StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The History of Tango - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "The History of Tango" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the history of tango. Tango is a type of music, dance and poetry with origins in the 1870s in Bueno Aires before spreading to the rest of Argentina, Uruguay, and South America.

 
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.5% of users find it useful
The History of Tango
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The History of Tango"

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
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“History of Tango (origin and how it is today), major influences, major Research Paper”, n.d.)
History of Tango (origin and how it is today), major influences, major Research Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/music/1687897-history-of-tango-origin-and-how-it-is-today-major-influences-major-artist-cultures-such-as-astor-piazzolla-what-kind-of-instruments-are-involved-what-role-did-it-play-in-politics-how-tango-evolves-from-1880s-to-today-what-type-of-dancing-what
(History of Tango (origin and How It Is today), Major Influences, Major Research Paper)
History of Tango (origin and How It Is today), Major Influences, Major Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/music/1687897-history-of-tango-origin-and-how-it-is-today-major-influences-major-artist-cultures-such-as-astor-piazzolla-what-kind-of-instruments-are-involved-what-role-did-it-play-in-politics-how-tango-evolves-from-1880s-to-today-what-type-of-dancing-what.
“History of Tango (origin and How It Is today), Major Influences, Major Research Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/music/1687897-history-of-tango-origin-and-how-it-is-today-major-influences-major-artist-cultures-such-as-astor-piazzolla-what-kind-of-instruments-are-involved-what-role-did-it-play-in-politics-how-tango-evolves-from-1880s-to-today-what-type-of-dancing-what.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The History of Tango

Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzolla

The paper "Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzolla" discusses that Astor Piazzolla revolutionized tango greatly, creating a new set of enthusiasts from around the world and giving the music a new dimension that allowed music lovers to appreciate its beauty of tango music.... In 1944, he formed his orchestra, which brought to the public a more vibrant form of tango music, more daring and dynamic (Pessinis and Kurl).... With Histoire du tango, he succeeded in presenting through music the evolution of the dance that inspired the creation of uniquely passionate Argentinian music....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Tango Music Development

The essay "Tango Music Development" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the development of tango music.... The tango is Argentina's cultural and national contribution to the European world.... There are differing points of view on the origins of the word tango but all researchers agree that it was used in America.... This gave rise to the new dance, tango.... ne of the most influential genres in the rise and finding its individuality of the early tango was the Cuban habanera....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Latin American Civilization

Combined of thirty-one geographically and socially diverse states, most people actually live in the central area.... Mexico, still a developing nation,.... ... ... Bound on the west by the Pacific Ocean and the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, Mexico's land itself if filled with stable volcanoes born from the “Ring of Fire....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

History of the tatto culture in New York city

This discussion will focus on the history of the tattoo with specific reference to New York City (NYC), United States.... efore discussing the history of tattoo in NYC, it is important to understand what tattoo means.... This work is about the culture of tattoo which was practiced in the ancient world and in nearly all the parts of the world, with varying purposes....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Folk music of Latin America

Most of them are believed to have died in ars, forcing researchers and enthusiasts of tango to derive doubtful concepts from people who did not make part of the culture and perhaps cognized nothing or little about Tango.... Although there is no specific date assigned to the origin of tango, evidence in the second half of the Nineteenth Century of people singing Tango in theatres and a Buenos Aires' couple that danced on stage in 1890 affirms that the genre was established long before the Nineteenth Century ended (Denniston, “Couple Dancing and the Beginning of tango”)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Latin American Culture Salsa Samba and Tango

the history of salsa music and dance is also described in the paper.... This article is important because it offers information on the history and instruments of salsa.... The narrator of this essay aims to tell about Salsa, Samba and tango.... Fernandez narrates that tango began as a happy music danced and played in the slums, as well as in the bordellos.... Fernandez narrates that tango began as a happy music danced and played in the slums, as well as in the bordellos....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

The Love Story of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei

he years between 755 and 756 were very important in Chinese history.... From the paper "The Love Story of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei" it is clear that Yang Yuhuan (713-756), later became Yang Guifei or Yang Gui Fei, was the beloved consort of Xuanzong Emperor of Tang.... She was known to be one of the Four Beauties of ancient China....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Story of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei

The paper "Story of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei" highlights that the socio-economic order of pre-revolutionary China was marked by the struggle of the nationalists and the communist groups, which culminated in the overthrowing for the urban nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek.... ... ... ...
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us