Tango: Historical and Cultural Impacts

Today, Buenos Aires is home to one-third of Argentina's 45 million people. However, in the early 19th century, Buenos Aires was just a small town populated by Spanish colonists, indigenous South Americans, and Black slaves. In May 1810, inspired by the French Revolution, the Argentine people rebelled against Spanish rule and proclaimed independence. The new government made a conscious decision to change the demographic composition through immigration from Spain, Italy, and other parts of Europe. By the end of the 19th century, the original population of Buenos Aires had been completely overwhelmed by European immigrants. While tango has African roots, the primary inventors of tango were European immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who came to participate in the construction of modern Buenos Aires.

The fact that tango was created primarily by immigrants is significant. Far from home, disproportionately male, and facing difficult lives, the immigrants were deeply nostalgic. They came to the milonga to dance away their loneliness, homesickness, nostalgia, and grief, to find a shoulder to lean on, to quench their thirst for love, and to touch and be touched by someone of the opposite sex. Tango was their refuge. The intimate, soulful, sensual, and comforting nature of tango reflects and serves these deep, inward human needs. That is why tango is danced in a close embrace, with dancers leaning into each other, chest to chest, and face touching face. Through such intimate physical contact, they communicate their emotions, stirred by the music, through the dance. Like the dance itself, tango music is created to express nostalgic feelings. Its rhythm is masculine—robust, sharp, and rigid—while its melody is feminine—soft, moody, and beautiful. These contrasting moods intertwine and respond to each other, reflecting the dynamic between the man and woman in the dance (see The Characteristics of Classic Tango).

Tango reached its maturity and dominated the culture of Buenos Aires between 1935 and 1955, a period known as tango's Golden Age. The Golden Age was followed by nearly three decades of the Dark Age, during which tango virtually disappeared. In 1955, a military coup ousted Juan Domingo Perón, the democratically elected president. Perón and his wife Eva Perón had actively supported tango. Dancers aligned with their government were viewed with suspicion by the anti-Peronist juntas, who created an environment hostile to tango. Curfews were enforced, and pedestrians were interrogated by military police. Many were arrested or simply disappeared due to their links to the old regime. As a result, people stopped dancing socially, and tango went underground. Tango music produced during the Dark Age was primarily for listening, not dancing. The revival of tango began with the restoration of democracy in 1983. Since then, tango has regained worldwide popularity and is now danced in most countries and cities across Europe and North America.

As one BBC commentator remarked, “Tango contains a secret about the yearning between men and women.” In many cultures, intimacy between the sexes is considered inherently sexual and therefore taboo. In these societies, men and women are not expected to have physical contact unless they intend to pursue a sexual relationship. Argentine tango, however, represents a different perspective—a culture that embraces innocent intimacy. Due to their immigrant status and a largely Spanish and Italian heritage, Argentinians form a closely-knit community, and tango reflects their cultural values. The triumph of tango lies in its idea: that non-sexual intimacy can be decent, human, healthy, and beautiful.

However, this triumph did not come without a price. Many things changed after the Golden Age. The immigrant population settled, gender imbalances stabilized, and many old dancers passed away. An entire generation grew up without knowing how to dance tango. The only form of tango that survived the Dark Age was stage tango. As a result, the revival of tango was led by stage performers who, in 1983-1984, brought their show, Tango Argentino, to Europe and North America, sparking enthusiasm for their style of tango—tango fantasia, which differs from the social tango danced during the Golden Age.

The tango danced in the Golden Age is known as tango de salón, or social tango. It is a popular dance, suited to the tastes, needs, and abilities of ordinary people. Danced on crowded floors for personal enjoyment rather than performance, social tango is intimate, feeling-oriented, and improvisational. It is typically danced in a close embrace, with significant physical contact between partners. Its simple, compact steps allow dancers to focus inwardly on the emotions evoked by the music and the sensations of two connected bodies moving in sync. Governed by milonga codes, social tango offers a warm, soulful, and deeply personal experience. What matters is how it feels, not how it looks.

Tango fantasia, or show tango, on the other hand, is designed for stage performance. This dramatized form of tango involves complex steps and techniques suited to skilled professionals rather than everyday dancers. It is a flashy, movement-oriented, and choreographed dance, often performed in an open embrace to allow for broader movements. Its expansive, dazzling steps are often dangerous and require ample space. Unlike social tango, it prioritizes visual impact over intimacy or comfort. Show tango does not adhere to milonga codes and is unsuitable for crowded dance floors. Here, what matters is how it looks, not how it feels (see Social Tango and Performance Tango).

Lacking the same cultural context, Europeans and Americans were more captivated by tango fantasia than tango de salón. They did not experience an immigrant influx in a newly built city, nor did they endure the same hardships, homesickness, or gender imbalances (see The Chivalry of the Milongueros). Their dance floors were less crowded, and their cultures did not endorse innocent, nonsexual intimacy. Furthermore, their instructors were stage performers from Argentina. Inevitably, tango fantasia became the prevailing style in Europe and North America.

Even so, the renewed global interest in tango reignited the pride of Argentinians for their traditional dance. Milongas were reopened, porteños returned to the dance floor, and tango clubs and bars once again thrived. Tango music, fashion, and tourism flourished. Buenos Aires reclaimed its status as the Mecca of tango, attracting dancers worldwide eager to experience tango alongside locals. However, visitors quickly realized that the tango they had learned at home was not the same as the tango danced in Buenos Aires.

Having tasted the intriguing close-embrace tango of Buenos Aires, most visitors don’t want to go back to the open-embrace style. Some chose to stay, while others brought their newfound knowledge back home, spreading the message. Each year, the number of people traveling to Buenos Aires to dance tango grows. Consequently, the trend in Europe and North America is gradually shifting from open embrace to close embrace. It may take time for close-embrace tango to become the dominant style in these regions, but I believe it is inevitable. Tango exists to fulfill a human need (see Why People Dance Tango). Its form must serve its purpose. Trends come and go, but what is fundamental and essential endures. As more people appreciate the allure of close-embrace tango and as milongas grow more popular and crowded, dancers will naturally gravitate toward the close-embrace style. In time, what belongs to the stage will separate from what belongs to the dance floor, again.

Here is an example of the tango danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires.