Women’s Role in Cabeceo

When a man finds a woman attractive, the first thing he does is gaze at her. His eyes are captivated, and he cannot look away. The woman may respond by ignoring him if she doesn’t want to engage, or by meeting his gaze if she is also interested. Encouraged, the man may wink or nod at her to signal his intent to approach, or he may look away if he decides not to pursue her. This silent game between men and women plays out every day, everywhere.

In the milongas of Buenos Aires, this is also the game men and women play. A man scans the dance hall in search of a partner. If he spots a woman he wishes to dance with, he fixes his gaze on her. The woman who is also looking for a partner will soon notice his attention. If she doesn’t want to dance with him, she averts her eyes. If she does, she holds his gaze and waits for him to invite her. He does so with a nod of his head, and she responds with a nod of her own to accept his invitation. This entire exchange happens in silence, without a single word spoken.

This method of inviting a woman to dance is called cabeceo. Cabeceo became a standard practice in the milongas of Buenos Aires primarily because tango is an intimate dance. Argentine tango is danced in close embrace, with significant physical contact between partners. For a woman to engage in such an intimate experience, it must be of her own volition. Otherwise, even if she reluctantly accepts an invitation, she will be reserved, detached, and unengaged. She will not surrender herself to the man and dance with passion and emotion. This is why cabeceo is considered an essential part of tango. A milonguero will not dance with a woman unless she shows a clear desire to dance with him by meeting his gaze and responding to his cabeceo with a smile and a nod.

Cabeceo offers an advantage over verbal invitations because it empowers women. For tango to be a fulfilling experience, a woman needs a partner who matches her in skill and musicality. To find such a partner, she cannot sit idly waiting for someone to invite her; she must actively participate in the matching process, and she must select from all the men in the room, not just the few who approach her table. An Argentine woman does not wait passively for someone to pick her. Instead, she takes the initiative by showing her desire to dance with the man of her choice. In that way she invites him to cabeceo her and prevents herself from unwanted invitations.

For men, cabeceo is also a better way to invite a woman to dance. To verbally ask a woman to dance, a man must traverse the room to reach her. If she declines, not only does he have to swallow the embarrassment, but he also has to make the return journey. By then, other potential partners may already be taken, forcing him to wait until the next tanda for another opportunity. But with cabeceo, he can quickly and discreetly secure a dance partner without the risk of public rejection.

For cabeceo to work, women must participate. If women do not actively search for partners, men cannot cabeceo them, even if they want to. But for women to be proactive, tango must be an intimate experience so personal to them that they don’t want to do it with anyone other than the men of their choice, just like they don’t want to sleep with anyone other than those they love. The reason cabeceo doesn’t work in the US is that our tango has not yet reached that level. Most women here are novices to tango and are unable to dance tango in a deeply personal way. They do not surrender and intimately engage themselves with men in the dance. They use an open dance hold to avoid physical contact. They focuse on the steps and neglect their partner. They sit chatting with each other, seemingly indifferent to the men around them. They avoid eye contact with men for fear of giving men ideas. They ignore men who stare at them because they do not understand the custom or how to respond. As a result, they can only wait for someone to come and accept any verbal invitation.

It is ironic that in macho Argentina women get to decide with whom they want to be intimate by using cabeceo, while in feminist America women have so little control on a matter so personal to them. Cabeceo is a hallmark of mature tango communities. It results from women's active participation in the partner matching process. Most importantly, it is an indication of their tango education and experience. This, by the way, is another reason why milongueros only use cabeceo to invite women to dance.