop of Camhrat took the
Initiative some time ago and was followed by the Archbishop of Lyons
and the Bishop of Verdun. Now the Bishop of Chalons-sur-Marne has
issued a decree condemning the tango as "profoundly dangerous to
morals." He enjoins all confessors, especially those living in towns, to
combat it with all their influence.

Pressure is being brought to bear on Mgr. Amette, the Cardinal-
Archbishop of Paris, to issue a similar decree. It is pointed out that if
his Eminence decides, as he probably will do, to take such a step, it will
prove a death blow to the tango in real Parisian society, although it may
not affect the somewhat nondescript cosmopolitan agglomeration
which forms its fringe and seeks to pass itself off as the real thing.


NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 22, 1914:
TANGO SHAME OF OUR DAYS.

Patriarch of Venice Issues Energetic Denunciation of It.

VENICE, Jan. 21. Cardinal Cavallari, the successor of the present
Pope as Patriarch of Venice, has issued an episcopal letter which is the
most energetic of all those so far published with reference to the tango,
and acquires even greater importance, as it is reported to have been
inspired by the Pontiff.

The letter condemns the tango in the strongest terms, referring to it as
moral turpitude, and adding:

"It is everything that can be imagined. It is revolting and disgusting.
Only those persons who have lost all moral sense can endure it. It is the
shame of our days. Whoever persists in it commits a sin".

The Cardinal orders all ecclesiastics to deny absolution to those who,
having danced the tango, do not promise to discontinue the practice.


NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 26, 1914:
RABBI PRAISES TANGO.

Cultured Dancers Pleasing, Awkward Ones Vulgar, Says Dr. Nieto.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 23 Rabbi Jacob Nieto, addressing the
Congregation Sherith Israel today, warmly commended the tango and
kinded dances.

"The old padres in the early days of the California missions were wise
men," said the rabbi. "Every Sunday afternoon they let the people
dance, and I watched them while they did so. In the Middle Ages the
Jewish rabbis had the young people dance every Sunday afternoon in
the presence of the parents and all enjoyed it.

"What we need is more common sense and less theology. The tango,
danced by cultured persons, is beautifully pleasing; by the awkward it
appears vulgar. You can take a religious ceremony and make it a farce."
NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 4, 1914:
THE TANGO FLOURISHES DESPITE BOYCOTTS

European Church and Social Leaders Denounce It With Little Effect.

AUTHORITIES NOT AGREED

"It Kills Virtue," Says a French Archbishop, but Andre de Fouquieres
Finds It "Too Sad."

Special Cable to THE New York Times

LONDON, Jan. 3. The tango, which has apparently thriven on abuse,
is likely to become even more popular as the result of an attempted
boycott by a number of prominent English society hostesses, who have
been contributing their views on the subject to The Gentlewoman. The
tango in the course of its European career has won the disapproval of
the Pope, the Kaiser, the King of Italy, the King of Bavaria, and the
Queen of England and has still survived.

The Gentlewoman's article, which is entitled "The Dance of Moral
Death," say that the tango "is admittedly the creation and
manifestation of barbarism. How strongly her Majesty felt in regard to
the matter may be gauged by the fact that the Duchess of Devonshire,
the Mistress of the Robes, was desired to make it perfectly clear that
nothing in the nature of the tango would be countenanced at private
dances given while the King and Queen were staying at Chatsworth.
Moreover, it has also been clearly intimated to those who are likely to
be the Queen's hostesses in the near future that she could not consent
to visit any house where such performances were allowed to take
place."

Following is a selection of the criticisms collected by The
Gentlewoman: The Duchess of Norfolk says: "In my opinion such
dances are not desirable; for the tango in itself and in the comments
that it leads to is surely foreign to our English nature and ideals, of
which I hope we are still proud."

Lady Coventry does not think it desirable that the tango should be
danced at social functions.

Lady Layland-Barratt considers it an immodest and suggestive dance,
altogether impossible for any girl of refinement or modesty.

Lady De Ramsey strongly disapproves the tango and would never let it
be danced in her house.

Lady Beatrice Wilkinson says: "Never having seen the tango danced, I
am not in a position to give an opinion. If, however, it is anything like
the horrible dances of negroid origin which have for the moment
ruined English ballrooms, I very strongly object to It."

Florence Lady Lacon says it would be a pity if It were to become
popular in English ballrooms.

Lady Templetown says: "I am happy to say I have never seen the tango
danced, and, having regard to the many photographs, etc, which are
supposed to set forth its attractions, I am in great hopes I never may
see it."

Lady Byron says that the tango is acrobatic dancing very often
ungraceful but it is the fashion, and that Is enough for its devotees.

On the other hand, the tango has strong upholders in society, as is
shown by the fact that a well-known tango expert is teaching the dance
to the Grand Duke Michael of Russia and his family, to the Earl and
Countess of Drogheda, Lady De Trafford, Lady Cholraondeley, Lady
Ralli, and Mrs. George Keppel. Lady Trou-bridge is also defender of the
tango. She says: "I can see no radical objection to the tango if properly
danced. I have seen it in London drawing rooms. It is far more refined
than many other modern dances lately in vogue."

In order to discover the popular opinion on the tango, the management
of one theatre is about to give a special performance of the dance by
leading exponents. Every spectator will receive a slip of paper, on
which he (or she) will be asked to express his (or her) views. To this
performance will be invited the society leaders who have denounced
the dance and leaders of the Church, among them the Bishops of
London and Kensington. Father Bernard Vaughan, speaking on the
subject of the tango, says: "It is not what happens necessarily at a tango
tea that so much matters as what happens after it. I have been too long
with human nature not to know that, like a powder magazine, it had
better be kept as far as possible fireproof."

Orders have just been issued by the Austro-Hungarian army corps
commanders that "officers in uniform are not allowed to dance the
tango."


NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 22 1913:
TANGO DEFEATS VATICAN

Clergy's Efforts to Suppress Dancing Craze In Italy Fail.

Special Cable to The New York Times.

ROME, Dec. 26. Strenuous efforts made by the Vatican to suppress
the tango dancing-mania In Italy have proved a failure. Following the
example of Rome, there was issued throughout the country a circular
giving instructions to the clergy to initiate a crusade against the tango
and similar dances as "offensive to the purity of every right-minded
person and unworthy of being introduced into houses and receptions
attended by Catholic women."

All the great Italian pulpit orators have fulminated against the fashion,
which now, however, is practically general in the salons of the Eternal
City itself.


NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 16, 1913:
TANGO 'ABSURD' SAYS KING.

Ruler of Bavaria Follows Kaiser's Example and Puts Ban on It.

By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.

BERLIN, Dec. 15. Following the Kaiser's example, the King of
Bavaria has put a ban on the tango.

A secret Cabinet order has been circulated among the Bavarian army
officers informing them that his Majesty will look upon it with disfavor
if during the coming Christmas festivities officers take part in
entertainments at which the tango is danced.
"The King," the order states, "regards participation in such a dance as
absurd and unworthy of an officer.

"Officers must always remember the dignity of their position, even
when enjoying themselves in company."


NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 28, 1913:
TANGO CRAZE IN BERLIN

Reinhardt Thinks It Will Hurt Theatres More Than the Films Do.

Special Cable to THE New York TIMES.

BERLIN. Sept. 27. Dr. Max Reinhardt, Germany's noted theatrical
manager, thinks that the craze for exotic dancing, especially the tango,
is going to prove a more deadly rival to the theatre than the
cinematograph.

Berlin itself is on the verge of a whirlwind dancing season. Everybody
who is anybody is taking tango lessons. The Argentine eccentricity is
certain to be a popular feature not only at all public hut at ultra-smart
private ballrooms during the coming Winter.

An American woman, whose husband's business in Berlin collapsed
two years ago, recently started a dancing school and is now so overrun
with pupils that she and her staff of assistants cannot cope with the
custom which is offered.

Cafes and restaurants are adding ballrooms to their premises, and new
establishments where specialties like the tango are danced exclusively
are springing up everywhere.

'All this,' said Dr. Reinhardt to The New York Times correspondent,
'means that people are going to have less time as well as less money
and less inclination for the theatre. I shall be much mistaken if the
dancing epidemic does not affect the box office far more than ever the
movies have done.'


NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 14, 1913:
A RESULT OF THE TANGO.

"Fallen Stomach" Fashionable Disease in Paris -- Cure Is Easy.

Special Cable to The New York Times.

PARIS. Sept. 13. "How is your fallen stomach?" is a form of greeting
among smart persons just now, the disease in question being a
fashionable ailment, the effect of too much tangoing.

Persons who insist on dancing immediately after meals two or three
times a day cannot expect digestion to go on normally, and Paris
physicians hail with ill-concealed joy the appearance of this new
malady.

Fortunately, the remedy prescribed is a simple one: "Immediately after
eating lie for half an hour with the legs in the air, or at least higher than
the body."

At Deauville it was remarked on all sides that a number of young
women insisted on piling up cushions under their feet on deck chairs,
and it is feared that Paris salons will have to be provided with bars or
railings on which guests not entirely recovered may he able to place
their feet at the proper angle with the body after dinner.


NEW YORK TIMES, APRIL 5, 1913:
MAYOR OUT TO STOP 'TEA AND TANGO' NOW

Prepares Two Bills to Curb Dancing Which He Calls "Lascivious
Orgies".

SOME ALREADY CLOSED

Several Places, Anticipating Visit of License Inspectors, While Serving
the "Tea" Bar the "Tango."

Mayor Gaynor began a campaign yesterday to end objectionable
dances, afternoon turkey trot teas, and other features connected with
cabaret shows in the all-night restaurant districts, whereby he intends
to place all dancing halls under city supervision and licenses. Under his
orders the Bureau of Licenses made an inspection of many of the
restaurants where dances were held in the afternoon and last night,
and to remove the immunity claimed by some of the restaurant
proprietors under the existing law forbidding interference with public
dancing without a license, the Mayor completed the drafting of two
bills, which he forwarded to Albany for consideration by the
Legislature.

In taking this action the Mayor made it plain that he was not making a
crusade against dancing itself, but against the conditions he found or
was told existed in some of the places and which he considered against
the morals of the community. Some of the dances, having no legal
supervision, he said, had been carried too far, and in his bills he
characterized them as 'lascivious orgies' in the so-called respectable
dance halls "that have grown to be intolerable.'

The Mayor asks the Legislature to amend that part of the hotel law
which excludes an establishment with fifty or more rooms from police
supervision or the license law, and under which some of the
restaurants assert the right to continue the dances without a license or
other supervision. He says all must be licensed and close at 1 A.M. The
bills were sent to Edward J. McGoldrick, Assistant Corporation
Counsel, having charge of city legislation at Albany, and Mayor Gaynor
requested their immediate introduction to both houses, and asked that
their passage be urged. Of the bill amending the public dance hall law,
the Mayor wrote:

'When that law was passed three years ago, requiring all public dance
halls to be licensed, hotels having upward of fifty bedrooms were
excepted. That exception ought to be and is struck out by this
amendment. The regular hotels have no need of such an exception. The
exception was put in for them out of mistaken precaution. They have
ballrooms, it is true, but they do not run public dance halls. They only
let their ballrooms out for use.

'A public dance hall is one open to the whole public; open to every one
who chooses to come up and pay the entrance fee. The ballrooms in the
hotels are in no sense public dance halls. We do not need to license
them as such.
Tells of 'Rigged Up' Hotels.

'The trouble is that certain places have been rigged up as pretended
hotels in order to come under the exemption of the present law. This
exception enables them to run public dance halls without a license.
That should not be. Every public dance hall should be licensed,
whether it be in a hotel, or in any other place. There are demoralizing
and disgusting public dance halls being run here in New York without a
license on account of this exception in the present statute; the 'places
where they are being run being so-called hotels with more than fifty
rooms. They are not ballrooms let out for a night to parties having a
ball. They are public dance halls pure and simple, and run night after
night as such. They are all the more dangerous for posing as
respectable

The second bill of the Mayor's is an amendment of Section 1,490 of the
Greater New York Charter, prescribing hours during which he
considers it proper for them to be open. The Mayor says:

"The amendment is that they must close at 1 A. M., and not open again
before the following noon. No doubt it is necessary that people should
be permitted to dance for amusement and health, and places should be
provided for the purpose, and licensed, and supervised by the
authorities. But to allow them to be open all night Is detrimental to
health and morals. It seems strange that when this bill for the licensing
of dance halls was passed no hours were prescribed for them.

"I trust that you will be able to get these bills passed. The lascivious
orgies going on in the so-called respectable dance halls in this city
which escape the requirements of license and supervision by the
exception which I have referred to, have grown to be intolerable."

James G. Wallace, chief of the Bureau of Licenses, led his inspectors to
the various cabaret shows and "afternoon dances" until late last night,
looking the places over and gathering data which he will present in a
report to Mayor Gaynor. Four of the big places were closed so far as
afternoon dances were concerned when Wallace and his men reached
them. Hundreds of persons were dining at the tables, but the dancers
were barred. These places were George Rector's, Broadway and Sixty-
first Street; Folies Bergere. Broadway and Forty-eighth Street;
Keisenwebers, Eighth Avenue and Fifty-eighth Street, and the Taverne
Louis, or Louis Bus-tanoby, Broadway and Twenty-third Street.

In two of the cabarets Andre Bustanoby, 110 West Thirty-ninth Street,
and Louis Martin's, Broadway and Forty-second Street, dancing was
continued all the afternoon and until the cabaret shows were ready to
begin for the night. Both of these places were run under new rules, and
men unaccompanied by women were not admitted to the dancing floor
unless they could show they had tables reserved there with friends.
These places said they were exempt from the Mayor's orders regarding
the closing of dance halls because they came under the provisions of
the hotel law relating to fifty rooms or more. Both places were more
crowded than usual because of the closing of the others.

Wants to Hear from Mayor.

Andre Bustanoby said he would obey the Mayor and stop dancing
whenever ordered to do so. He had a stalwart English butler, dressed in
blue and gold, stopping people at the door and refusing them
admission, under the new rules of the house. When a man appeared
alone he was told that he could not enter the dancing hall without a
lady. Some of them evaded the censorship by asserting that friends
were waiting for them inside. An elderly man held up at the door
declared he was looking for his son. The proprietor led reporters to the
gallery surrounding the hall and pointed out how orderly everything
was and how much the men and women were enjoying themselves.

"The afternoon dance is necessary," he said, "because so many women
eat rich foods and pastry, and they get fat if they don't take some
exercise. Here they dance and grow graceful and slim." Yes, they are
having tea, too; see, there's a pot over there and another on that table,"
he continued, while numerous couples, some of the men bald-headed
and their partners gray haired. danced the "tango," the "turkey-trot," or
the more simple "one-step."

"See the spotlight," added Andre; "if any people offend, we turn the
spotlight on them and make them behave," and he indicated a calcium
light resting on the gallery rail.

The manager of the Folies Bergere announced that the dancing room
was closed because the license bad expired. Hector's and Louis
Bustanoby's voluntarily closed the afternoon dances before the
Inspectors from the Bureau of Licenses Went there. "We have received
no order from the City Government to close the dancing hall", said
George Rector, "but we decided to do so for the present voluntarily.
We-have no desire to antagonize the Mayor in any way. For the same
reason we are obeying him in closing the place before 1 A. M. though it
is annoying to our customers. But they are told they must get out, and
so we have been closed the last few nights even before the legal hour."
The afternoon dances were started in the upstairs part of the restaurant
at Kelsenweber's, but not all who attended were admitted. Just before 5
P. M., a man who was humorously described as a soft shoe dancer,
otherwise known as a rubber heel sleuth from the Detective Bureau,
was said to be in the room, after that the festivities appeared to
languish. At any rate a man who may have been a plain-clothes man
walked softly across the floor, tapped the piano player on the shoulder
and the music stopped at once. Some of the dancers said he was a
policeman, but the management denied this, and explained that the
dancing had ended to permit evening cabaret show.

Not one of the persons interested in the new ruling of the Mayor
regarding dance halls and the early closing have announced any
intention to contest his action in the courts. On the contrary they were
all very much alarmed as to the Mayor's intentions and were willing to
wait developments.

PATRONS FIGHT CURFEW.

Waiter Ejects One at i O'Clock and General Battle Is Result.

When Frederick Fischer, a saloonkeeper at 54 Kent Avenue, Williams-
burgh, tried to enforce Mayor Gaynor'a curfew order early yesterday
morning, a crowd of Austrians who were playing cards in the rear room
objected to being sent home, and before the fight ended two men had
been hurt. Joseph Braun, a waiter, was instructed by the owner to use
force, in putting out his patrons when words proved useless. Half a
dozen men pitched into him, but Braun proved himself equal to the
occasion by picking up Martin Tyburg, a cooper, of 2 North Seventh
Street, and despite a rain of blows carrying him to a door and throwing
him on the sidewalk.

Outside the fight was continued until a rock thrown through the front
window of the saloon made such a noise that Policeman Scheer of the
Bedford Avenue station ran to the scene and dispersed the fighters. An
ambulance Surgeon patched up the bruises of Tyburg and Braun.
Policeman Scheer arrested both Tyburg for malicious mischief and
Braun for assault.


NEW YORK TIMES, FEBRUARY 16, 1913:
TANGO CAPTIVATES PARIS

Group of Society Women Hire House Where Dance Will Be Taught.

PARIS, Feb. 15. - The Tango craze has reached such a pitch here that a
group of society leaders, including Princess Murat, Mme. Jean de
Reszk, and a royal Princess, who keeps incognito for the present, has
arranged to place a sumptuous mansion in the Champs Elysees at the
disposition of a young and fashionable teacher of the Tango for him to
give a course of lessons to the smart set during the season.

Tickets in three colors will be issued: Blue for women of the most
exclusive society circle, pink for other women, and white for men. The
course will be opened by a brilliant fte, which will be one of the events
of the season. All the principal Paris dandies will make a point of being
present, notably Pierre Lafitte, the well-known publisher, who has
shown himself of late one of the most agile guests at Mme. Adolphe
Brissozfs Tango parties.


NEW YORK TIMES, AUGUST 20, 1911:
MUCH DANCING AT DINARD

Visitors There Like the 'Triple Boston', but Bar the 'Tango'.

Dinard, Aug. 9. - Encouraged by the magnificent weather,
entertainments of all sorts are going on every day, the unusual number
of visitors, and especially of Americans, making Dinard one of the
gayest summer resorts. Dancing is the favorite amusement, and the
craze this year is for the "triple Boston," which has almost done away
with the "double Boston."

An attempt was made this week to introduce the latest Paris dance, the
"Tango," of South American fame. After a few experiments it was,
however, discarded. as the majority of dancers found it a little risqu
and more appropriate for the Montmartre dancing halls than for
private drawing rooms.

Mrs. Dortio has begun her Thursdays at home and this popular hostess
had a great many calls on her first day. Her pretty lawn was an
excellent place for bridge players, and several tables were kept going.
while the tea table, at which the hostess and Miss Everett presided, was
also surrounded. Among the visitors were Mr. and Mrs. Brigham, Mrs.
Norton, Mrs. Gilbert King, and Mr. and Miss Grey.

Les Figuler, the villa occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Du Maresq (nee Fitz
Gibbon) was the scene of a brilliant dinner on Tuesday evening. The
large covered veranda was transformed into a dining room, colored
lights were hung everywhere, and the garden was illuminated with
Bengal lights. The entertainment began with fireworks, and a string
orchestra played during dinner.

Mr. and Mrs. P. Williamson Roberts gave a dinner party at their villa
on Wednesday. their guests Including Mira Duthil Smith, who is soon
going back to New York; Mrs. Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter,
Mrs. Disston, and Mrs. Deming Jarves. All went to the ball at the
Casino afterward. The dancing floor was very full, and all the boxes
were occupied. The display of gowns and jewels reminded one of a
Parisian function at the height of the season. Among those who came
from other dinner parties were Mrs. Florence Swift. who had with her
Mrs. Biddle and Miss Carolan; Mrs. and Liles Ashrnead Bartlett, who
had just arrived from England; Mrs. Lord, and Miss Lacey.

Mrs. Esler gave a tea at the Hotel Royal on Wednesday. Among her
guests were Mrs. Topping, Mrs. Conrad Thompson and her sister, Miss
Maude Conrad, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens. Miss Hardy, the Misses Neff,
and William Paine. Mrs. Esler, who is going to Paris at the end of the
week, will return after a few days and spend the rest of the Summer
here.
O dia em que o papa autorizou o tango (e quase um
sculo depois, um papa tangueiro)

Pio X quis ver o tango de perto para avaliar se era apto para a cristandade
Demasiado sensual!. Obsceno!. Satnico!. Estas eram algumas das duras expresses
emitidas pelos bispos franceses ao referir-se ao ritmo sul-americano em 1913, quando
arrasava nos sales da burguesia parisiense. Os arcebispos de Paris, Cambray e Sens, junto
como o bispo de Poitiers atacaram ferozmente esse ritmo pecaminoso desde seus plpitos,
pedindo que a Santa Congregao da Disciplina dos Sacramentos analisasse o caso e
considerasse sua proibio.
Diante da polmica que ameaava tornar o tango alvo de uma proibio da Igreja Catlica, a
embaixada argentina em Roma decidiu demonstrar ao papa Pio X (1903-1914) que a dana de
forma alguma ameaava os bons costumes cristos. Os diplomatas argentinos estavam
respaldados por diversos jovens da aristocracia italiana, ansiosos por danar o tango no
carnaval de 1914. Tudo indicava que se a Igreja o proibisse, as Foras Armadas da Itlia
impediriam que seus oficiais o danassem nos elegantes bailes que estavam sendo
preparados para essa festividade.
Poucas semanas antes do carnaval, em fevereiro desse ano, o Sumo Pontfice encarregou-se
de julgar, pessoalmente, os eventuais perigos do tango. Os encarregados de defender o ritmo
perante o supremo chefe da cristandade foi um casal de irmos da aristocracia italiana. Os
jovens enganaram o papa Pio X, danando uma verso light, que fosse o suficientemente
inofensiva para os padres morais do Santo Padre.
O cuidado dos danarinos em evitar qualquer tipo de obscenidade obteve resultados
exagerados. Pio X, aps a exibio do tango no Vaticano, ironizou sobre essa moda
proveniente da Argentina: ela obriga seus escravos (os danarinos) a danar um baile to
pouco divertido. O papa aproveitou a ocasio para recomendar a furlana, dana camponesa
do sculo XIX, que considerava maisanimada.
Com o prestgio obtido nos sales da aristocracia europia e certa neutralidade papal, o
caminho estava aberto para que o tango voltasse Buenos Aires. No sendo mais visto como
um ritmo do lumpen, conquistou a classe mdia e expandiu-se, permitindo, dessa forma, o
sucesso de cantores como Carlos Gardel. O tango comeava a conquistar os coraes e
mentes dos argentinos.
Mas, a m fama do tango ainda permaneceu pairando sobre a Europa em certos setores da
sociedade. Uma dcada depois, no dia 1 de fevereiro de 1924, outro papa, neste caso, Pio XI
(1922-39), quis analisar pessoalmente aquilo que Pio X havia autorizado.
Nesta ocasio, o tango foi danado novamente em verso diet pelo bailarino argentino
Casimiro An. A melodia escolhida foi um raro tango com nome religioso, o Ave Mara, do
compositor Francisco Canaro.
Para conquistar o corao do papa, An fez um malabarismo no fim do tango que o deixou em
posio de genuflexo diante do Sumo Pontfice. Pio XI retirou-se do salo em silncio. A
reao papal foi interpretada como um sinal de aprovao. Nunca mais o tango teve que
passar pelo crivo da Santa S.

Pio XI os tangueiros interpretaram que, quem cala, consente

LETRAS DE TANGOS, OS ASSUNTOS TOP FOUR (breve guia):
La Pebeta: La pebeta, a garota. A mulher amada. Ou aquela pela qual estamos
inexoravelmente atrados. Sempre est na nas letras. E em boa parte das canes, ela deixa
os protagonistas. O tango Percanta, em uma verso techno, aqui.
La vieja, viejita: A velha, a velhinha. Ora, a me. Me sempre sagrada. Mas no tango, mais
ainda. Sempre trabalha para dar tudo aos filhos. E os filhos, nem sempre percebem isso. Ou
percebem quando j so marmanjos. O famoso tango Silncio, aqui.
La barra, los muchachos: A turma, os rapazes. Os amigos de toda a vida. Em Cafetn de
Buenos Aires os amigos esto muito presentes. Um link do Youtube sobre este tango, aqui.
El barrio: O bairro. O lugar onde os protagonistas nasceram e passaram boa parte de suas
vidas. quase um feudo no qual transcorrem as letras. Ou, em vrios casos, os tangos
transcorrem em outra parte do planetamas, sempre chora-se a saudade do bairro. Sobre o
amor por um bairro, Barrio de Tango, aqui.
Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires assunto de muitos tangos. a cidade comme il faut desse ritmo
musical. No toa que Mi Buenos Aires querido um dos tangos mais famosos. Mas, o
meu preferido, neste caso, Anclao en Paris, no qual o intrprete fala sobre B.Aires, desde a
capital francesa. Um link do Youtube com este tango, aqui.


UMA BRIGA DA NOITE QUASE ACABA COM A CARREIRA DE GARDEL

Era madrugada do dia 11/12/1915, Gardel e dois amigos: Elias Alippi e Carlos
Morganti, foram ao cabar Palais de Glac - um lugar, como se dizia, de tango,
champanhe e muitas mulheres. O motivo do encontro era comemorar os seu
aniversrio, pois acabava de completar 25 anos de idade. No decorrer surge uma
discusso entre Alippi e um rapaz que l estava com um outro grupo. Gardel,
auxiliado por um policial, impede que o companheiro seja agredido e partem os tres
de carro, rumo a Palermo. O grupo furioso vai atrs deles num outro carro e
consegue alcan-los. Forma-se outra confuso e, de repente, Gardel leva um tiro
no lado esquerdo do trax, perfunrando-lhe o pulmo esquerdo. O autor do disparo
que se soube posteriormente foi Roberto Guevara que seria futuramente o pai de
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
imediatamente levado ao hospital, enquanto o grupo, autor do disparo fogem do
local.
No Hospital Ramos Meja, Gardel rapidamente demonstrou grande recuperao. A
bala nunca foi extraida por assim julgarem os mdicos. Seria o procedimento mais
conveniente por estar alojada prximo ao corao. Ele a carregou consigo, sem
nenhum, incmodo pelo resto da vida.

Numa entrevista, Gardel declarou o seguinte sobre o incidente dito pelo atirador:
"El da que intent martarme me dijo: ya no vas a cantar ms "El Moro"

(El Moro= aluso aos cabelos escuros de Gardel)

GARDEL E CHARLES CHAPLIN


Em 1931, Carlos Gardel canta durante dois meses na clebre Costa Azul francesa,
onde freqentavam europeus milionrios e famosos. Seu centro de reunio era o
cassino Palais du Mediterrane de Nice, tambm freqentado por grandes artistas
como Charles Chaplin, que ento recibia os elogios por seu recm-apresentado
filme Luzes da Cidade.
Madame Sadie Baron Wakefield, admiradora de Gardel, seu cantor preferido,
realizou uma festa em sua casa na Riviera francesa, para receber Chaplin. Uma
bailarina que viveu um romance com Chaplin, May Reeves, escreveu em suas
memrias: Havia uns quarenta convidados. Chaplin estava muito em forma. Um
cantor argentino, acompanhado por seu guitarrista, cantou em sua honra, enquanto
isso Chaplin instalado atrs do bar levava boca uma enorme garrafa de conhaque
e cortava uma torta gigantesca com uma faca descomunal .


Charles Chaplin declarou a Regina Creuve, cronista do New American Lines, em
1935, depois da morte de Gardel: Em uma reunio ntima, Gardel comeou a
cantar e me impressionou profundamente. Tinha um dom superior com sua voz e
sua figura, e uma enorme simpatia pessoal com a qual ganhava, de imediato, o
afeto de todos. To profunda era a simpatia que inspirava, lembro perfeitamente
bem, que chegamos at as primeras luzes da madrugada depois de uma noite de
alegria.
Digam senhores ao pblico que com Gardel perco um de meus mais simpticos
amigos e que os pases sul-americanos no tinham melhor representante que ele
entre ns. Enquanto da arte cinematogrfica, foi subtrado um cantor destinado a
constituir uma das maiores figuras da cinematografia.
O SURGIMENTO DO TANGO COMO MSICA


