From a BBC article on whether Carlos Gardel was born in Argentina, or Uruguay.
"Shady past :: Tango was born at the end of the 19th Century in the brothels and bars of Buenos Aires when men, in simulated knife fights, danced with other men. "
If I really, really want to read tons into this, and let my imagination run wild, the brothels and bars were of the turn of the century gay variety, where men hung out with men, simulating knife fights, and then continuing to simulate a knife fight, while spontaneously erupting into an intimate tango together...
I have more to say on this subject (this brothel born history of tango)...later...
5 comments:
I know. I bet it wasn't as exciting as most journalists wish it were.
Despite the latent homosexuality present in the macho character, the fact is that men danced together because in that epoca, there weren't ENOUGH WOMEN! AS it is here in BsAs now, the peacock rules in attracting the chicas.
By the way Alex - the photo of the bandoneon makes me squirm with envy
Hey Tina! Hey Suzy! Thanks for commenting.
I agree with you Suzy. I'm not debating that men danced tango with men back then, and still do to a much lesser degree. It was just the way the whole sentence read. It sounds like tango was born of men dancing with men - a dance that was "simulating a knife fight".
Plus, there's some debate about the role of brothels in the birth/evolution of tango.
But, I'll get to that in another post. And there always is a but.
Although...see this for a modern day tango with men dancing together and simulating a knife fight...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGolFxYPkg
Oh, and Suzy, thanks for the compliment on my photo...coming from another photographer that means a lot...
Here's my response to the brothel side of the statement
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