The History of Tango - Essay Example

History of Tango Tango is a type of music, dance and poetry with origins in the 1870s in Bueno Aires before spreadingto the rest of Argentina, Uruguay, and South America and to the rest of the world. Bueno Aires was a cultural melting point with immigrants from such European countries as Spain, Britain, Poland, Italy and Germany among many others mixed in South America. The immigrants brought their cultural practices key among which were music and dances, which they assimilated systematically with the local cultural practices thereby resulting in Tango. African immigrants contributed to the development of Tango, which is a term from the African dialects. Tango referred to a variety of local dances such as the “tango andaluza”. Tango developed and spread rapidly to the rest of the world with numerous of celebrity artists. Furthermore, tango has often influenced fundamental aspects of the society such as politics as the discussion below portrays. Playing tango requires a collection of musical instrument. Tango may include a vocalist or purely instrumental. Regardless of the nature, tango requires an ensemble of the instrument with the type and number of instruments depending on the preference of the audience. Traditionally, playing tango required a solo guitar or a guitar duo. In most cases, it comprised of an ensemble known by the locals as orquesta típica. orquesta típica just as the name suggests was an ensemble of various instruments including a violin, piano, flute, two or more bandoneóns, double bass and guitar. Playing the assortment of musical instruments is systematic with the artists creating a harmonious rhythm that enhances the vocalists in cases one is present. In the event of instrumental tango, the instrumentalists maintain a particular rhythm and tone that constitutes the music. Tango developed and spread to Europe where it gained popularity rapidly beginning with France. Numerous European tango artists began emerging. Carlos Gardel was one such tango artist who enhanced the spread of Tango in Europe ensuring that tango moved from the low class brothels to become a respectable form of dance and music. Tango spread into the United States alongside the developed of the film industry. Tango dance had sensual depictions in most films in the United States a feature that endeared to the local populations who embraced the culture and began developing similar music and learning the dance. Tango music retained its macho lyrics that blamed women for numerous heartbreaks with the dance remaining both sexual and aggressive. Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was among the most influential tango artists who influenced the development of the music. Piazzolla was a composer, arranger and a bandoneon. His unique style of playing tango revolutionized the music thereby expanding the scope of the music. He incorporated a number of features and musical instruments including classical music and jazz. He performed his compositions in a number of ways including a variety of ensembles. Piazzolla began his career with humility in Bueno Aires but developed rapidly and spread the music into Europe. He performed at London’s Almeida theatre and in the central park New York. Such among other numerous other performances both in Europe in in South America influenced the growth and influence of tango globally. Piazzolla’s legacy shows the extent of his fame. The government of Argentina named a number of iconic infrastructure after the celebrated artist. Such include the Astor Piazzolla International Airport, which is located in Mar del Plata (Denniston, www.totaltango.com). Numerous other tango artists developed in the 1930s, an era commonly known as tango’s golden age. Tango spread to numerous countries throughout the world with different artists arising from different countries every so often. Key among such artists was Seyyan Hanim, who embodied the emancipation of women in Turkey. He broke the conservative Islamic culture to become the first women on a stage performing tango. She played a mixture of several other types of music including foxtrot and rhumba. Pyotr Leshchenko popularly known as “the king of Russian tango” led the spread of the music in Russia. Julio Sosa was also another famous Uruguayan tango artist who became popular in the 1950s. Other renowned tango musicians included Alberto Acuña from Bueno Aires, Eduardo Adrián from Mar del Plata and Ernesto Ariel among numerous others. The development of tango both in South America and throughout the world had major influences in every feature of the society. As explained earlier, tango was a result of cultural interaction in South Africa, which began, with the fusion of cultures from Europe, Africa and the South America. Its growth and spread relied on the basic fact that it enjoyed acceptance in every part of the world. Major influences of tango were in the development of film industry and in advertisement. Numerous films produced both in Hollywood and globally have aspects of tango. Examples of some of the most successful tango films include Take the lead produced in 2007, an invisible