The Chivalry of the Milongueros

A century ago, during Argentina's peak immigration wave, Buenos Aires faced a staggering gender imbalance: five men for every woman. Picture this—in a standard milonga, fifty men competed for the chance to dance with just ten women. The odds were overwhelmingly against the men, leaving many too hesitant to approach a woman for a dance. Instead, they observed from a distance, waiting for a woman's nod. Only then did they dare to dance with the goddess. This is the origin of cabeceo (see Women's Role in Cabeceo). Prior to dancing with a real woman, men had to spend months or even years to practice with other guys until they had fully grasped the craft. They had to be exceptionally careful while dancing with a woman, fearing to lose the favor of the goddess if she felt slightest discomfort. This deep appreciation and respect for women evolved into a distinctive hallmark of Argentina's tango culture.

With such a gender imbalance, the privilege of dancing with a woman was reserved only for men who could genuinely satisfy her. Self-focused dancers stood little chance against milongueros who had mastered a comfortable embrace, exquisite musicality, and the art of dancing for women. Laypeople might dismiss milongueros as idlers (see Tango and the Outlook on Life), but if you think those goddesses, surrounded by a large company of admirers, would pick a mediocre as dance partner, you certainly underestimated the goddesses. Even today, women direct their gaze only toward the best. They avoid men who are sloppy, insecure, lack a comfortable embrace, show poor musicality, lead with their arms and hands, cannot perform cabeceo, disregard the codes, or lack manners. Not to mention in those days. Therefore, milongueros are a group sophisticated tango elites with deep knowledge about the dance, its music, codes, culture, lunfardo, and the ways of the milonga world. Like medieval European knights, who were gallant, honorable, generous, kind, and respectful especially to women, or feudal Japanese samurais, who were loyal, courageous, and preferred death over dishonor, Argentine milongueros are a group of skilled specialists who follow certain tenets also. For them, tango is a religion and milonga codes are not only guild regulations but life principles. One may say that, though without formal titles, the Argentine milongueros are a comparable class to European knights, Japanese samurais and Chinese literati. Their doctrine is the chivalry, bushido and Confucian orthodoxy of Argentina.

Times, however, have changed. Today, the gender ratio in milongas is closer to one man for every 1.3 women. Additionally, the traditional gallantry of milongueros now faces criticism from feminists, who encourage women to compete with men for dominance (see Tango and Gender Equality). Consequently, the admiration and respect men once held for women have diminished. Nowadays, even beginners who struggle to walk stably feel entitled to oblige women to dance with them, using them as foils for their self-centered displays. One has to reckon that a failure of feminism. Feminists thought that equality could be achieved by making women as strong and aggressive as men, little did they realize that once women lose their femininity, they are no longer the goddesses in men's eyes.

Today’s men and women must draw lessons from history and contemplate their interactions. Masculinity and femininity, shaped by millions of years of human evolution, are nature’s solution for harmonizing the two genders. To ensure the well-being of humanity, women must retain their femininity, and men must cherish and value women. Gender roles play a crucial part in the survival and prosperity of the human species. Ignoring the natural laws governing the sexes can lead to devastating repercussions (see Tango and Gender Issues). I hope men will continue to value women as they did when the ratio was five men to one woman. Similarly, I wish for women to preserve their femininity and resist adopting masculine traits. Tango was created as a bridge to unite the sexes. I wish it remains that way (see Tango and Gender Interdependence).

Cadencia and the Flow of Tango

When we dance tango, our bodies naturally oscillate as our weight shifts from one foot to the other. This oscillation can be intensified by accelerating the body's movement, creating a pulsating rhythm reminiscent of surging waves. Each surge propels the body into a swing, which then reverses in the opposite direction. This technique, known as cadencia, feels like riding a swing back and forth, producing a soothing, rocking sensation for both dancers—especially for the woman, as she is the one snuggled in his arms and being swayed.

The man swings the woman to one side and the other alternately. Flowing each swing she swivels her hips and pivots her lower body to allow him to reverse the swing in the opposite direction (see Dissociation and Gear Effect). This, in fact, is how ocho is danced. When teaching ocho, tango teachers usually emphasize dissociation—the rotation of the hips, but many overlook cadencia—the swing of the body. Yet, when combined, these two elements not only enhance the elegance of the movement but also create a rhythmic rocking sensation that makes the dance even more enjoyable.

Executing cadencia requires both space and momentum; without them, the body cannot swing freely. This is why experienced dancers prefer to dance in the flow. When the floor is filled with experienced dancers, you can observe a counterclockwise flow of people akin to waves surging forward in sync with the rhythm of the music, and the speed of the flow is quite fast. But if there are too many novices on the dance floor, then the speed of flow slows down. At times it even becomes like a pool of stagnant water.