O TANGO

Tango uma msica de dana popular, surgida como criao annima dos bairros
pobres e marginais . Nasceu em Buenos Aires, Argentina, no final do sculo XIX.
Evoluiu a partir do candombe africano, do qual herdou o ritmo; da milonga, que
inspirou-Ihe a coreografia; e da habanera, cuja linha meldica assimilou. Chamado
pelos argentinos de "msica urbana", tem a peculiaridade de apresentar letras na
gria tpica de Buenos Aires, o lunfardo.
Os primeiros tangos, ainda prximos milonga, eram animados e alegres. O
primeiro cantor profissional de tango, tambm compositor, foi Arturo de Nava. A
partir da dcada de 1920, tanto a msica como a letra assumiram tom
acentuadamente melanclico, tendo como principais temas os tropeos da vida e os
desenganos amorosos. A temtica freqentemente ligada vida bomia, com
meno ao vinho, aos amores proibidos e s corridas de cavalos.
As orquestras compunham-se inicialmente de bandolim, bandurra e violes. Com a
incorporao do acordeo, a que seguiram a flauta e o bandoneom, o tango
assumiu sua expresso definitiva.
Dos subrbios chegou ao centro de Buenos Aires, por volta de 1900. As primeiras
composies assinadas surgiram na dcada de 1910, no perodo conhecido como da
Guardia Vieja (Velha Guarda). A partir da, conquistou grande popularidade na
Europa, com o impulso da indstria fonogrfica americana. Os tradicionalistas
incriminam a predominncia da letra, a partir da dcada de 1920, como
responsvel pela adulterao do carter original do tango. A voz do cantor
modificou o ritmo, que j no comportava o mesmo modo de danar.
As figuras mais importantes da Guardia Nueva (Nova Guarda) foram o
cantor Carlos Gardel - cuja voz e personalidade, aliadas morte trgica num
acidente de avio, ajudaram a transformar em mito argentino - e o compositor
Enrique Santos Discepolo. Ao mesmo tempo, compositores europeus, como
Stravinski e Milhaud, utilizavam elementos do tango em suas obras sinfnicas.
Embora continuasse a ser ouvido e cultuado na Argentina conforme a feio que lhe
foi dada por Gardel, o tango comeou a sofrer tentativas de renovao.
Entre os representantes dessa tendncia, figuram Martano Mores e Anbal Troilo e,
sobretudo, Astor Piazzola, que rompeu decididamente com os moldes clssicos do
tango, dando-lhe tratamentos harmnicos e rtmicos modemos.
O Tango - como o samba, no Brasil - tomou-se smbolo nacional com forte apelo
turstico. Casas de tango e o culto aos nomes famosos de Gardel e Juan de Dios
Filiberto perpetuam o gnero. Ao contrrio do samba, no entanto, a criao artstica
do tango sofreu forte declnio a partir da dcada de 1950.
A Dana - Por sua forte sensualidade, o tango foi, a princpio, considerado
imprprio a ambientes familiares. O ritmo herdou algumas caractersticas de outras
danas de casais, como as corridas e quebradas da habanera, mas aproximou mais
o par e acrescentou grande variedade de passos. Os danarinos mais exmios
compraziam-se em combin-los e inventar outros, numa demonstrao de
criatividade. Fora dos ambientes populares e dos prostbulos, onde imperava nos
subrbios, o tango perdeu um pouco da lendria habilidade dos bailarinos.
Admitido nos sales, abdicou das coreografias mais extravagantes e evitou
posturas sugestivas de uma intimidade considerada indecente, numa adaptao ao
novo ambiente.
INFLUENCIAS DO TANGO
Tango no Brasil e na Espanha - Resultante de uma fuso da habanera, da polca e
do lundu africano, o tango brasileiro, que deu origem ao maxixe, no tem relao
com o argentino. O compositor Ernesto Nazareth foi quem deu mais destaque ao
gnero, ao qual imprimiu sua marca pessoal. O tango flamenco dana alegre e
festiva do folclore do sul da Espanha, provavelmente influenciado pelo antigo tango
argentino.
PRINCIPAIS FATOS DA VIDA DE GARDEL
1890
Charles Romuald Gardes (Carlos Gardel) teria nascido em 11 de dezembro, em
Toulouse (Frana), filho de Berta Gardes e (segundo algumas verses) de Paul
Lasrre.
1893
Em 11 de maro chegam a Buenos Aires, no vapor Dom Pedro, procedente de
Bordeaux, Berta Gardes (ento com 27 anos) e seu filho, Charles Gardes (com 2
anos).
1905
1905-1907:Gardel detido na priso de Ushuaia por participar de uma briga.
1912
Forma-se o trio integrado por Carlos Gardel, Jos Razzano e Francisco Martino.
1912-1917
Gardel grava para a CBS Colombia como solista ou em dupla com Jos Razzano.
1913
O dueto Gardel-Razzano estria no cabar Armenonville de Buenos Aires.
1915
Em dupla com Razzano, Carlos Gardel estria no teatro Royal de Montevidu.
baleado em uma rua de Buenos Aires por Roberto Guevara, depois de um
desentendimento que ambos tiveram no cabar Palais de Glace.
1917
Inicia-se o vnculo de Gardel com o selo Odeon.Gardel interpreta no teatro
Esmeralda ou no Empire de Buenos Aires (h verses divergentes) "Mi noche triste"
(primeiro tango cano), de Pascual Contursi e Samuel Castriota.
27 de setembro: a dupla Gadel-Razzano estria no teatro Coln Valparaso,
interpretando canes 'criollas'. Depois, viriam as apresentaes no teatro Olimpo
(Via del Mar) e, entre 15 de outubro e 7 de novembro, apresentaes no extinto
teatro Royal de Santiago.
1919
Comeam as turns pelas provncias argentinas.
1920
O consulado uruguaio de Buenos Aires estende o registro de nacionalidade de
Gardel. No pedido, o cantor se declara "uruguaio, nascido em Tacuaremb, em
1887". Seus pais, "Carlos e Maria, ambos falecidos".
1923
Primeira viagem Espanha para uma turn artstica. Estria em 10 de dezembro no
teatro Apolo de Madri. Depois segue para Barcelona, Santander, Bilbao. Na Frana,
visita a Cte D'Azur, Cannes, Paris e Toulouse, onde no se apresentou, embora
existam cartas datadas desta cidade e um telegrama em que pede que a
correspondncia fosse enviada "para a casa da minha me".
1925
A dupla Gardel-Razzano se desfaz.
1925-1930
Gardel grava em Buenos Aires, Paris e Barcelona.
1928
Primeira viagem a Paris para uma turn artstica. Gardel compra a casa da rua Jean
Jaures, em Buenos Aires
1930
Paul Lasrre chega a Buenos Aires disposto a reconhecer seu filho, Charles
Romuald.
1931
Gardel filma "Luces de Buenos Aires" em Paris.
1932
Filmagem de um clssico do cantor, "Meloda de Arrabal", primeiro filme da srie
final. Retorno a Buenos Aires
1933
Gardel vai para o Uruguai, onde faz sua ltima turn por vrias cidades. Em
dezembro chega a Nova York. Em 7 de novembro, Gardel embarca no vapor Conte
Biancamano com destino Europa. Ele nunca voltaria a ver o Rio da Prata.
1934
O cantor comea as gravaes com a RCA Victor. Em Nova York, filma "O Tango na
Brodway" e "Cuesta abajo". Em setembro, Gardel tira frias e viaja dos Estados
Unidos para a Cte D'Azur e depois para Toulouse, onde passa dez dias com sua
me. Esta foi a ltima vez que estiveram juntos.
1935
Filma "O Dia que me Queiras" e "Tango Bar".Em 20 de maro faz suas ltimas
gravaes fonogrficas: 'Guitarra ma', 'Apure delantero buey', e 'Amargura'. No
fim de maro comea a turn pela Amrica Latina, apresentando-se em Porto Rico,
Venezuela e, finalmente, na Colmbia.Em 18 de junho o jornal 'El Nacional', de
Bogot, publica a ltima entrevista do cantor.Em 24 de junho Gardel morre em um
acidente de avio em Medelln (Colmbia), onde o vo entre Bogot e Cali faz uma
escala.Em 17 de dezembro seu corpo exumado do cemitrio San Pedro de
Medelln.
1936
Em 5 de fevereiro seus restos mortais chegam ao Rio da Prata, depois de uma
viagem que incluiu uma escala em Nova York. velado na Alfndega de Montevidu
e, dias depois, em Buenos Aires, celebrado o ltimo de seus quatro velrios.
Gardel sepultado no cemitrio La Chacarita.
1943
Em 7 de julho Berta Gardes morre em Buenos Aires.

l tango es un gnero musical y baile rioplatense, popular en el mbito urbano
de Argentina y Uruguay. Su forma musical es binaria (tema y estribillo) y tiene comps
de dos por cuatro.
A nivel musical, el tango suele ser interpretado por una orquesta tpica o sexteto con
instrumentos como el bandonen, el piano, el violn, la guitarra y el contrabajo. En
cuanto a las letras, suelen basarse en el lunfardo (la jerga rioplatense) y expresar
desamores o reclamos polticos. Enrique Santos Discpolo (1901-1951), Francisco
Canaro (1888-1964),Osvaldo Pugliese (1905-1995), Ctulo Castillo (1906-
1975), Edmundo Rivero (1911-1986), Anbal Troilo (1914-1975), Mariano
Mores (1918) y Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) son algunos de los principales compositores
de tango.
Entre los cantantes y cantores de tango, sobresale Carlos Gardel (1890-1935), el mximo
smbolo del gnero. An se discute si naci en Francia o en Uruguay, aunque vivi
desde su infancia en Argentina y falleci en un accidente de avin en Colombia. Su
contribucin artstica excedi los lmites de la msica, ya que tambin actu en varias
pelculas y triunf en Hollywood.
Alberto Castillo (1914-2002), Tita Merello (1904-2002), Roberto Goyeneche (1926-
1994), Cacho Castaa (1942) y Adriana Varela (1952) son otros cantantes de tango
muy populares.
La tcnica vocal necesaria para cantar tango es un tanto particular: podra decirse que se
ubica en un punto medio entre las usadas en la msica popular y la lrica. Si bien han
existido muchos grandes intrpretes que no pulieron sus talentos, las exigencias han
crecido en las ltimas dcadas y resulta poco comn que un artista actual no tenga una
formacin acadmica.
A diferencia de la pera, no existen restricciones acerca de la tonalidad en la que debera
interpretarse un tango; del mismo modo, la mayora de las piezas pueden ser cantadas por
hombres y mujeres indistintamente. Es posible apreciar la variedad de aportes que surge de
tal libertad al comparar diferentes versiones de un mismo tango; al escuchar a Julio Sosa,
Carlos Gardel y Roberto Goyeneche, por ejemplo, se perciben matices muy diversos, tanto
por el color y la tesitura de cada voz como por la interpretacin.
El mito de Carlos Gardel es equivalente al de personalidades como Mara Callas y Barbra
Streisand, que gozaron de una voz fuera de lo comn, en combinacin con un poder
interpretativo capaz de conmover a las masas. La atencin no debe posarse en su tcnica
vocal, aunque en el caso de Gardel resulta admirable, sino en la belleza que emana de sus
cuerdas vocales, en la intensidad de los sentimientos que pinta en el aire con sus notas
trascendiendo la cultura, el gusto y el tiempo.
En cuanto al baile, se trata de una danza
coreogrfica que se desarrolla a partir del abrazo de la pareja. Se trata de un baile sensual
que, a comienzos del siglo XX, se practicaba slo en clubes nocturnos, ya que estaba
prohibido por incitacin a la lujuria. Existen mltiples pasos de tango que lo convierten en
una danza muy compleja y no apta para principiantes.
Curiosamente, el tango parece ser ms apreciado en pases como Japn e Inglaterra que en
Argentina. Es posible tomar lecciones de baile en casi cualquier parte del mundo, con
profesores de nacionalidades varias; existen, asimismo, competencias de tango que
renen a bailarines internacionales todos los aos. Este fenmeno no es masivo ni cuenta
con la atencin por parte de los medios que s recibe el breakdance, pero ambos resultan
igualmente fascinantes.
El tango, la pera y el hip-hop representan tres de los gneros musicales de ms
repercusin a nivel internacional y en todos los casos se demuestra que el verdadero
espritu de la msica no repara en cuestiones lingsticas o culturales; cuando se advierte
la pasin de una persona que dedica su vida entera al perfeccionamiento de un arte, poco
importa su fontica o su nivel de conocimiento de la historia extrajera.


Lee todo en: Definicin de tango - Qu es, Significado y
Concepto http://definicion.de/tango/#ixzz32wW5VxEE

Carlos Gardel es quizs el ms grande mito de la Argentina. Su habilidad
artstica, su talento incomparable como cantor de los arrabales porteos,
su instinto musical para componer algunos de los ms grandes tangos de
todos los tiempos, su estupendo carcter, su fanatismo por las carreras,
le han llevado a ser quizs slo igualado por la otra leyenda del pas del
sur del Plata: Eva Pern. Sin embargo, mientras toda actividad poltica
puede ser digna de objeciones, comentarios y recelo por parte de
determinados sectores de la poblacin, la figura de Carlos Gardel se erige
como universal para todos los argentinos y los seguidores del tango a
travs del orbe.

Charles Romuald Gards naci un da 11 de Diciembre de 1890 en
Toulouse, Francia. Si bien an existen vehementes defensores de las tesis
defensoras de un nacimiento argentino o uruguayo, el hallazgo de la
partida de nacimiento no deja ninguna interrogante acerca de su
nacionalidad. Hijo natural de Berthe Gards, emigr junto a ella,
habiendo cumplido dos aos, para huir del oprobio que les significaba
dicha condicin. Ello fue al prometedor pas del sur, Argentina. Se
instalaron en Buenos Aires, donde creci el pequeo Charles, en medio
de innumerables travesuras y positivos resultados acadmicos. Sin
embargo, desde un principio denot su aficin por el canto, divulgndolo
por el Mercado del Abasto de la capital argentina. De all su apodo de "El
Morocho del Abasto". Tanto se destac, que comenz a recibir informales
invitaciones a cantar a los cafs del sector; en una de esas ocasiones se
enter que haba un joven que tambin haca furor por aquellos lugares:
era Jos Razzano. Con l form un do, an mtico, desde el ao 1911 a
1925. Gardel era bartono; Razzano era tenor. Si bien se especializaron
en cantar melodas campesinas argentinas en un principio, fueron ellos
mismos quienes descubrieron el tango cancin y lo comenzaron a difundir
con xito.

