Tango

Simon Collier

ISBN 10: 0500016712 / ISBN 13: 9780500016718

Published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1995

About this Item

Born in the slums of Buenos Aires in the last decades of the 19th century, the tango has survived for more than a hundred years. Today it is the focus of a new cult in the Americas, Europe, the Pacific basin and Japan. In this book, four experts on the dance from Europe, North America and Latin America explore the history of the tango from its beginnings to the present day. Its roots are traced to Argentina and its rise from the brothels of Buenos Aires is charted. The tango craze of the early 20th century in Europe and North America is discussed, along with the dance's peak years in Argentina between 1920 and 1940. Finally, the popularity of the dance in recent times is assessed, looking at the wider arena of literature, films and the arts. The book also contains the lyrics of some of the most celebrated tango songs, with a list of CDs available.

Seller Inventory # 00109908539

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Tango
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500016712
• ISBN 13: 9780500016718
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

"Exquisite publication, written by respected scholars and artist, combines scholarly research with a pleasant writing style. Covers tango's history from early-19th century to the present, addressing tango's spread into Europe and North America and its 'golden age' in Buenos Aires from the 1920s-50s; also discusses topics such as tango and 'machismo,' and the tango revival in film, theater, and literature. Includes an extended bibliography and discography. Richly illustrated with facsimiles, reproductions of drawings, paintings, and photographs. For review by Pablo Vila, see Lat. Am. Music Rev., Vol. 18, No. 1, 1997, p. 113-123"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.http://www.loc.gov/hlas/

Reviews

The tango smacks of elegance and sophistication, but that was not always the case. The tango was born in the lesser quarters of Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth century, first danced by prostitutes and pimps, and took years to win the "battle for social acceptability." This unbridled dance is chronicled in a book that is equally unrestrained, abounding in exciting illustrations and grounded in a lively text by four authorities. In the 1880s, as we learn here, an economic boom sent Argentina zooming to the top ranks of wealthy nations, and its capital was transformed into a beautiful metropolis, but the city also played host to thousands of European immigrants whose lives were not lived in beauty. In this less-than-respectable ambience sprouted a new and very sexy dance; the "connection between the tango and the brothel is inescapable." It took the tango's transfer across the Atlantic to Paris in the years immediately prior to World War I to render it not only respectable but chic. Back to Buenos Aires it came, and in the 1930s, not only the dance but the musical form associated with it enjoyed a golden age; the authors profile the famous singers and dancers who emerged during that flamboyant era. The tango lives on, for according to the authors, "There will never be a last tango." Brad Hooper