Beginners who lack an awareness of this flow often remain in place practicing steps, without considering the dancers behind them who are waiting to move forward. On an empty floor, this may not be an issue, but in a crowded room, it disrupts the natural traffic of the dance. Mark Word refers to such dancers as "rocks in the stream." You drive to work in the morning and suddenly there is a slow-moving car in front of you, that is the same kind of feeling. Dancers on a crowded floor must avoid becoming these "rocks in the stream." This doesn’t mean you can never slow down or pause—experienced dancers do this all the time—but they do so only when the music dictates a slowdown or when there is enough space to accommodate the pause. If dancers behind you are approaching, you must keep moving to prevent a traffic jam. This is the code, which all tango dancers must follow.

The Characteristics of Classic Tango

Dancing tango is not merely stepping to the beat of the music being played—that perhaps is how disco is danced, but not tango. Dancing tango is dancing the sentiment and emotions embedded in the music. Sentimentality is a defining characteristic of classic tango. Created by early immigrants to Argentina, tango embodies the homesickness and nostalgia of its creators and reflects their thirst for love and longing for a better life (see Tango: The Historical and Cultural Impacts). Modern rock bands with electronically amplified instruments might be able to create a more majestic sound, but they cannot replicate the lingering sentiment of classic tango. This is not only because modern electronic instruments are ill-suited to convey the emotional depth of tango, but also because contemporary rockers lack the experiences of the early immigrants. Classic tango is a product of a specific era in Argentina. The environment of its mass production has ceased to exist in modern times, but the human emotions expressed in classic tango are universal and timeless, which people of the contemporary age, especially those struggling at the bottom, can still understand and resonate (see Why People Dance Tango). Dancing tango, one should not just dance the steps and ignore the emotions of the music, because only by understanding and resonating with these emotions can one dance tango well.

The emotions expressed in classic tango reflect the experiences of the men and women of its time, represented by two distinct yet intertwined moods. Classic tango is intrinsically heterosexual in nature. Its rhythm is masculine—resolute, strong, steady, and predictable—while its melody is feminine—soft, emotional, moody, and beautiful. Each note or phrase conveys the strength, courage, and determination of men, or the tenderness, affection, and obedience of women. These two contrasting moods intertwine, reflecting the dynamics between the two sexes in the dance. When dancing tango, you have to imagine you are playing music with your body. The man and the woman are different instruments: one is like the bandoneon, the other like the violin; one embodies the passion of the drums, the other the beauty of melody; one is philosophy, the other poetry. Each, with its unique sound, expresses a distinct emotion. Both are indispensable and irreplaceable, and they must harmonize, complementing one another to create a beautiful tango (see The Gender Expression in Tango).

Those who dismiss gender roles do not know what they are doing (see The Gender Roles in Tango). The so-called “new tango” or “alternative music” they advocate often lacks the contrast that defines classic tango. It is either overly soft, lacking a clear rhythm, or overly monotonous, devoid of rhythmic variety. In contrast, classic tango music was meticulously developed to meet the demands of the dance. Unlike mushy soft music or monotonous marches, classic tango music features a distinct rhythm rich in syncopation, making it exceptionally danceable. By altering the accented beats and introducing rhythmic variety, syncopation opens up numerous possibilities for footwork, allowing dancers to express complex emotions (see Tango Music and Its Danceability). While syncopation can be challenging for beginners to grasp, leading some to prefer simpler alternative music, over time, with education and experience, their tastes often evolve and change. Tango dancers need to study tango music and familiarize themselves with its melody, rhythm, tempo, syncopation, pauses, and extensions to truly understand tango and dance well.

Most classic tango songs include a vocal part, which typically does not run throughout the entire piece but appears selectively, as if cooperating with the other instruments. The lyrics are commonly written in lunfardo, the old street slang of Buenos Aires’s lower classes, expressing nostalgia, homesickness, and the pain of lost love. These are the songs of immigrants. Today, only older milongueros and a few porteños can fully understand these lyrics. For those unfamiliar with them, following their syncopated and elongated syllables can be challenging. Nevertheless, these beautiful lyrics express delicate emotions and are cherished by milongueros, many of whom can sing and dance to them with remarkable ease. This is one reason why milongueros perceive their dance experience quite differently from foreigners. Not understanding the lyrics is a disadvantage of the foreigners, but that is not an insurmountable obstacle. A dancer’s education can help bridge this gap because, by truly listening, one can feel the sentiment and emotions of the song through its melody, rhythm, tempo, tone, and mood. Of course, learning the language further enhances this understanding. By the way, some foreigners know neither the culture nor the language of tango, but they thought they understand tango better than the milongueros. To me, this attitude is both arrogant and absurd (see Tango and Gender Equality).