man produced in 1990, The Tango singer produced in 2009 and Francesca Da Rimini produced in 1835 among many others (Groppa 88). The development of musical films enhanced the growth of the film industry globally thereby enhancing the spread of tango music. The same was the case in the advertisement with most television commercials employing tango music given its unique features. Firstly, tango was spreading rapidly and enjoyed acceptance in different parts of the world. As such, multinational corporations used the unique type of music in advertising their various products. Additionally, tango music had sexual and aggressive dance. Most advertisers use sex appeal in selling their products a feature that made tango music popular in advertisement. Kyocera, a leading global manufacturer of electronics uses tango music in its advertisement. The same is the case with numerous other companies including St George, an award-winning advert for a soft drink in the United Kingdom. Tango is a brand name for a soft drink in Britain. Blackcurrant Tango is a popular soft drink in the country whose advert, St. George won several awards for portraying creativity in development and presentation of the message (Stewart, www.edinburghtango.org.uk). Such basic factors as the use of tango in developing a profitable brand show the influences of the famous music and dance which the company uses in successive advertisements for the product. As explained earlier, dance and music is a fundamental cultural product that shows the development of a society. Music and dance are cultural products that that help in the representation of the society. Additionally, music and dance influences the social, economic and political development of the society. Tango has not been any different with the music and dance playing an important role in the development of politics and economy in different parts of the world. Economically, the music made thousands of artists millionaires. The artists organized multimillion-dollar concerts that enhanced the economic development of countries throughout the world. The entertainment industry is among the largest sectors of the global economy with music contributing to the development of the sector (Denniston 76). The rapid development and spread of tango from South America to different global destination showed the rapid spread of the economic contributions of the music and dance throughout the world. Tango’s contribution in politics remains conspicuous. Numerous tango artists developed controversial lyrics that enhanced the political development of their countries. Key among such was Pyotr Leshchenko, a Russian tango musician who sang tango in Russian. He was in deed a controversial musician who used the art to criticize the political composition and occurrences in the country. He faced immense censorship and frustrations from the Soviet Union. Leshchenko died in prison but became popular and known as “the king of Russian tango”. Seyyan Hanim used tango music to lead the emancipation of women in Turkey. She defied cultural undertones in the Islamic society to become the first female musician. Her career was as a tango musician was a political statement that encouraged more women to break from the cultural chains that had limited their freedoms for long. Susana Rinaldi was yet another famous Argentine tango musician who used music to carry out extensive criticism of the nature of politics in her home country. She moved from her home country and settled in France in order to avoid the military rule that was taking root there. She developed a successful musical career in France. Her dedication to political issues influenced UNICEF’s decision to appoint her as a goodwill ambassador. She also took part in music rights movements. Besides such, politicians have often used music in their political campaigns. The use of tango music is famous in political campaigns in numerous countries in South Africa. In retrospect, tango dance and music is a major cultural product that has spread rapidly throughout the world. The music enjoys global acceptance owing to the fact that it rested from an amalgamation of numerous cultures. Just as any other type of music, tango has had large-scale effects in its development and spread. The influences of tango music traverse various sectors of a society such as politics, economics, social and cultural. Tango continues to grow with new technologies instigating new inclusions in the music. Additionally, as the music spreads it interacts with other cultures that continue to shape the nature of the music. Works cited Denniston, Christine. A Brief Introduction to the History of Tango Music. Totaltango-pure passion. http://www.totaltango.com/acatalog/tango_brief_intro_91.html Denniston, Christine. The Meaning of Tango: The Story of the Argentinian Dance. London: Portico, 2007. Print. Groppa, Carlos. G. The Tango in the United States: A History. New York: McFarland, 2003. Print. Stewart, James. A Short History of Tango. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Tango Society, 2007. Internet resource. http://www.edinburghtango.org.uk/tango/Historyoftango.php Read More