1900-1939Buenos Aires / Montevideo

Argentine Tango

Also known as Tango argentino

A genre born in the Río de la Plata, Argentine tango carries both urban grit and formal grace. It moved from marginal dance music into a durable song tradition, then into a modern concert language through figures such as Gardel and Piazzolla.

Origins and context

The genre emerged in the late 19th century in the Rio de la Plata port world, shaped by Afro-Argentine traditions, European immigration, and urban dance culture.

Buenos AiresMontevideoArgentinaUruguay

The sound

Characteristics

Bandoneón
Violin
Piano
Double bass
Guitar

How to listen

Listen for

The bandoneón’s wheezing, breath-like phrasing
Tight rhythmic accents that make the music feel poised and tense
Melodic lines that linger on longing rather than sheer speed

History

Tango took shape around the 1880s in the working-class districts of Buenos Aires and in nearby Montevideo, drawing on a mix of Afro-Argentine music and dance, the Cuban habanera, and currents brought by European immigrants. Library of Congress sources note that it was first viewed as disreputable before moving into more respectable venues, and that the early 20th century recording boom helped carry it far beyond the Río de la Plata. (blogs.loc.gov) By the 1910s and 1920s, tango had become a defining popular music of urban Argentina, with orchestras settling into the classic orquesta típica format. Carlos Gardel’s rise turned the genre into a song tradition as well as a dance music, and later Astor Piazzolla pushed it into nuevo tango with harmony, counterpoint, and jazz-inflected pressure.