Milonga & Tango

Culture, Culture and Arts

By Lorena Fernández

The ever romantic affair between song and movement of tango is best appreciated in Argentina, specifically in Río de la Plata where European influences helped develop this type of music and dance that has by now been adapted to all styles imaginable. Derived from a manner of singing called payada, milonga was the first kind of tango ever developed in Argentina and Uruguay. An upbeat kind of music, milonga requires more agility in movement for its dance than tango and a closer proximity between the dancers. Within milonga there are two styles of dance – simple and with traspié, or changes of balance – however, as tango progressed into its own form of dance, it branched out to over ten categories, all of which are represented, taught and admired around the world.

Keeping the pace with Argentine economy and politics, tango lost momentum with the Great Depression of 1929, grew stronger with the government of Juan Perón and declined again in the 50s as military dictatorships restricted public gatherings.

The two types of tango most widely imitated and studied are Argentine tango and ballroom tango. These two styles hold little resemblance with one another from movement to body posture to pace. The latest trend, however, is Tango Nuevo, which began to take shape in the late 90s as a blend of tango music and electronica. Though this new style has been implemented as a cultural effort to bring in new generations to the art form, a significant number of spectators (both young and old) seek the romantic tango of milonga roots.