International Tango Day (11/12)

On December 11, the birthday of the Argentine singer and film actor, the famous «King of Tango» Carlos Gardel (1887 (or 1890) — 1935), the International Day of Tango — dance festival is celebrated, the philosophy of which lies in confrontation.

Life in tango is in full swing, and in the center of the dance — Man and Woman. Their relationships, passions, conflicts, reconciliations, love, «third extra», jealousy, hatred — all the feelings that fill human life.

In this dance it is not customary to talk or smile; an invitation expressed out loud can be regarded as an insult. Only a glance and slight movement of the lips are acceptable.

Tango (Spanish: tango) — dance-improvisation, in it the ability of partners to feel each other is very important. This skill is born on a subconscious level, as if by itself, creating a feeling of a different reality. And the most expressive moment of this dance is the pause: the music sounds, and the two froze in each other’s arms, as if conducting a silent dialogue in a raised voice — is a point of supreme tension.

In 2009, by decision of UNESCO, tango, as a set of music, dance, poetry and original traditions of the Rio de la Plata region, was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

There are several versions about the origin of tango. The most common of them is — that initially a dance of this kind appeared in the port suburbs of Buenos Aires, where at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the cultural traditions of many countries of the world met and intertwined — rhythms of Cuban habanera, African candomba, Argentine milonga, Spanish flamenco and some other European dances brought by foreign sailors. And although in Argentina it was a dance of poor neighborhoods, a dance of immigrants, a lyrical and passionate tango soon sounded throughout the country.

«The culprit of today's holiday » Carlos Gardel, an immigrant from France brought to Argentina in early childhood, — in adolescence fell ill with tango so much that he soon became famous throughout Argentina, and having moved to Europe, he successfully presented tango to Paris, from where this dance began its triumphal march across countries and continents.

But not everywhere. For example, tango was prohibited from dancing in Germany and Russia, which, however, did not prevent the wild popularity of this dance. In 1920-30 in the USSR it was considered a decadent and bourgeois dance, however, played records with tango melodies were passed from hand to hand. And today this dance does not lose its popularity.

Currently, there are even several types of tango... (Photo: Dmitry Melnikov, licensed from Shutterstock.com)

The word «tango» itself appeared much earlier than the dance itself. Initially, this word was used in one of the Canary Islands to refer to a « meeting of blacks for dancing, for playing drums», these drums were also called «tango».

Currently, there are even several types of tango: «milongero» (closest to the original Argentine tango), salon tango (which is characterized by a greater distance between dancers, which allows the use of more diverse steps), «Liso», or simple tango (distinguished by a certain pattern without many improvisations and complex steps), «Nuevo», or new tango (with many interesting and complex figures) and tango «fantasia» (staged tango for competitions and theatrical performances).

But no matter what tango you choose to celebrate this wonderful and passionate holiday, it should be full of emotions, as befits this fiery, temperamental, conflicting and life-affirming dance.



Postcard «December 11 — International Tango Day» Story «Tango novel»

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