The Story of Tango Music and Dance
The origin story of tango is shrouded in mystery because no one knows the exact origins of its development and there are multiple different theories that surround it. Tango music and dance was created over the course of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and was developed through a large variety of different music and dance styles in Argentina at the time. The origins of tango began in Buenos Aires Argentina as well as Montevideo Uruguay, however, it took off and became most popular in Buenos Aires, where it continued to evolve and become popular among all the classes and people. Because tango was created in the New World, it is very unique as a music and dance genre because it was created through the influence of multiple different cultures such as various European cultures as well as African culture. What makes tango so significant is that it is not only a music style, but also a dance style, and they were both created together and would not exist without the other. The purpose of tango music is to evoke passion and cause the dancers to feel the music and move accordingly to in the dance. The tango song “Una Musica Brutal,” by the Gotan Project, functions as a dance song because tango music always features tango dance, and the song achieves this by a strong sensual melody and additive rhythms.
