Tango Music
Written
by : Joe Yang
Tango music, as you can imagine,
is a vital part of tango dance. And to get a general grasp of this subject
is to touch upon the history of the tango itself.
The origins of tango are a little
sketchy because the dance originated in poor neighborhoods, street corners,
red light districts, and other places that no one (at the time) would
think of as a major starting point for historical/cultural achievements.
Many historians believe that the mid 1800s was the first time in which
tango songs were sung and performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And
chances are, those tunes sounded really different from the tangos we're used
to hearing today.
In the late 1800s, however, a pianist/club
owner wrote a song called El Enterriano, which is probably
the oldest known tango that's still played at modern milongas (tango
dancing events).
The first tango "hit" was a tune written in 1905 by a guitarist
named Angel Villoldo. The song is known as El Choclo, which
is still very popular among tango dancers and musicians.
"El Choclo"
literally means corn-cob in Spanish, but since the nature of the song
was intended to be comedic (and very suggestive), we can assume that
Villoldo's lyrics probably weren't about farming or ethanol. In later
years the lyrics were changed but the melody remains the same.
Click the play icon on the player
below to hear a version of El Choclo...
