From Rags to Riches — An Early History of Tango

Within the half century—the years from 1880 to 1931—that the following article encompasses, tango had undergone a remarkable development. It was a success story of the New World: a poor immigrant making its way from humble circumstances to conquer not only its new homeland, but the world as well. Reason enough for one of the most distinguished journalists of Argentina, Juan José de Soiza Reilly [1880-1959], to take up the subject and portray the rise of tango in his own entertaining style.

The Soul of the tango criollo Across the Half-Century of its Existence

By Juan José de Soiza Reilly, published 1931 in Caras y Caretas, Buenos Aires

Juan José de Soiza Reilly

The Father and Mother of Tango — The Cuban Habanera and the Milonga — The First Tangos — From Corrales Viejos to the Parlors of the Aristocracy — The Persecuted Tango — His Influence on the Spirit of Europe — Tango at the Acedémie Française — A Gold Mine

The Father and Mother of Tango

What a strange history tango has! Acclaimed today, it has suffered punishment, persecution, slander, truism, praises, and contempt. No knight errant of the whimsical times of chivalry could boast to have a history more romantic and moving than tango. Tango has always been a fiction hero. He was poor; but he patiently grew rich—just as the yankee industry kings—by dint of giros, cortes, quebradas, and firuletes... He was born in humble and simple circumstances, secretly like a sinner's offense, behind the walls of houses in the shade: maybe in the old Barrio de las Ranas, or perhaps in Corrales Viejos, under the vigil of some guardian angel. And now it has at its disposal the golden palaces of fortune. Just yesterday, it was in cloth sandals, slouch hat, and shawl around the neck. Today we see it crossing the ocean, formally dressed, groomed with brilliantine, first-class tickets—luxury class—singing in French, Danish, English, and other languages.

--Ah, the culprit!

Tango is the lyric product of a mixture of races (as all countries of the Americas are). Let us recall its history:

One day—more than half a century ago—the habanera set off from Cuba on a ship of blacks bound for Buenos Aires. Here, in the beautiful land of Pastor Luna, its garments of percale, its flair, its melancholy, its finesse, its tropical charm were like a beam of light that illuminated the faces of the suburbs. In the sweet habanera, the compadritos and percantas found a passionate rhythm that touched their soul. Very quickly the pretty mulata associated with her accomplices in Buenos Aires. Together they strolled along the outskirts of the new Babel, swayed through the shanty towns, swung in taverns to the sound of the guitars. But, in spite of its blood, the habanera was an exotic flower. It lacked something to be Argentinian... One night, the musicians mixed—mistakenly, no doubt—the rhythm of the habanera with the typical tune of the land. By chance, the voluptuous charm of Miss Habanera blended with the gloomy sadness of the ruffian Milonga in the strings of a criollo guitar. It was a wedding night. That danceable love begot the Argentinian Tango...

Tango Appears in the Suburbs

The books have not given me a date when tango started tearing up the dance floors of Buenos Aires. The first one to leave a printed record about the existence of tango was a distinguished Argentinian—General Fotheringham—who left proof of his encounter with it in the memoirs. One day, friends of the general took him to a dance hall, somewhere at the end of the world, at Plaza Parque (today Plaza Lavalle) at the corner of Lavalle and Talcahuano. The compadritos danced, for better or for worse, in a locality so densely packed, one could cut it with a knife. They danced to a catchy and solemn music, a mixture of habanera and milonga. “It was Argentinian tango”, added the general.

Many nations claim the honor of having been the homeland of our suburban dance. An able historian of the River Plate theater, Vicente Rossi, affirms that it is Uruguayan, native to Montevideo. I believe that he even names the street in which it was born... Spain, as well, has claimed parental rights based on its name; but the Spanish tango is melodically as different from our tango criollo as the sun from the moon. In order to realize this, it suffices that the reader recall the music of any Andalusian tango. For example, the tango of the choir in “Los viejos ricos” of the revue “La tierra del sol”, which begins:

—Ay, Tomasa! Ay, Tomasa!

The French, likewise, dispute the ownership of our suburban “Homer”. They believe that tango is of French lineage. For a basis of their argument, they turn to the memoirs of Flechier—a book from the second half of the 18th century—that mentions among “bourée” and “goignade” a dance called “tan-gó”: similar, according to Jean Richepin, to Argentinian tango.

The word “tango” is neither of Iberian nor French origin; it is not even from the Congo. The moors adopted it, perhaps, from the Orient and brought it to Spain. The Spanish exported it to France, carried it to America. “Tango” is a Japanese word that denotes one of Japan's five popular feasts called “go sekku” [端午, Tangō].

