Birth of the Tango
As with most cities, there were traditionally areas that were favored in real estate development, and then there were areas that we now call “economically challenged” (since we don’t say “slum” any more.
The houses of the folks who were advantaged were large, multi-storied and had 1 or more patios in the middle of them (pre-air conditioning, you know). They were also near the center city area, since that was where most of the services and shopping that one might need were, and then many of them also had vacation homes out in the countryside, to the north of the city.
So, after the war for independence, soldiers that hadn’t been killed started returning, and with them they brought a little gift – yellow fever. Several epidemics ripped through Buenos Aires between 1850 and 1871 (the last one killing about 8% of the population – compare this to about 4.69% death rate for COVID in the US).
So those affluent folks, being quick to figure out that gold is of no use to those who have stopped breathing, used some of their money to move north of town to their vacation homes so that they could isolate from those essential workers that couldn’t isolate and would continue to be infected.
Many of them, especially if they had a new home to occupy, decided not to move back to their houses downtown that were built in the European style, but they also weren’t in a hurry to simply abandon their investment, so they subdivided their large palatial homes and rented rooms to immigrants who were coming from Europe (primarily). This often led to a mish-mash of folks with different ethnicities and backgrounds living in the same building, sharing kitchens and what passed for toilet facilities, and eventually merging their musical styles to come up with something that was uniquely Argentinian.
The houses of the folks who were advantaged were large, multi-storied and had 1 or more patios in the middle of them (pre-air conditioning, you know). They were also near the center city area, since that was where most of the services and shopping that one might need were, and then many of them also had vacation homes out in the countryside, to the north of the city.
So, after the war for independence, soldiers that hadn’t been killed started returning, and with them they brought a little gift – yellow fever. Several epidemics ripped through Buenos Aires between 1850 and 1871 (the last one killing about 8% of the population – compare this to about 4.69% death rate for COVID in the US).
So those affluent folks, being quick to figure out that gold is of no use to those who have stopped breathing, used some of their money to move north of town to their vacation homes so that they could isolate from those essential workers that couldn’t isolate and would continue to be infected.
Many of them, especially if they had a new home to occupy, decided not to move back to their houses downtown that were built in the European style, but they also weren’t in a hurry to simply abandon their investment, so they subdivided their large palatial homes and rented rooms to immigrants who were coming from Europe (primarily). This often led to a mish-mash of folks with different ethnicities and backgrounds living in the same building, sharing kitchens and what passed for toilet facilities, and eventually merging their musical styles to come up with something that was uniquely Argentinian.
Of course, if you’re gonna blend the music and then perform in a communal area, someone is going to start making up dance steps to go with that music.
Hence, the Tango was born.
Hence, the Tango was born.
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