Sin embargo, la figura de Gardel en el do era cada vez ms
preponderante, y una afeccin vocal, casi crnica, de Jos Razzano, le
llev a quedar solo y sumido en la incertidumbre de su futuro como
solista. Sin embargo, jams se arredr, y busc nuevos horizontes con el
alma de un guerrero.

As, sigui componiendo (antes lo haba hecho con Razzano, pero
bsicamente folklore campesino), y comenz a reunir al grupo de sus
"escobas" (guitarras). A Gardel jams le acomod cantar con
acompaamiento de orquesta, y en innumerables ocasiones admiti que
era con las guitarras donde se exhiba en plenitud. As, el primer
integrante fue Jos Ricardo, quien lo acompa en sus primeras y
exitosas incursiones por Europa. Luego se unira a ellos Guillermo
Barbieri. Al retirarse Ricardo, comenzando los aos 30, se incluiran
Aguilar (que pronto peleara con Gardel), Vivas, Riverol, y muy hacia el
final, Horacio Pettorossi. En la dcada del treinta grabara sus pelculas,
siendo la primera Tomo y Obligo (1931). Luego, en Francia (y tras
apotesicos xitos en los principales teatros de Pars), filmara dos
largometrajes: Meloda de Arrabal y Esprame, y un sketch, La Casa es
Seria (1932). De all volvi a Buenos Aires por ltima vez, tras el xito
avasallador de Meloda de Arrabal, para luego partir a Nueva York. Si bien
no logr introducirse en el mercado norteamericano, debido a las
dificultades que le presentaba el idioma, su talento vocal fue igual
reconocido, y se le deseaba incorporar en las superproducciones de la
Paramount de fines de dcada. Para el pblico hispanoparlante grab en
1934 la mejor de sus pelculas, Cuesta Abajo, y le siguieron el mismo ao
El Tango en Broadway, y en 1935 El Da que me Quieras y Tango Bar. Al
terminar, comenz una gira por Centroamrica, Venezuela y Colombia.
Luego de terminar sus presentaciones en Bogot, comenzaba su regreso
a Buenos Aires. Pero en la escala fatal de Medelln, el avin de Gardel
colision con otro (originando una infinidad de especulaciones al
respecto), falleciendo casi la totalidad de los pasajeros, entre ellos Gardel
y sus guitarristas.

El 24 de Junio de 1935 el Rey del Tango, el Zorzal Criollo, haba dejado
de existir. La conmocin se apoder de toda Amrica Latina; en cada una
de las grandes ciudades se celebraron ceremonias recordatorias. Pero
Buenos Aires se desangr en lgrimas, as como millares de personas
meses despus se congregaron para darle el ltimo adis al Mudo, al
alma de los cien barrios porteos.
Chaplin y Gardel
n el ao 1931 Carlos Gardel canta durante dos meses en la clebre Costa Azul francesa, a la
que concurran los europeos millonarios y famosos; su centro de reunin era el casino Palais
du Mediterrane de Niza, adonde acudan grandes artistas como Charles Chaplin, que entonces
reciba los halagos por su recin presentada pelcula Luces de la ciudad. All disfrut con Gardel del
tango y del xito que alcanzaban ambos.

Madame Sadie Baron Wakefield, admiradora y apoyo fundamental de Gardel, su cantante preferido,
realiz una velada en su casa de la Riviera francesa, para agasajar a Chaplin. Una bailarina que vivi
un romance con Chaplin, May Reeves, escribi en sus memorias: Haba unos cuarenta invitados.
Chaplin estaba muy en forma. Un cantor argentino, acompaado por su guitarrista, cant en su
honor, mientras Chaplin instalado detrs del bar se llevaba a la boca una enorme botella de coac y
cortaba una tarta gigantesca con un cuchillo descomunal (citado por el bigrafo de Gardel, Simon
Collier).

Pero ms claras que las ponderaciones de la Reeves, preocupada por conquistar al famoso artista, el
propio Chaplin declar a Regina Creuve, cronista del New American Lines, en 1935, despus de la
muerte de Gardel: En una reunin ntima Gardel comenz a cantar y me impresion hondamente.
Tena un don superior al de su voz y su figura, y una enorme simpata personal con la que se ganaba,
de inmediato, el afecto de todos. Tan honda era la simpata que inspiraba, recuerdo perfectamente
bien, que llegamos hasta las primeras luces de la madrugada tras una noche de alegra que,
difcilmente, vuelva a a repetirse.

Digan ustedes al pblico que con Gardel pierdo a uno de mis ms simpticos amigos, que los pases
sudamericanos no tenan mejor representante que l entre nosotros. En cuanto al arte
cinematogrfico, se le ha sustrado un cantante destinado a constituir una de las figuras cumbres de
la cinematografa.


Del libro: "Gardel y el tango. Repertorio de recuerdos", de Rafael Flores, Ediciones de la Tierra,
Madrid: 2001.

La amistad entre Gardel y Piazzolla
ucho se sabe sobre la vida de stor Piazzolla desde el momento en que empieza a desarrollar
su carrera artstica como bandoneonista en su Mar del Plata natal.

Pero hay una poca muy importante en su niez que es cuando realmente forma su espritu y su
carcter, alimentando sus conocimientos y sus gustos musicales, que incide particularmente en el
cambio de rumbo que aos ms tarde diera Astor.

Si bien su nacimiento se produce en la ciudad de Mar del Plata, el 11 de Marzo de 1921, dos aos
despus se traslada con sus padres a New Jersey donde habitan espordicamente en la casa de un
familiar que los ayuda financieramente hasta que poco tiempo despus el padre, don Vicente
"Nonino", consigue un empleo de peluquero en el barrio neoyorquino de Manhattan y alquilan para
vivir un modesto departamento en la calle St. Marks Place, en lo que hoy es el famoso barrio
bohemio del Village.

En aquella poca era una zona muy pobre y tena como vecinos por un lado al barrio de los italianos,
y por el otro al de la numerosa colectividad juda de New York.

En ese ambiente se cri Piazzolla. En esos barrios aprendi lo primero que se aprende en la vida, a
escuchar y conversar, pero no en castellano, sino en el idioma ingles. El espaol slo lo hablaba en
su casa con sus padres.

La msica que escuchaba a diario no eran tangos, sino el jazz que estaba de moda, el creado por
George Gershwin y Cab Calloway. Sus amiguitos de barrio y de escuela eran hijos de inmigrantes
italianos cuya idiosincrasia no tena nada que ver con lo argentino, con lo porteo, con el arrabal.

Sus primeras monedas se las gan trabajando con la vecina colectividad juda, ya que los sbados
apagaba las velas en la sinagoga y ayudaba en la limpieza de la misma.

En su relacin con los judos aprendi su msica que la escuchaba en las fiestas y casamientos que
stos realizaban.

Cuando cumple 9 aos de edad, a pesar de que a Astor le encantaba tocar la armnica, el padre le
regala un bandonen y comienza a estudiar msica con el maestro Andrs DAquila y luego con el
pianista Bela Wilda, que fue discpulo del famoso Rachmaninov. Pero hasta ese momento mucha
msica, pero nada de tango.

Cundo se produce la primera incursin del joven Piazzolla en el tango? En el ao 1934
llega Carlos Gardel a New York, contratado para filmar la pelcula "El da que me quieras" y por
esas cosas del destino conoce a un joven de 13 aos llamado Astor que era argentino y adems
tocaba el bandonen.

Nos cuenta el propio Astor: Mi contacto con Gardel fue muy pasajero. El nico placer que tuve fue
filmar con l algunas escenas de "El da que me quieras" -haca de canillita-, y acompaarlo, en
ciertas oportunidades, con el bandonen que yo recin empezaba a estudiar. Para entender y amar a
Gardel, uno tiene que haber pasado por Buenos Aires, conocer el mercado de Abasto, y yo slo era
un chico de trece aos que viva en New York. Ni siquiera tocaba bien un tango en el bandonen.
Por eso Gardel, cuando me escucha por primera vez, me dice: "Pibe, vos tocs el bandonen como
un gallego!". (Del libro "A manera de memorias", de Astor Piazzolla con la colaboracin de
Natalio Gorn, editorial Atlntida, 1990).

A Gardel le cae muy en gracia el "pibe" argentino, que lo ayuda a conocer el barrio italiano,
especialmente las "cantinas", ya que el Zorzal era de buen comer a pesar de lo mucho que se cuidaba
para no aumentar de peso.

Tambin le sirve de traductor, pues Carlitos no hablaba una sola palabra en ingls. Fueron varias las
ocasiones que la madre de Astor tuvo que preparar esos ricos ravioles que el divo saboreaba en la
casa de los Piazzolla.

Nos hicimos muy amigos. La verdad es que yo me convert en su cicerone, recuerda Astor.

Cuando Gardel sala de compras el "pibe" lo acompaaba. Cuando iba a los estudios "Paramount" a
filmar tambin lo llevaba con l. Fue tanto su agradecimiento que le dio un pequeo papel de extra.
De ah esa aparicin en el papel de canillita.

Cuando termina la filmacin, Gardel hace una fiesta a la que invita a muchos argentinos y uruguayos
que vivan en New York, y nada mejor que un asado con msica y cantor, como dice la tradicin.

A la finalizacin del asado, Carlitos le pide al pibe que lo acompae en un tango con su bandonen.
Y textualmente le dice as: Ven pibe, pone la msica de "Arrabal amargo" y dale con todo. Los
comensales aplaudieron a rabiar al do Gardel-Piazzolla.

Ese fue su primer tango. En ese mismo momento comenz a sentir el sabor de la lrica portea.

Puede existir alguna mejor manera de comenzar a tocar tangos que acompaando al mismsimo
Gardel? Segn comentaba el mismo Piazzolla, nunca se haba sentido tan nervioso y extasiado como
en ese momento.

Al poco tiempo, Gardel y sus guitarristas se fueron a actuar a Hollywood. Desde all le manda un
telegrama a Astor invitndolo a unirse a su conjunto. Pero ni su padre, ni el sindicato de msicos le
dan permiso para viajar, por ser menor de edad. El destino y la buena suerte de Piazzolla marcharon
juntos por el mismo sendero. Hubiera sobrevivido aqul muchachito si se acoplaba al conjunto y
comenzaba a viajar con ellos?

Como se ve, fue Gardel el que impuls a Piazzolla a meterse en esa msica casi desconocida hasta
ese momento por el bandoneonista. Pero si bien este influenci para que el tango se metiera en
Piazzolla, no fue lo suficientemente fuerte para mantenerlo dentro de los cnones y cdigos que
dicha msica requiere.

