The Music of the Ro de la Plata: Argentina and Uruguay

1502 Amerigo Vespucci was the first European to arrive in the region 1536 first settlement in the region of present day BA destroyed by the natives by 1541 1580 Juan de Garay established another settlement which became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru 1776 present day Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and certain parts of Bolivia forms the Viceroyalty of the Ro de la Plata raising the status of the region by the Spanish: BA and Montevideo become flourishing ports 1810 Spanish authority is weakened due to the war in the peninsula which leads to a series of attempts to get independent. BA: May revolution in 1810; Montevideo: 1811 1813 break between BA and Montevideo

Historical Background

 Amerinidans were pushed aside and absorbed. Heritage of mestizo culture: the image of gaucho, in the rural areas of Argentina and Uruguay, esp in Las Pampas. They form part of a romanticised aspect of Argentine identity: horse-riding, wandering existence, independence, the macho, the cowboys of the Pampas. Musical heritage: los payadores (singers singing payadas, spontaneous verses) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPMEQAs9lyM Main genres: cifra (accompanied with a guitar) and milonga (expresses the gaucho sentiment of loneliness and abandonment)

Demography : The Mestizos

 Africans introduction of slaves in the area from the end of 17th cen mid 18th century Their musical heritage: Candombe (<-> candombl) performed by a group of drummers (cuerda) Drums: tamboril (barrel shaped), chico (small), repique (medium), piano (large), bajo/ bombo (largest) Assosicated with the Carnaval Parade Las Llamadas in Uruguay Still a live tradition in Montevideo but less in Argentina

Demography: Africans

 From 1880 onwards till the beginning of 19th cen.: Mass immigration from Europe (mainly Italy and Spain) to the region of Ro de la Plata. Argentina: 85% of the population is of European descent. Uruguay: 93,9% (2011) Article 25 of the 1853 Constitution of Argentina reads: The Federal Government will encourage European immigration, and it will not restrict, limit or burden with any taxes the entrance into Argentine territory of foreigners who come with the goal of working the land, improving the industries and teach the sciences and the arts. Given the risks of immigration, men immigrating to the region of the Ro de la Plata outnumbered women. Women had little opportunity to work and were underpaid. These two factors together led to prostitution and a rise in the number of brothels in the outskirts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. (favelas, arrabelas) Tango, the national symbol of Argentina emerged from this scene.

Europeans

 There is a lot of debate around the origin of tango. The word is supposedly of African/ Congolese origin meaning circle in Congolese dialect presumably for dancing or a ritual Antecedents: 1. milonga: song and dance from the late 19th cen originally sung by gauchos. It is found in Argentina, Uruguay and southern parts of Brazil. 1. Cuban habanera: it utilizes a 5-beat rhythm. Cuban Black musicians added a syncopation to earlier dances such as the contradanza which came to be known as the ritmo del tango. This syncopation spread to other forms such as the habanera. The genre became popular in many areas, esp in port cities (New Orleans, Veracruz, Mexico, Montevideo, BA) La Paloma

The origins: The Reptile from the Brothel (L. Lugonos)

 Ca.1880-1917: La guardia vieja tango is essentially danced in bordellos; its birthplace according to the tradition: Corrales Viejos. However it is more likely that it appeared in various arrabales simultaneously. A dance of 2/4 time, played roughly half as fast as the habanera. A popular improvisation, a spontaneous fusion of raw elements into a genuinely new creation. The language of the songs is the lunfardo a mixture of the languages of the inmigrants associated with the semi-criminal outskirts of BA, the language of the porteos; Its quintessential instrument is the bandoneon which was invented in Germany in the 1830s and appeared in Argentina between 1850-1875; Prominent figure: ngel Villoldo (La Boca) extends the spectrum of tango through the pianolas (player pianos) of Rinaldi-Roncallo - considered to be the father of tango;

Development of tango: la guardia vieja

 1917-1930: La guardia nueva el tango triste is born (Julio de Caro): the originally happy and satirical tone/character of tango is taken over by melancholic themes: the irredeemable loss and solitude of the inmigrant existence; A change in tango rhythm to 4/4; the genre moves from brothels to cabarets but not yet losing its negative associations (Venue: La Boca); formation of the orquesta tpica: 2 violins, two bandoneones, piano, a string bass; most prominent musicians: Julio de Caro, Osvaldo Fresedo; most prolific writers: Pascual Contursi, Celedonio Flores; 1935- ca.1950: Golden age tango gains acceptance in high society as a tangomania reaches its peak in Europe, especially in Paris in the 1910s; tango is popularised by Carlos Gardel: Mi noche triste (Pascual Contursi) a real hit: thousands of copies sold; Enrique Delfino (Delfy) gave the tango song its definitve structure: 2 sections generally of 16 bars each author of La Milonguita (1950s lost its poularity, became associated with intellectual circles)

Development of tango: la guardia nueva

 mystical language of gendered emotions: contrasts the traditional masculine values (compadrito associated with bravery and physical strength, bacn rich man seducing women offering material gains, man of reproduction) with the image of the suffering romantic lover

The lyrics of tango

1955 onwards: Tango vanguard the emergence of tango nuevo through Astor Piazzolla; instruments: 2 bandoneones, 2 violins, piano, electric guitar; new venues: Gotn 676, La Noche frequented mainly be upper-middle class porteos and international tourists Astor Piazzolla: breaks with the traditional orquesta tpica. Studies Bartk and Stravinsky. After almost abandoning tango completely, encouraged by his teacher Nadia Boulanger, he decides to keep his bandoneon: Astor, your classical pieces are well written, but the true Piazzolla is here, never leave it behind . Upon returning to BA (1955), he forms the group Octeto Buenos Aires with a makeup of two bandoneones, two violins, double bass, cello, piano, and an electric guitar, he produces innovative works and interpretations which break away from classic tango, he breaks away from the original mold of an orquesta tpica and creates chamber music instead, music without a singer or any dancers. http://www.piazzolla.org/biography/biography-english.html One of his most famous piece: Libertango He can be considered the father of todays tango nuevo music. Most well -known contemporary tango nuevo bands: Gotn Project, Otros Aires, Bajofondo /Piazzolla interview: 00:52, 07:53, 27:10, 33:03, milonga sentimental)

Piazzolla and the Tango nuevo

The tango is as old as mankind, it was born with the first grief of the soul.