A Brief History of the Tango

One of today’s most-loved ballroom dances, the tango has a complex history. Born in the lower-class dance halls in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the latter decades of the 19th century, it combines characteristics of the rural milonga and a sprightlier version of the flamenco. Cuba’s habanera, the traditions of African drumming, and the cowboy rhythms of the Argentine pampas have also influenced the expressiveness of the dance.

The tango began as the dance of social outcasts, many of them European immigrants working in Buenos Aires’ meatpacking plants on the outskirts of the city. By the first years of the 20th century, the dance had gained enough respectability to become broadly popular in Europe, with composers creating new music specifically to accompany it. Originally a lively and lighthearted dance, it began to be suffused with longing and melancholy romance by the 1920s, with its duple meter turning into a 4/4 or 4/8 time. 

Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla are among the best-known figures in tango music on the world stage. The life of singer and actor Gardel ended in a plane crash in 1935, when he was in the midst of a performance tour. Only in his mid-40s when he died, he had become famous in the 1920s and 1930s for his interpretations of tango ballads. 

Argentine-born Piazzolla, who lived from 1921 to 1992, was renowned for his virtuosity on the accordion-like bandoneon. His compositions fused elements of classical music and jazz with tango.