Porque el tango en gran parte es recuerdo, aoranza del pasado, regreso a lo lindo de una juventud
lejana. Y esos recuerdos son los que influenciaron en el espritu de Piazzolla para que musicalizara
su juventud. Esa juventud no portea. Esa adolescencia alejada del barrio que describi Homero
Manzi, alejada de la percanta de Pascual Contursi, del cafetn de Discepolo, de la Corrientes y
Esmeralda de Celedonio Flores o del porteito de Villoldo. Nada de eso vivi Astor en sus aos de
mozo y, es por eso a mi modesto entender, que en un momento de su vida comienza a alejarse del
tango, a "sinfonizar" su msica, a mezclar las distintas corrientes musicales que corren por sus
sentidos.

Astor Piazzolla internacionaliz la msica argentina. Quizs no haya existido hasta el presente algn
compositor argentino de su talla. Su obra alcanza a las 3000 composiciones de las cuales fueron
grabadas casi 500. Adems de tangos como: "Adis Nonino", "Verano Porteo", "Para lucirse",
"Libertango", "El desbande", "Contrabajeando", entre otros, escribi la opereta "Mara de Buenos
Aires", sonatas como "Sonata n 1 opus 7", preludios como "Preludio en do sostenido menor para
violn y piano" y muchas composiciones ms acompaadas de ese sabor neoclsico que aprendi de
Alberto Ginastera, su profesor y gua musical.

Qu pensara Gardel de aquel pibe bandoneonista que quiso integrar a su conjunto y encaminarlo en
su estilo y su msica?

Estara de acuerdo Charlie -as lo llamaba Astor- en el estilo y la nueva manera de interpretar el
tango que invent aquel muchachito? (Comentar en La Mesa)

Aceptara Gardel que Piazzolla se alejara tanto del clsico comps milonguero que tambin abrev
del gran Anbal Troilo cuando lo integra a su fila de bandoneonistas?

Son preguntas que nadie puede responder.

Quin sabe ya se encontraron los tres all arriba, en el cielo, y Carlitos, poniendo una mano sobre el
hombro de Pichuco, le dijera a Astor sonriendo: Qu hiciste pibe? Qu lindo lo armaste!

Simon Collier
Carlos Gardel, su encuentro con el tango
os hechos marcan la niez y la adolescencia de Carlos Gardel, uno personal y uno histrico.
En lo personal, que fue un msico nato, instintivo y natural, dotado de un talento muy
especial, y con el instrumento ideal para exteriorizarlo, su magnfica voz. El hecho histrico es que
viva su infancia y su adolescencia en Buenos Aires exactamente en la poca del auge del tango.

Nacido en 1890, y residente en la capital argentina como nio inmigrante, completamente
argentinizado desde 1893, sus primeros aos coincidan con la eclosin del tango como baile
popular y, desde luego, con el desarrollo de la msica que acompaaba el baile, que no tard en
convertirse en una de las ms ricas tradiciones del siglo veinte. Hay testimonios fehacientes de que
el joven muchacho, El Francesito, ms tarde El Morocho del Abasto como lo apodaban sus
compaeros, aprendi a bailar el tango y que lo bailaba muy bien. Sin embargo, el baile es una
cosa y la msica es otra. La ntima conexin entre Gardel y el tango no se estableci sino aos
despus, y por varias razones.

Cronolgicamente, como se sabe, los orgenes del tango se remontan alrededor de 1880, cuando el
baile se cristaliz, probablemente, en los arrabales al sur de la flamante Capital. La fusin de la
milonga y la mazurca y la habanera, el rol de los compadritos, las influencias coreogrficas del
candombe, el medio social pobre y marginal. Puede afirmarse que la dcada de 1880 es la dcada
fundamental, y que en la dcada de 1890 (o sea los aos de la niez de Carlos Gardel en los
conventillos) ya se perfilan los comienzos de una tradicin musical, con la composicin de los
primeros autnticos tangos, la formacin de los pequeos conjuntos instrumentales que tocaban
en los bailes y la aparicin de las primeras partituras.

En sus aos escolares, el tango experiment su despegue definitivo. La dcada clave, es la de 1900.
Los grupos musicales comienzan a granjearse una gran reputacin local, el bandonen y el piano se
incorporan definitivamente a la lnea instrumental, aparecen las primeras estrellas y se efectan
las primeras grabaciones fonogrficas. Desde 1903 en adelante, los conjuntos de tango tocan todas
las noches en los cafs de La Boca, un episodio admirablemente evocado en la autobiografa de
Francisco Canaro.

Sabemos poco o nada de las andanzas porteas del adolescente Carlos Gardel, pero sera
extraordinario que no hubiera escuchado a los msicos de La Boca, dada su naciente pasin por la
msica. Si fue al teatro (desempendose como utilero) para escuchar a Titta Ruffo y a otros
gigantes de la lrica, es difcil pensar que no haya ido a los cafetines de la ribera para escuchar a
Canaro, a Greco o a Firpo. Sus melodas eran difundidas en todas partes por los organitos, el tango
ya se respiraba en la atmsfera portea. Gardel, seguramente, estaba totalmente consciente de
esta msica novedosa. El tango lo rodeaba.

Pero no el tango-cancin. Para un muchacho con la aspiracin de ser un cantante popular otro
gnero le ofreca un futuro bastante ms prometedor: el folclrico. El proceso ms dinmico en el
teatro porteo en las primeras dos dcadas del siglo veinte fue la incorporacin del folclore al
variet. Las canciones folclricas ya haban tenido una acogida calurosa en los circos y los comits
polticos de la poca, especialmente en los del Partido Autonomista Nacional (frecuentados, por el
adolescente Gardel). Al formar el do con el uruguayo Jos Razzano, a fines de 1911, Gardel ya
tena una excelente reputacin como cantor folclrico en su barrio del Abasto y, seguramente
tambin, en otros barrios.

Es significativo que el sello Columbia lo haya llamado en 1912 para grabar una tanda de canciones.
A principios de 1914 el flamante do Gardel-Razzano apareci por primera vez en los escenarios
porteos, con un repertorio enteramente folclrico. Durante los prximos diez aos Gardel y
Razzano figuraran entre los artistas ms cotizados del variet argentino. Su xito, fue un reflejo de
una tendencia cultural ms amplia: el folclore que daba seales muy fuertes de transformarse en la
msica popular hegemnica de Buenos Aires, iba a ser desplazado en gran parte por el tango, y
muy pronto, pero eso no era tan obvio en la dcada de 1910. Ningn profeta intuy que ya estaba
llegando la deslumbrante poca de Oro del tango.

El tango, por el momento, le ofreca poco o nada a un cantante exitoso como Gardel. Por meritoria
que haya sido la labor anterior de ngel Villoldo y otros, una verdadera tradicin del tango cantado
no se haba establecido. Hacan falta letristas y letras con argumentos redondeados y con su propio
temario. No cabe la ms mnima duda de que el hombre que hizo el aporte fundamental a la
creacin del tango cantado fue Pascual Contursi. Como dice Jos Gobello: la historia del tango se
divide fundamentalmente en dos etapas: la pre-contursiana y la post-contursiana. Fue Contursi, en
efecto, quien empez a redactar letras completas para acompaar ciertos tangos instrumentales ya
existentes.

A mediados de la dcada de 1910, Contursi resida en Montevideo, defendindose como cantor-
guitarrista. De cuando en cuando (a partir de 1915) Gardel y Razzano cumplan ciclos de
actuaciones all, donde se toparon con Contursi, seguramente en algn local nocturno. En algn
momento, en enero-febrero de 1917, Contursi le mostr a Gardel la letra que haba redactado para
el tango Lita de Samuel Castriota, incorporando uno de los temas primordiales de los tangos del
futuro: el amante abandonado. A Gardel le gust la cancin y la estren en Buenos Aires pocos
meses despus, con el ttulo de Mi noche triste. Tradicionalmente se ha afirmado que el estreno
se verific en el Teatro Esmeralda, uno de los reductos del do Gardel-Razzano. Pero entre enero
de 1917 y abril de 1918 el do no actuaba en aquel teatro. De acuerdo con la cronologa
minuciosamente establecida por Miguel ngel Morena, parece muy probable que Gardel la cant
por primera vez en el Teatro Empire, otro reducto del do, durante una serie de actuaciones, desde
fines de julio hasta principios de septiembre de 1917. No sabremos nunca la fecha exacta, pero
Gardel debe haber grabado la cancin poco despus, ya que hacia fines de septiembre, el do se
ausent de Buenos Aires para realizar una pequea gira por Chile. El disco se puso a la venta en
enero de 1918, y fue un xito rotundo. Otra indicacin fuerte de la popularidad de la cancin es
que, a fines de 1917, la orquesta tpica de Roberto Firpo haba grabado un instrumental de Lita,
con el ttulo de Mi noche triste.

Pero por importante que haya sido el lanzamiento de Mi noche triste como el momento clave del
nacimiento del tango-cancin, el triunfo del nuevo gnero no fue de ningn modo instantneo.
Gardel segua siendo, esencialmente, un cantor folclrico. La msica folclrica todava estaba en
pleno auge en el teatro.

Las actuaciones y grabaciones del do Gardel-Razzano le suministraron a Gardel una renta ms que
aceptable, asegurndole un estilo de vida que no iba a variar mucho durante el resto de su vida:
veladas alegres con sus amigos en los cafs de Buenos Aires, excursiones dominicales al Hipdromo
Argentino de Palermo.

La voz de Razzano no se adaptaba bien al tango. El repertorio del do no cambiaba en lo
fundamental. Pero poco a poco la veta folklrica se estaba agotando, mientras el tango ganaba
terreno en el gusto popular. Haba cobrado un nuevo mpetu con su triunfo espectacular en Europa
y Estados Unidos en los aos 1913-14. Ya estaba en marcha un proceso de perfeccionamiento
musical, simbolizado especialmente con la formacin de las clsicas orquestas tpicas de la
Guardia Nueva una brillante eclosin musical que hizo inevitable la consolidacin de una forma
cantada del tango como complemento esencial de la forma instrumental. Gardel se adaptaba
paulatinamente a esta nueva realidad cultural. Es parte de su genio saber adaptarse.

Al principio, el repertorio de tangos con letra fue muy limitado. Era indispensable aumentarlo.
Previsiblemente, Pascual Contursi aport su cuota. Su Flor de fango fue el segundo tango que
grab Gardel (1919) y agreg otro tema primordial a la naciente tradicin, el tema de la muchacha
pobre que se pierde en la vida de los cabarets, el champagne y los hombres ricos e inescrupulosos.
En 1920-21 surgieron otros letristas importantes, entre ellos Celedonio Flores y Francisco Garca
Jimnez. El talentoso Enrique Delfino, mientras tanto, estableci la pauta formal del tango-cancin
(dos estrofas de diecisis compases, repetidas en la secuencia A-B-A-B) con su colaboracin con el
letrista Samuel Linnig en la inolvidable cancin Milonguita, que figura entre las grabaciones de
Gardel en el ao 1920. Dada la calidad primitiva de la grabacin, es una autntica tragedia que
Gardel nunca hizo una segunda versin despus de la llegada del micrfono en 1925.

