Comments on: Tango: by a horse’s head

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:53:14 +0000

Although an old football injury–or maybe it’s a parachuing injury, I forget which, but it’s something–prevents me from dancing, I am interested in the tango.
There is a move in which the woman almost runs at the man, trusting him not to fall over backwards, I guess.
I had a friend, a tall, statuesque woman, who spent some time in Argentina and found that she was too tall, or the men too short, to carry off that move.
I wonder of a good tango could pass the dirty dancing test at a high school prom.

By: Troy

Troy — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:43:43 +0000

Piazzolla is the man!!

The Tango is the most sensual of dances. When done correctly; it’s deadly.

By: Skookumchuk

Skookumchuk — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:24:46 +0000

Very nice. And after you’ve collected all of Gardel and Julio Caro and the rest, don’t forget the Yiddish tango:

http://yargb.blogspot.com/2008/03/yiddish-tango.html

By: askmom

askmom — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:59:16 +0000

The cha-cha is for the free-spirited, the waltz for the happily and conventionally sucessfull, the polka for the simply exuberant. But the tango, ah, the tango is for the self-possessed and obsessed.

I would give up a year of my life to dance the tango with the object of my insanity.

By: Gringo

Gringo — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:42:19 +0000

I worked in the provinces in Argentina during the disco era. I lived across the street from the town disco, which occasionally got “cool” and slipped in a Willie Nelson tune. I didn’t know anyone who could dance the tango, but tango music was definitely around. I recall seeing one TV show which had a little kid doing a good job of belting out a tango number. Though I would place tango at the time as third in popularity behind disco and Argentine folk music.

Carlos Gardel is apparently not everyone’s cup of tea. Nor is yerba mate, which is universally imbibed in Argentina, everyone’s cup of tea outside Argentina. I drink mate (pronounced mah-tay) everyday, having grown to like its smoky flavor. I like Gardel’s singing. I am further impressed that Gardel wrote the music for many of the songs he sang. The Argentines have a saying about Gardel: he sounds better every day.

By: A reader from Spain

A reader from Spain — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:43:02 +0000

Carlos Gardel is considered by many the best tango singer ever. Personally, I prefer Julio Sosa (Cambalache, his best song, lirics great, totally anti-liberal!).

By: camojack

camojack — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:40:13 +0000

I’d rather do the “Horizontal Bop”…but that’s me.

By: Tatyana

Tatyana — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:25:09 +0000

Oh, no there is no comparison – Gardel is an absolute winner, a tango incarnate.
Real tango doesn’t let emotion show on the surface. It’s a brutal thing, tango, a deceptively calm record of pain.

Real tango is not for a ballroom. The only lesson in tango is lesson in life. Have you heard of Piazzolla?
Look.

By: Obi's Sister

Obi's Sister — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:05:47 +0000

Fausta digs the Tango.

By: ligneus

ligneus — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:33:49 +0000

“Gardel’s vibrato has that old-fashioned 1920’s-1930’s wobble that doesn’t speak to me much. ”

Kind of what you’d expect to hear from a goat singing.