Basis for a Reasonable Approach to the Question of the Afro Component of Tango

Authors

  • Omar García Brunelli Instituto Nacional de Musicología “Carlos Vega”

Keywords:

Popular Music, Tango Origins, Afro-American Culture, Antología del Tango Rioplatense

Abstract

The idea of an African component of the tango is based on overlapping issues of origin and subsequent additions, but there is no consensus. The Antología del Tango Rioplatense adopts an ambiguous position: supports the participation of Afro-American people in the origin, but discards the Afro-American musical influence. After over a hundred years, Africanity of tango can be very controversial because during that time the Afro-Argentinean community contributed very little to the development of the genre. Consequently, the positions defending Africanity of tango generate skepticism among the musicological community. My proposal is to review the arguments of the Antología. . . considering recent studies on African-American music. I arrive to the conclusion that tango is most likely steeped with an Afro-American component which with successive composers and performers might have played, even without being fully aware of it.

Author Biography

Omar García Brunelli, Instituto Nacional de Musicología “Carlos Vega”

Omar García Brunelli es Licenciado en Música, especialidad Musicología, por la Universidad Católica Argentina y doctorando en Teoría e Historia de las Artes en la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Actualmente se desempeña como investigador en el Instituto Nacional de Musicología “Carlos Vega” de Argentina, donde dirige la realización del segundo volumen de la Antología del Tango Rioplatense. Ha realizado actividades docentes de grado y posgrado en universidades y centros especializados y participado en congresos de América y Europa. Es autor de artículos sobre música popular urbana y tango, y colaboró en esa especialidad para el Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana, el New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, y la Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Compiló el volumen Estudios sobre la música de Astor Piazzolla (2008) y publicó Discografía básica del tango 1905-2010. Su historia a través de las grabaciones (2010). 

Downloads

Published

2018-08-21

Issue

No. 18 (2017): Dosier: The return of the great stories

Section

Articles

License

ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL 4.0 INTERNATIONAL

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

You are free to:

  1. Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  2. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
  3. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

  1. Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  2. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes .
  3. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .

No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rightsmay limit how you use the material.