The First Tangos

The Argentinian tango did not triumph out of nothing. It imposed itself slowly like a pioneer fighting to make room for himself. It lived among cigarette smoke, drunken brawls, suburban loves, the sparkle of bloodthirsty and flesh-starving daggers. It was the august monarch of the dance halls. It was loved for being sad, sullen, in love, a scoundrel, a poet. It was a poet! The most tragic hearts were palpitating with music wherever it was present. In its arms many women, born for pain, heard the only true words of tenderness that fate ever spoke to them... Tango strolled around, encircling the city. From Corrales Viejos it rushed to La Boca del Riachuelo, where it ate savory pastries. On foot, it came along the Paseo de Colón to Carpas de la Recoleta, intoxicating the servant girls with its roguish charm and peach liqueur. Later, it was seen in the dark forest of Palermo at the famous “Hansen's Restaurant” drinking champagne, rubbing shoulders with the upper class kids of those days, without trimming its mane, without taking the handkerchief off the neck, stomping the heels heavily, giving a sidelong glance from below the slouch hat with a broad rim and a high crown. There it was discovered by Taurel, the lame. Alfredo Wells, one of the first composers to dress tango in new harmonies and exquisite beauties, undoubtedly met it there. Wells improvised its music at home, in the club, in the streetcar; at first whistling it and then, at night, making the most of it at the piano. Wells died leaving no other trace than the deep imprint of his heart, in memory of which we enjoy his crystalline music and his noble friendship. Another friend of tango who decided to dress it in a new suit was Miguelito Tornquist. His tangos did not become popular since he used to write them only for the violin. After that appeared the composers of greater popular prestige: Rosendo, the composer of “El Enterriano”; Greco, the  composer of “Rodríguez Peña”; Saborido, still alive, the composer of “La Morocha”; Villoldo, composer of “El Choclo”; José Luis Padula, composer of “9 de Julio”; Ernesto Ponzio, composer of “Don Juan”; Eduardo Arolas, composer of “Caburé” and the first ambassador of tango to the Bohemian quarters of Paris; and so many more, such as: Arturo de Nava, Bevilacqua, Posadas, etc. 

Tango musicians at a local café.

The Persecuted Tango

On earth, one cannot triumph with impunity. As tango was changing apparel, culture fought a ferocious war against it. But tango, being criollo, knew how to be very clever. From the suburbs it crossed to the streets of the center... It came slowly, attracted by lights and drinks of the Paseo de Julio, Calle Corrientes, and the horrible 25 de Mayo... In the beginning, it was content with performing in the dance halls as the “La France”, where every dancer paid 10 centavos for every dance. Right after that it moved up to the stage. There, Pablo and the attractive Hebe Podestá made it pirouette across the boards. Later it was introduced in the social family gatherings of Saturday night; and in the Relief Societies under watchfulness of the gentlemen of the committee, who called out: “Let light shine through!” when they noticed a coupled dancing too closely connected.

As soon as tango was wearing lacquer half boots, it embarked for Europe. There they welcomed it with stones in their hands. The Pontifex Maximus issued an encyclical condemning it to the fire. It was too late already. Tango was infiltrating the blood of the youth—not by being tango but because tango is, in a nutshell, youth itself that makes one dance. The crown prince of Germany fell in love with tango. His infuriated father decreed officially that tango was an offense as vile as slaying one's peer. The ambassador of Argentina to France, the great “Don Ramiro”—Enrique Larreta—gave a dance in the palace of his legation. Various illustrious ladies of the old nobility expressed their wish to see typical tango dance, the tango of the suburbs, without schooling, without doctors, without “head waiter”... An exciting criollita and dashing criollo danced the authentic dance in front of duchesses, marchionesses, countesses, the princesses of the St. Michel quarter... All applauded abundantly. The next day, “La Prensa” and “La Nación” published telegrams announcing that the tango of the homeland had been danced at the embassy in Paris.

—”The horror!”

The chancellor sent a telegraph to the legation and asked for an explanation. Was it true? A scandal...

—It is true—responded the great artist proudly.

—The blue blood of France gave a standing ovation to the tango of the Argentinian Republic...

Indeed, all of France was rocking sweetly, being swayed by tango. All of Europe felt intoxicated by its melancholy. Suddenly the First World War broke out in 1914. Guillermo Ferrero said in “Le Figaro”:

—Tango was to blame for the war.

