The Tango: Background information when reading What We Become

The Tango

This article relates to What We Become

Fans of the ballroom dance known as the "tango" probably think of it as synonymous with elegance and sophistication, with dazzlingly turned out women and men striding gracefully amid a throng of champagne-and-caviar glitterati. A fair impression, given the tango's portrayal in Hollywood movies and musicals. But the tango began more than a century ago as a folk dance in Argentina, crude and defiant, shaped by former slaves and European immigrants, and infused with a luridness that caused authorities to ban it in public.

"Once the tango became socially acceptable, it lost its character," thinks Max Costa, the tango dancer at the center of Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel What We Become. "It became slow, calculated, less lewd. This was the tame version that had traveled to Paris and become famous."

The tango weaves in and out of What We Become, if not quite a character on its own then at least a metaphor for the sultry back-and-forth relationship between Max and his decades-long paramour. One of the minor characters in the book is a composer who enlists Max's assistance to show him the "authentic" tango, "with couples bringing their bodies together, entwining their legs and thrusting with their hips." Max tutors him, and the reader is treated to a lesson in tango history, a fascinating and tangled development containing as much international intrigue as most spy novels.

There are records of the tango dating back to the end of the eighteenth century in Buenos Aires, when it was one of many dances originated by poor peasants and often accompanied by street barrel organs. "The music has a very clear, danceable beat. However, some tango music sounds quite classical," notes Peggy Spencer in her book The Joy of Dancing. That mix of pulsating Latin rhythm and Western classical music is due to the original tango's mingling with European music as musicians from Buenos Aires travelled to Paris, London, and Berlin in the early twentieth century – and later to New York City, where the tango became something of a craze in high society in the 1920s.

The notion of the tango as a "ballroom dance" derives from this collision of authentic tango and high society, though as the tango moved up the social ladder, its temperature cooled down. The ballroom dance practiced most places today is simplified and less sexualized. Yet, the modern tango has its passionate adherents. So popular is the tango, in fact, that there is a "World Cup" of tango dancing, which is awarded every year during a two-week international competition in Buenos Aires. Many countries hold their own competitions to determine eligibility. According to the "Official USA Championship and Tango Festival," – the qualifying organization that sanctions couples to advance to the World Cup – there are five categories in which dancers can compete, including a "seniors" section, as well as "Group Tango Showcase."

Armchair fans of the tango who have no desire to compete in such high-profile events – or even to dance – can content themselves by watching one of the most popular scenes featuring dance in modern cinema: Al Pacino, dancing the tango in 1992's Scent of a Woman, a performance that probably helped Pacino win his first Oscar for best actor. The legendary dance instructor Walter Laird once noted, the tango "is not a difficult dance to learn; the basic figures are easy to master…Your goal is to achieve a stalking, predatory demeanor. Take a chance – be a tiger!"

Hooah!

Watch one of Argentina's most famous dance couples, Fernando Gracia and Sol Cerquides perform the tango by clicking on the video below:

Filed under Music and the Arts

This "beyond the book article" relates to What We Become. It originally ran in August 2016 and has been updated for the April 2017 paperback edition. Go to magazine.