The Chivalry of the Milongueros

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

With such a gender ratio, the privilege of dancing with a woman was reserved only for men who could genuinely satisfy her, and those who focused solely on themselves had minimal chances against the milongueros who mastered a comfortable embrace, exquisite musicality, and impeccable skill of dancing for women. Laymen may think of milongueros as goof-offs (see Tango and the Outlook on Life), but if you think those goddesses, surrounded by a company of admiring soldiers, would pick a mediocre as dance partner, you certainly underestimated the goddesses. Even today, women cast their eyes only on the best. They don't want men who are sloppy, who feel insecure, who do not have a comfortable embrace, whose musicality is poor, who lead with arms and hands, who can't do cabeceo, who don't follow the codes, and who are short in manner, not to mention in those days. Therefore, the milongueros are a group of sophisticated tango elites with superb knowledge and skills on the dance, music, codes, culture, lunfardo and the ways of the milonga world. Like the knights in the medieval Europe who were gallant, honorable, generous, kind, and respectful especially to women, and like the samurais in feudal Japan who were loyal, courageous, simple in living, and preferring death to dishonor, the Argentine milongueros are a group of skilled specialists who follow certain tenets also. For them, tango is the religion and milonga codes are not only guild regulations but life principles. One may say that, though without the title, 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 have shifted. Today the gender ratio in milongas becomes one man to one point three women. Moreover, the traditional gallantry of milongueros faces criticism from feminists, who encourage women to vie with men for dominance (see Tango and Gender Equality). Consequently, men no longer hold the same level of admiration and respect for women as before. Nowadays, even beginners who can't walk stably dare to obligate women to dance with them, using women as foils for their self-centered displays. One has to reckon that a failure of feminism. Feminists thought that the two sexes would be equal if women were strong and aggressive like men, little did they realize that once women lose their femininity, they are no longer the goddesses in men's eyes.

Men and women of today need to draw lessons from history and contemplate their interactions. Masculinity and femininity, resulted from millions of years of human evolution, serve as nature's solution to harmonize the two genders. To ensure the best interests of the human species, it is essential for women to retain their femininity, and men to preserve their affection for women. Gender roles play a crucial part in securing the well-being of the human species. Deranging the natural law that regulates the opposite sexes can lead to devastating repercussions (see Tango and Gender Issues). I hope that men continue to value women as they did when the ratio was five men to one woman. I wish for women to refrain from relinquishing their femininity and emulating masculine traits. Tango was created to be a bridge uniting the two sexes. I wish it remains that way (see Tango and Gender Interdependence).

Cadencia and the Flow of Tango

When we dance tango our body oscillates as its weight shifts from one foot to another. The oscillation can be enhanced by accelerating the motion of the body. This technique is called cadencia. It feels like riding back and forth on a swing, creating a cozy rocking feeling for both dancers but especially for the woman, as she is the one snuggled in his arms and be swayed by him. (See Cadencia.)

The man swings the woman to one side and the other alternately. After 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 often emphasize dissociation, or the swivel of the hips, but overlook cadencia, or the swing of the body. However, if you combine the two, it not only adds elegance to the movement, but also creates a swaying sensation that makes the movement even more enjoyable.

Doing cadencia requires some speed and space, or else the body cannot swing freely. That's why experienced dancers like to dance in the flow. When the floor is full of experienced dancers, you can see a counterclockwise flow of people like waves surge forward in correspondence with 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 is slowed down. At times it even becomes like a pool of stagnant water.

Novices who have no sense of flow often stay in place practicing steps, disregarding the people behind them waiting for them to move forward. In an empty room that may cause no problem, but on a crowded dance floor, that could obstruct the traffic. Mark Word calls such people "rocks in the stream." You drive to work in the morning and suddenly there is a slow-moving car blocking your way, that is the same kind of feeling. People dancing on a crowded dance floor must not become such "rocks in the stream." I'm not saying that you cannot slow down or pause for a moment, which experienced dancers also do, but they do so only when the music tells everyone to slow down or when there is enough space. If the dancers behind you are approaching, then you must keep moving to avoid causing obstruction to traffic. This is the code, which all dancers have to follow.

The Characteristics of Classic Tango

Dancing tango is not just 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 feelings of the music. Sentimentalism is a notable feature 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. That is not only because modern electronic instruments are not designed to convey the emotions of tango, but also because the contemporary rockers lack the experience 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 feelings of the music, because only by understanding and resonating with these feelings can one dance tango well.

The feelings 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 opposing moods intertwine, reflecting 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 different emotion. Both are indispensable and irreplaceable, and they must work in harmony, complementing each other 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 promote often lacks the contrast of classic tango. It is either overly soft, lacking a clear rhythm, or overly monotonous, short on rhythmic variety. In contrast, classic tango music was developed and composed to suit the dance’s demands. Unlike mush soft-music and monotonous march, classic tango music has a distinct rhythm rich in syncopation, making it highly danceable. By altering the accented beat and adding rhythmic variation, syncopation opens up diverse 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 usually does not run through the entire piece, but only appears in certain parts of the song, as if it is cooperating with 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 songs of the immigrants. Only older milongueros and a few porteños can fully understand these lyrics today. Those unfamiliar with the lyrics may find it challenging to follow their syncopated and elongated syllables. However, these beautiful lyrics express delicate emotions and are beloved by milongueros, many of whom can sing and dance to them with great facility, which is one of the reasons why the milongueros perceive their dance quite differently from the 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 song’s sentiment and emotions through the melody, rhythm, tempo, tone, and mood of the music. Of course, learning the language 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, which to me is arrogant and absurd (see Tango and Gender Equality).