Tango: Sex and Rhythm of the City

Description

Born on the unlit streets of Buenos Aires, tango was inspired by the music of European immigrants who crossed the ocean to Argentina, lured by the promise of a better life. It found its home in the city’s marginal districts, where it was embraced and shaped by young men who told stories of prostitutes, petty thieves, and disappointed lovers through its music and movements. Chronicling the stories told through tango’s lyrics, Mike Gonzalez and Marianella Yanes reveal inTangohow the dance went from slumming it in the brothels and cabarets of lower-class Buenos Aires to the ballrooms of Paris, London, Berlin, and beyond. Tracing the evolution of tango, Gonzalez and Yanes set its music, key figures, and the dance itself in their place and time. They describe how it was not until Paris went crazy for tango just before World War I that it became acceptable for middle-class Argentineans to perform the seductive dance, and they explore the renewed enthusiasm with which each new generation has come to it. Telling the sexy, enthralling story of this stylish and dramatic dance,Tangois a book for casual fans and ballroom aficionados alike. Tango: Sex and Rhythm of the City......Page 5 Imprint Page......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Prolougues......Page 9 1. Strangers in the City......Page 13 2. A City Divided......Page 38 3. Tango Goes To Paris......Page 61 4. Tango Finds Its Voice......Page 83 5. Gardel and the Golden Age......Page 107 6. The Dying of the Light......Page 136 7. Astor Piazzola and Tango Nuevo......Page 153 8. The Long Road Home......Page 171 Chronology......Page 191 References......Page 200 Select Bibliography......Page 206 Discography and Filmography......Page 209 Acknowledgements......Page 211 Copyright Acknowledgements......Page 212 Index......Page 213