A principios de la dcada de 1920, tambin, otros cantantes se sumaron al tango. Ignacio Corsini,
ya un galn clebre en los escenarios porteos, se inici con Patotero, en mayo de 1922,
cantndolo en el Teatro Apolo. Al ao siguiente, en el Teatro Nacional, Azucena Maizani estren
Padre nuestro. Gardel ya no estaba solo. Su viraje definitivo hacia el tango se refleja en las cifras
de sus grabaciones. Entre 1917 y 1921 Gardel grab solamente 17 tangos (de un total de 41
grabaciones, excluyendo las que hizo con Razzano). En 1922, 20 tangos (de 29 grabaciones) y en
1923, 33 tangos (de 44 grabaciones). No cabe duda de que estaba respondiendo a una creciente
demanda por parte del pblico. El tango ya haba conquistado el corazn de los porteos.

Al convertirse en un cantor de tangos, Gardel fue el hombre apropiado, en el lugar apropiado y en
la poca apropiada. Con la disolucin del do, en 1925, la ruta qued completamente despejada.
Gardel estaba en camino a su destino definitivo. El resto es historia. Es de suponerse que en 1925
Gardel no intuy las dimensiones de su fama posterior. No saba que su encuentro con el tango iba
a transformarlo en una leyenda. Pero fue as.

Jorge Gttling
Ser Gardel es ser el mejor
arlos Gardel naci, dicen, el 11 de diciembre de 1890, en la ciudad francesa de Toulouse.
Lleg a la Argenfina a los tres aos. En 1915, con Jos Razzano, grab Mi noche triste,
inaugurando la era del tango cancin. Con Alfredo Le Pera compuso decenas de tangos famosos. En
Pars vendi 110 mil discos en menos de un ao. En Estados Unidos film 11 pelculas. Ya haba
grabado cerca de 800 temas cuando el 24 de junio de 1935 muri en un accidente areo en
Medelln, Colombia.

Si la credibilidad pblica sobre el significante de Carlos Gardel resisti las colisiones de casi un siglo
de crisis e, incluso, ha crecido, no debe ser slo porque cada da canta mejor. Por algn lado debe
de andar la explicacin racional de la persistencia de la devocin popular o de la supervivencia de
Gardel, invicto en su condicin heroica. Quiz ha quedado traspapelada en el archivo nacional de
preguntas sin respuestas, de los cuestionamientos con los que los argentinos desayunamos cada
maana.

Tambin hoy la voz intacta alcanzar subidos puntos de difusin, como si nos aferrsemos
sistemticamente al nico argentino libre de sospecha, al santo y sea de todos los acuerdos:
Gardel cumplir su pirueta ritual y transformar su apellido en adjetivo de sencilla decodificacin.
Todos sabemos que ser Gardel es ser el mejor.

Ha pasado ms de medio siglo desde la catstrofe de Medelln, aquella tontera de la historia, y el
pas es otro, aun cuando las calamidades no sean flamantes y tengan un aire de familia que, por lo
menos, nos abruma. En la Buenos Aires de hoy, slo la humedad y la nostalgia constituyen un hilo
comn con aquella otra de las dcadas del 20 y del 30, que patentizaron la peripecia de Gardel. Ni
la palabra, el honor, el amor o los escrpulos son los mismos y hasta el machismo es una entidad
de descarte. La bisagra es Gardel, que fue la bocina parlante de aquel porteo desesperado,
confundido, aletargado y entre la arcilla del Ro de la Plata, sumergido en la miseria ingente y
abismado frente a un futuro incierto, con horizonte chato.

Con la economa tan averiada que no alcanza para comprar un sueo, con la sensacin a flor de piel
de tanto bronce intil, parecera que nos anclramos en ese Gardel de entrecasa como un nico
resguardo conocido y seguro.

Gardel y sus tangos dieron voz y voto a ese argentino. Quien pretenda que fue el arquetipo de
nuestra nacionalidad, peca de ligereza y adolece de imbecilidad. Pero se equivoca, tambin, quien
afirme que slo fue un artista popular, una voz limpia, un estilo prolijo, un instantneo opositor de
todo nuevo cantante. Como que, sin pretenderlo, fue el ariete ms contundente de aquella
ofensiva cultural exportadora argentina que puso su meta en Pars.

No hay Dios sin misterio y Gardel, forjador de su propia leyenda, llen de sombras los pasajes ms
puntuales de su historia personal. Siempre que celebr su cumpleaos lo hizo en fecha diferente,
produjo confusiones sobre su edad real y hasta se permiti dibujar su nacimiento en lugares
distintos. La historia oficial fija su nacimiento en Toulouse, en la Alta Garona francesa, el 11 de
diciembre de 1890, hijo de Berta Gardez y de padre desconocido, una carencia que referenciara su
vida. No es casual que Gardel, hijo bastardo, sea mito y referente de un pas hijo de la bastarda.

La brumosa investigacin en torno del padre de Charles Romuald Gardez lo ubica en la figura de
Paul Lasserre, un prspero comerciante, casado y padre de familia, quien no lo reconoce como hijo
y que apura la partida de la planchadora Berta a su aventura americana, que derivara en el Abasto.
Gardel jams mencion a su padre y esa gotera abierta hizo poco posible que dirimiera la
necesidad de formar una familia tradicional. No tuvo padre, no fue padre en el sentido bblico o
gentico.

Reparara, sin embargo, el bache de su historia; Gardel fue el padre del tango-cancin, le dio
imagen y semejanza, lo dot de herencia y le dej un apellido.

Detrs de las aventuras del Gardel del palco, el disco o la cinematografia, de la montaa de
mentiras pergeadas por los gardelfobos y de ancdotas crebles o apcrifas aportadas por los
gardelfilos, ms all de los retazos de su conografia abaratada, persisten misterios indevelables.
Las fabulaciones sobre su sexualidad, sobre pasajes fronterizos con el delito menor en los tiempos
del Abasto, las grietas informativas alrededor de los motivos de la catstrofe en suelo colombiano,
resultan, sin embargo, menos atractivas para el porteo, convencido -no sin razn- de que la
verdad es, a veces, menos importante que la leyenda.

Entre aquella Argentina de Gardel, anterior a la inmigracin del pas interior hacia la costa, y la
penosa versin de hoy, median mil desventuras y centenares de ilusiones enterradas en el rincn
de los recuerdos muertos. Hasta es comprensible que, por no aceptar la chatura del presente,
fijemos la vista en ese Gardel y en esa ciudad suysima rebosante de esperanza. Gardel estar,
porque devino de una entidad mtica provista o encubierta por la condensacin del inconsciente
colectivo.

Y ser lcito que demos manija a cualquiera de sus discos para creernos, como buenos argentinos,
que tambin somos dueos de su inspiracin. Y Gardel contestar como un barrilete hundido en la
memoria, para responder a la mano y remontar en la emocin, con slo poner tenso el hilo de su
voz.

Extractado de "Viva", la revista de Clarn 13/6/1999.
Juan Carlos Esteban
El discurso gardeliano
los 120 aos del natalicio de Carlos Gardel me he convocado para participar de distintos
homenajes en su memoria. Me parece que se olvidan que para los que amamos a Gardel es,
casi, una adiccin imperativa convivir con su imagen. No podemos sustraernos al misterioso influjo
que ejerce su persona. Nadie necesita pedirnos lo que se ha convertido en una compulsin.

El ngel de Gardel habita nuestra existencia desde que nos introducimos en su mundo. Es decir,
desde siempre. Pero me he formulado, en varias circunstancias en que abord el tema, la misma
pregunta. Se trata de la extraordinaria resistencia de Gardel a la inevitable erosin del tiempo. Para
l eso no existe. Misteriosamente ha sido excluido. Y en cada caso, he encontrado distintas
respuestas, todas verosmiles.

Gardel, como el Cid, sigue ganando batallas y adeptos, despus de su trnsito definitivo
apropindome de un lugar comn. Su vigencia e inmortalidad, curiosamente siguen creciendo a
despecho de la aparicin de nuevas formas musicales que, nacen y se extinguen sin explicacin
racional.

Ser porque lo que invent Gardel no es estrictamente msica y canto? En efecto, el tango y
Gardel son, adems, una forma de vivir y de pensar, en un momento preciso de la sociedad
argentina. Hay una insospechada simbiosis entre la sociedad de su tiempo y Gardel; un dilogo
inaudible entre el elegido y su pueblo.

El tango es una transpolacin, en forma musical, de una filosofa y un modo de sentir genuino y
profundamente tico. No describe la sociedad argentina como un tratado de sociologa urbana. Se
involucra en ella. Toma partido. Los personajes del tango son bsicamente morales y, los que
renuncian a esos cdigos de conducta, son condenados y descalificados.

En esa hiptesis, el barrio era el protagonista excluyente de lo que ahora llamamos la sociedad
argentina. Tena lmites precisos. Su geografa era el patio, la vereda, la calle o la cortada y, hasta
all, se extenda nuestro hogar y, si me apuran, nuestro mundo. El zagun era el pasador obligado
que nos comunicaba con ese paraso urbano que se llamaba barrio. En ese habitculo convivan
santos y malevos, aunque los cdigos sancionaban a estos y enaltecan a los virtuosos.

El barrio era la universidad, la fragua, el molde donde, por contraste se elega el futuro; el modelo
de vida. Y, en ese medio, Gardel se erigi en su mximo exponente. Los describi a todos pero,
tambin, los calific a todos.

Por eso el tango encierra una leccin moral donde se exalta a Giuseppe el zapatero y se denosta a
Beltrn y sus polainas, a la advenediza Crisolda Valle o al rufin melanclico del querido Roberto
Arlt. Y esos personajes convivan, sin mezclarse, en un mismo medio: el barrio.

Cuntos de estos seres que se describen en Aguafuertes Porteas de Arlt, pasaron a ser
elementos universales que, cohabitaban en las letras del tango y en nuestras vidas? En su libro
desfilan una galera de nombres que nos fueron familiares, en las letras de los tangos y en nuestra
niez, aunque, con otros apelativos.

Y en medio de todos, asumindolos, est Gardel o mejor dicho su duende. Y l se introdujo en la
piel de todos y cada uno de esos seres y, al describirlos, los inmortaliz.

El manejo de su voz, su tono, su acentuacin, sus pausas inimitables, el colorido de sus registros,
sus parlamentos producan el milagro de su capacidad mimtica. No eran todos iguales. La
cambiante inflexin de su voz los diferenciaba.

Era Gardel pero, al mismo tiempo, eran Ventarrn, El pobre punga, Milonguita, El que
atras el reloj, el torturado personaje de Confesion y tantos otros. Para cada uno tena
reservado el tono elogioso, el castigo, la compasin, la ternura. Su inflexin, la impostacin de su
voz, los matices, la riqueza cromtica no eran siempre iguales. Eran distintas y cambiantes, para
cada uno de sus personajes.