Poor tango! It was glorious without knowing it. The rascal from the underworld had entered the spheres of diplomacy.

Tango in Paris

What fault is it of tango if its sinful graces  seduced the world? Admirable fate! Tango, son of the habanera and milonga, born in cloth sandals, became suddenly the axis of a great global catastrophe. While its fame spread across the world, the cultured people in its own country (oh, prophet!) detested it.

—A tango! What a disgrace!

Some compatriots, like the illustrious Carlos Ibarguren [1877-1956, Argentinian historian], spoke rationally about the advantage of replacing tango with other criollo dances. “These indigenous dances”, Ibarguren wrote in “La música popular”, “have not been heard of abroad. Instead, an illegitimate product that has neither a native aroma nor the natural grace of the land, but the sensuous cut of the slums has spread all over the world: the tango... Tango is not properly Argentine; it is a hybrid or mongrel, born in the suburbs, and it consists of a mixture of the tropical habanera and a falsified milonga”.

Many prudish people discovered that even the name was unseemly. To them, it sounded like a bad word that could sully the lips of children with impropriety. Meanwhile in Paris, Jean Richepin, a celebrated academician, submitted for deliberation an erudite work on the subject to the Academie Française. Moreover, the very Richepin gave a comedy at the theater, “Tango”, in which two illustrious dancers, Mlle. Lavallière and Mlle. Spinelly, had to exhibit on stage the true milonguero dance. In relation to the premiere of Richepin's work, Gómez Carillo reported an anecdote that illustrates the innocence of tango and the difficulties of interpretation that our suburban dance presents to the best dancers: “The night of the premiere of the work, various spectators observed that the dance the two pretty Parisians performed was actually not a tango. Questioned by 'Le Matin', Mlle. Cavallière responded:

“—It is true; we are dancing a kind of maxixe. Tango is too difficult to learn. Also, it is not sensuous enough for us.”

Recently, a music competition was held in Paris. The jury had to elect the most beautiful piece among more than a hundred tangos. The Countess of Noailles chose “Adios, muchachos” by Sanders.

Authors [Composers and Poets] and Performers

In this dispute against tango, the poets, champions of the poor, took the side of tango. Miguel Andrés Camino [1877-1944] sketched in beautiful criollo verses the history of its music:

He was born in Corrales Viejos,

back then in the year of '80.

Son he was of the milonga

and a brute from the suburbs.

As godparent stood the bugle

of the tram conductor, 

and the knife duels 

taught him to dance …

New composers of tangos for dancing and singing appeared and injected new life into the music of the country. The reproduction on records and with orchestras, at the theater and through radio increased its income. Currently, there are 920 composers of Argentine tango. They have formed a powerful association presided actively by [Arturo] Rodríguez Bustamante. In order to appreciate the importance that criollo music has attained it will suffice to say the the annual collection of royalties exceeds $160,000. There are authors who have become rich through tango. The fortune of Roberto Firpo comprises already several hundered thousands pesos. The fortune of Canaro, composer of “Cara sucia”, “El Chamuyo”, etc., is estimated to be one million pesos.

In tail coat and patent-leather shoes: the internationally successful tango musician (Julio De Caro)

Tango evolves alongside the “ranchera”. It follows a tendency of a classical nature. What a difference between current tangos and those humble, modest, and transparent “tanguitos” that “El Chino” Rosendo [Cayetano Mendizábal (1868-1913)] and “The Thrush” [José Luis] Bettinotti [1878-1915] improvised to the music of their guitars! And what difference between the purity of the criollo song “El carretero” by Arturo de Nava [1876-1932], master of all tango masters, whose inspiration we see shining through against the light in modern tangos.

The performers have also contributed to the universal triumph of the típica music: Azucena Maizani, Sofía Bozán, Carlitos Gardel... The latter continues to be the accredited minister of tango in Europe. He has made a fortune various times. He lives like a king in Paris, being a close friend to the greatest men in art, banking, sports, and politics. Actually, Carlos Gardel embodies the authentic spirit of the suburban tango. Many believe that he was born in Argentina. Gardel was born in France; they brought him to Buenos Aires when he was very little. Here he grew up in La Crucecita and in Corrientes Street (the theater district), where his mother a modest shop as a presser.  Arturo de Nava knew him as a youngster in the slums. Once, he asked him:

— Hey, kid! What would you like to be when you grow up. 

— A thief or rich! — responded the youth.

(Tango made him rich. The history of Gardel is the history tango...)

© 2017 Translation and Commentary Wolfgang Freis