Monday, June 1, 2015

Argentina and Uruguay: Home of the Tango

In 2009, the tango, a dance that is an essential part of the culture of Argentina and Uruguay, was registered by UNESCO as part of mankind's intangible cultural heritage [English, Chinese]

The tango is a dance full of life, as shown in this video:
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Tango: A Metaphor for Life from Luke Sniewski on Vimeo.

Don't forget that the tango is also part of Uruguayan culture (Uruguay used to be a province of Argentina).

Tango - MONteVIDEO que lindo te VEO from PIX IN MOTION by Leo Bar on Vimeo.

La Cumparsita, written by Uruguayan musician Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, is considered Uruguay's national song. Here we see Chicho performing before an admiring crowd with his skill.


Even vegetables like to tango!

Tango mon amour from laura lopez on Vimeo.

This tutorial shows you the basic steps in Argentine tango. The teacher speaks English with a strong Spanish accent, so you will have to listen carefully:


Tango Tutorial - Introduction from Santiago Hernandez on Vimeo.

When you listen to tango music, you will often hear an accordion playing alone (solo) or with other instruments.

















Click below to find out how the tango can also be a tool:


Al Pacino teaches a young woman how to dance the tango:

[Background for the movie: Scent of a Woman]: 
Slade is an officer who retired because he is blind. Charlie Simms is a student at a prep school [= a special school to help rich people’s children go to Harvard, Yale and other top universities]. Charlie’s family is not rich, so he got a temporary job helping Slade. Slade notices that Charlie is a shy young man, so he wants to teach him how to charm women. Slade walks over to another table and shows Charlie how to make a beautiful young woman like you. His most important tool is the tango (This song is called Por una cabeza).

Annotated dialog for the movie clip: Scent of a Woman [4/8]

Excuse me, señorita, do you mind if we join you? I'm feeling you're being neglected. [Slade carefully chooses his words: he says “señorita” instead of “miss” because this sounds more romantic. "You're being neglected = I feel sad because no gentleman is paying attention to you]

… [after some friendly chat] …
Slade
Would you like to learn to tango, darling?
Donna
Right now?
Slade
I'm offering you my services, free of charge. What do you say?
[= I want to teach you for free. Do you want to learn?]
Donna
I think I'd be a little afraid.
Slade
Of what?
Donna
Afraid of making a mistake.
Slade
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. It's not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, if you get all tangled up, you just tango on. Why don't you try? Will you try it?
Donna
All right, I'll give it a try.
Slade
Hold me down, son. Your arm. Charlie, I'm gonna need some coordinates here, son. [Slade is blind, so he asks Charlie for help. He needs to know the shape of the room is where he is right now]
Charlie
The floor's about twenty by thirty, and you're at the long end. There's tables on the outside. The band's on the right. [= the room is shaped like a rectangle, 20’ wide and 30’ long, with tables on all the sides]

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