Fue el sumo sacerdote del barrio que tanto am. Por eso no deca los tangos; los rezaba con el
fervor y la hondura de una oracin. Es cierto, Gardel no cantaba. Se me hace que rezaba
compenetrado de cada circunstancia y, all, reside la diferencia abismal con todos. Fue nico en su
tiempo y, por supuesto, tambin ahora.

Me cuesta creer en los milagros. Pero sospecho que l fue uno de ellos. Sus devotos cumplen el
rito. Lo escuchan, como en aquel Xilograma que dibuj Sigfredo Pastor. Se acuerdan de El
hombre que escucha a Gardel?. Si la memoria no me falla, la caricatura no puede soslayar la
actitud. En el dibujo, la uncin es casi religiosa; de recogimiento.

No habr ninguno igual, porque es imposible dar marcha atrs el reloj de la historia. Su tiempo, el
tiempo de Gardel, se incorpor a la historia grande de nuestro pas. No tiene retorno. Pero
tampoco olvido. Para comprender ese majestuoso perodo no basta leer la historia. Es menester
escuchar, al mismo tiempo, el sermn laico que nos recita Gardel, con uncin cercana a la plegaria.

Entonces, l pone en movimiento, por infinita vez, la crnica inacabable. Revive la permanente
letana de sus hroes y villanos. Retorna a la escena, por ensima vez, la esperada y siempre nueva
pollerita corta y los bucles despeinados, reviviendo los tteres que hablaban ruso y francs.
Aparece, tambin, el Che Bartola!, por costumbre, disfrazado de Marqus de Boca Negra y por
qu no el drama de Al pie de la Santa Cruz y el barco que se pierde a la distancia. Tambin
Acquaforte.

Resulta casi imposible, entonces, comprender el fenmeno de la construccin de nuestra sociedad,
desde 1880 hasta la gran crisis de 1930, sin pasar por el tango y su mximo cronista. Ninguna
leccin de historia de nuestra patria puede calar tan hondo en la problemtica de aquel fascinante
perodo fundacional, sin escuchar la misa pagana que nos reza Gardel.

Me atrevo a vaticinar que la leccin moral de vida que nos propone, es, hoy, de rigurosa actualidad.
No s si se comprende que cuando se describen nuestros barrios y sus gentes, nos estn dibujando
con sabia humildad, los deberes que nos plantean las circunstancias que hoy nos toca vivir. Y eso
tiene nombre. Recuperar la identidad nacional que se nos escurri sin darnos cuenta. En suma,
volver a soar la Argentina.
In 1934, superstar tango singer Carlos
Gardel was one of the most popular singers and matinee idols in the world. His fame was
sealed in his native Buenos Aires, and he was also a huge star in France, where hed been
living. Paramount Pictures brought him to New York City to make a series of films for the
Spanish-speaking audience. While doing 1934s Tango on Broadway, he needed a
bandonon player and somebody brought him a young kid named Astor Piazzolla.
Between filming and shooting, Gardel sang on the radio on WEAF, the local affiliate of
NBC, and a radio station not unlike his old Radio Belgrano in Buenos Aires. One night
another young kid shows up at one of these concerts, coming from neighboring Hoboken,
New Jersey. This kid, son of a Sicilian Genovese parents, young Frank was a rebellious
student, couldnt hold down a job, and was getting in trouble with the law. His girlfriend,
foreseeing a troubled future, takes him to an NBC live radio show with Gardel singing with
the studio orchestra, and afterwards persuades him to go backstage and meet Gardel. She
tells the great tango singer that her boyfriend is on a collision course, will wind up in prison,
but that he has a good voice and can sing. Gardel then tells them that he too once was a
bad egg, a petty criminal, but that singing saved his life, bringing him fame and fortune. In
halting Spanish and some Italian, Sinatra timidly asked Gardel what he should do. Gardel
told him about a radio show called Major Bowes Amateur Hour that held regular contests.
Sinatra entered the contest with his band, the Hoboken Four, and won. And so in 1935,
Francis Albert Sinatras ascent started with this radio show. By 1940, hed hit the big time
with the big bands of Harry James and Tommy Dorsey.
Gardel died tragically in a plane crash in Medelln, Colombia at the peak of his fame, in
1935. But Sinatra never forgot what Gardel had taught him.
Many years later, in 1981 Frank Sinatra went to Buenos Aires for the very first time, singing
in Luna Park for 20,000 people. He said later he got goosebumps getting up on stage for
the show. It wasnt like other concerts.
Afterwards he asked the cultural attach to take him to the grave of his benefactor.
Emotion seized him and he wept openly. His debt of gratitude: He might have never
become the great popular singer without the inspiration and hope the great tango singer
had given him almost fifty years before.
(p.s. I hate to shamelessly self-promote, but I will anyway: my next music salon has one
evening exploring the incendiary, duende-laden music of tango and flamenco. It starts in
just three weeks).

El periodista Mario Gonzlez, desde Per nos enva este artculo, sobre esta ancdota desconocida para
la gran mayora.

Entre filmacin y filmacin Carlitos mataba el tiempo cantando por radio. A principios de ese ao la prensa
neoyorkina anuncia que habr dos nuevos programas en la cadena WEAF-NBC a partir del 14 de enero,
los cuales sern un programa semanal con la orquesta de Richard Hommer y la segunda nueva
programacin incluir la presentacin de Carlos Gardel, bartono argentino (textual), todos los da a las 21
horas.

La National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) era un poco como Radio Belgrano en la Argentina : ni tan
populachera como Radio Portea ni tan finoli y nariz levantada como Radio El Mundo. Decenas de
millones de yankis seguan sus programas de costa a costa tratando de olvidar las penurias
Es entonces que a ver y escuchar el programa de Gardel llega una noche de ese glido invierno de 1934
un muchacho venido de la barriada de Hoboken en la vecina Nueva Jersey.

Se trata de Francesco Albertino Sinatra Agravantes, hijo de genovesa y siciliano que a sus apenas 18
aos de edad no ha dejado macana sin hacer: ha sido expulsado la escuela tras innumerables
amonestaciones por su caracter provocador. Sus incursiones laborales: camionero, repartidor de diarios,
cadete, etc. terminaban siempre en el abandono de todos esos trabajos.

Al filo de la ley, es un pibe rpido pa los
mandados, sobre todo los de los
mafiosos de cabotaje, lo que le lleva a
tener mas de una entrada en las
comisaras. En plena juventud, Frank
Sinatra anda a los tumbos por la vida.
Si esa noche concurre a los estudios de
la NBC a escuchar a Gardel, es un poco
porque le gusta la msica y un mucho
porque quien le insiste en ir para alejarlo
de las malas compaias, es su novia
Nancy Barbato, que tambien desciende
de inmigrantes italianos, nacida en
Nueva Jersey.

Sinatra queda embelesado al escuchar a
Gardel y cuando termina el programa se
atreve a acercarse junto a Nancy para saludarlo. Medio en italiano y medio en castellano se establece el
dilogo. Gardel le pregunta a que se dedica y Sinatra calla, notandosele avergonzado.

Nancy entonces le cuenta a Gardel que su novio est desperdiciando su talento ya que tiene una voz muy
hermosa, y en vez de cultivarla anda todo el da con otros muchachones de dudoso vivir. Gardel entonces
le pone una mano en el hombro y le dice a Sinatra: -"Mir ragazzino, cuando yo tena tu edad, andaba all
en Buenos Aires como vos ands ahora en Nueva York. Pasaba todo el da en compaa no muy
recomendable cerca del mercado de Abasto, con squenunes como los que vos frecuents.

Especialmente con unos malandrinos genoveses, los fratelli Traverso, cuyo padre tena una fonda
llamada ORondeman, que era una guarida de la Mano Negra , la Camorra y tutti cuanti. Logicamente
cada dos por tres me portaban en galera. No te voy a decir que ahora soy un santo, pero el cantar no solo
me dio fama y fortuna, tambin me apart de ese ambiente donde solo me esperaba pudrirme en la carcel
o morir violentamente".

Sinatra lo escuchaba atentamente y en algn momento se atreve a preguntar: -"Mister Gardel, usted
que me aconseja que haga?".

Gardel le contesta: - "Por lo pronto ragazzino, aprovech que ests aqu en la radio y anotate en un
concurso de cantantes que creo que se llama "Major Bowes Amateur Hour". Hacelo ragazzino que con
probar nada se pierde".

Sinatra le hizo caso Se present a ese concurso acompaando al tro Three Flashes, que para la ocasin
se hicieron llamar Hoboken Four (todos vivan en ese barrio de Nueva Jersey) y ganaron el primer premio,
lo que les llev a una gira patrocinada por el programa. No obstante, por desavenencias con el resto de
sus compaeros, a los tres meses Sinatra abandon la gira. Pero ya la simiente de su fulgurante carrera
artstica estaba plantada gracias al oportuno consejo que le diera ese bartono argentino en los pasillos de
la NBC.

Muchos aos despus de estos episodios, el consagradsimo en todo el orbe Frank Sinatra lleg en
agosto de 1981 por primera vez y unica vez a la Argentina y debut en el Luna Park de Buenos Aires ante
20.000 personas en un concierto que interpret sus ms famosas canciones. Se sinti muy identificado
con nuestra gente.

Afirm que apreciaba a los argentinos. Le gustaba el asado y el vino -de hecho, lo calific de excelente-.
Segn La Voz , el espectculo que dio en el Luna Park fue uno de los mejores shows que haba hecho
desde haca mucho tiempo. Cuando subi al escenario, coment: -"Se me puso la piel de gallina". Por
que tanta generosidad con este pasi al que recin llegaba y no estara en el mas que unas cuantas
horas.

Muy pocos supimos que el da anterior, convenientemente camuflado para tratar de pasar de incgnito se
hizo llevar hasta la zona del Abasto. Haba pedido previamente al agregado cultural de la Embajada de
EE.UU. que lo acompaaba, que tratara de ubicar donde haba estado el caf ORondeman. Este lo
condujo a la esquina de Aguero y Humahuaca, donde un terreno baldo dejaba ver entre yuyales viejos
cimientos.

En la fra tarde portea, Sinatra sac de su sobretodo una amarillenta entrada de un espectculo radial de
1934, la bes, la puso en tierra y para asombro de todos chapurre en un castellano casi fontico : -
"Dnde estarn Traverso, el Cordobs y el Noy, el pardo Augusto, Flores y el morocho Aldao los
guapos del Abasto rimaron mi cantar".

Y en voz fuerte para que todos lo oyeran La Voz agreg: -"thanks for helping me to live, Mister Gardel".

Nota de Direccin: Una pgina ms, para la leyenda del famoso Mago. Decidimos publicarla en honor a
quien la enva, pues Mario permanentemente nos sorprende con sus hallazgos. No nos hacemos
responsables de las partes que pueden agrandar la polmica acerca de la nacionalidad; compartimos la
nota porque la encontramos original. De manera que a los amigos de Tacuaremb: "calma, el show debe
continuar..."