1 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: From Futromedia and PRX It's Latino Usa I Marie no 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: Josa Today, the history of resilience in Dango and three 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: trailblazing women who are reclaiming it for future generations. While 4 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: dango is usually pictured as a dance between a white 5 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: man in an elegant black suit and a white woman 6 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: in high heels and a tight red dress, the reality 7 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: of tango goes much deeper, born in the brothels and 8 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: dance halls of society's lowercast. This music and dance is 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:52,919 Speaker 1: actually rooted in Argentina's African and queer subcultures. Before it 10 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: became the defining music of Argentina, tango was actually condemned 11 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: by elites and the church as well, which saw it 12 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: as obscene and transgressive. The dance's reign was also threatened 13 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: by the worldwide phenomenon of rock and roll, and then 14 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: all but buried by Argentina's Dirty War. When dungo began 15 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: its revival in the nineteen eighties and nineties, a new 16 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: era of dungo artists began challenging rigid norms established in 17 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: the early half of the twentieth century, breaking from traditional 18 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: gender roles and shining a light on the black history 19 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: of dungo. These artists aimed to invoke Dungo's past to 20 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: make way for a more inclusive future. In this episode, 21 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: we're going to travel to Argentina and meet three women 22 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: who are going to help us understand the controversial roots 23 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: of dungo and how they're helping to give new life 24 00:01:53,840 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: to a dance very much rooted in tradition. Producer Jessica 25 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: Bonds will lead us on that journey. 26 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 2: Hey Sure, Buenos Aires native entango dancer and instructor has 27 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 2: had a relationship with tango for as long as she 28 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 2: can remember. 29 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 3: My memories are from my family, my very young years, 30 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 3: because in the parties in the Christmas, in the New 31 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 3: Year or birthdays, the family was in the party to 32 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 3: it and dance. So I danced on the feet of 33 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 3: my father like a doll as part of the ceremony 34 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 3: in the family. 35 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,679 Speaker 2: It was the nineteen forties and fifties, tango's golden age. 36 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 2: Back then, Shushu was just a little girl, but she 37 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 2: remembers hearing music's building out of cafes and cabarets into 38 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 2: the streets of Buenos Aires. Every night it was danced 39 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 2: in clubs, saloons, and carnivals. Tango became a reflection of 40 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 2: Buenosidas's identity a metropolis that did not sleep, and tango 41 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 2: was its nocturnal muse Then, during the sixties and seventies, 42 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 2: rock and roll was introduced to the world. This new sound, 43 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 2: inspired by the sexual and political revolutions of the time, 44 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 2: influenced a new generation across the globe. Youth rejected everything 45 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 2: that seemed old and antiquated. For Argentines, tango fell into 46 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 2: this category. Shushu, who by then was well into her 47 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 2: teage years, remembers that time. 48 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 3: I don't want it to listen to tango for me 49 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 3: bored or I changed the radio because oh, that is 50 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 3: music for old people. I want rock and. 51 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 2: Roll, And then all the music stopped. Argentina's last military 52 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 2: dictatorship ruled from nineteen seventy six to nineteen eighty three 53 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,239 Speaker 2: and was known for its human rights atrocities. The regime 54 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 2: also halted the evolution of art and culture through strict 55 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 2: curfews and extreme censorship. So she was in her early 56 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 2: twenties at the time, even though she wasn't into the 57 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 2: tango scene as much. She remembers how tangos suffered during 58 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 2: this period. 59 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 3: We so for many kind of different things, and one 60 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 3: of that was the impossibility to net with our identity, 61 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 3: our roots. Many tangos was censored and many plays to 62 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 3: Dan's Tango was closed too, and the militars editor in 63 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 3: one place and stop all the music, or ask you documents, 64 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 3: or maybe you finish your night in the police office. 65 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 2: The dictatorship traumatized the country. Tens of thousands were disappeared 66 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 2: in those seven years. Assassinations were carried out via mass shootings, 67 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 2: and people were drugged and thrown from airplanes into the ocean. Additionally, 68 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 2: twelve thousand prisoners, many of whom did not have a 69 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 2: fair trial, were detained in a network of secret concentration 70 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,919 Speaker 2: camps located throughout Argentina. By the nineteen eighties, economic collapse, 71 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 2: public discontent, and the disastrous handling of the Falcon War 72 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 2: between Argentina and England resulted in the end of the 73 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 2: military junta. When democracy was finally restored in nineteen eighty three, 74 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 2: Shushoo says people were eager for new ways of expression 75 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 2: and they found it in tango. 76 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 3: Tango Always wait for You was there like a seed 77 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 3: into very deep hole into the ground, waiting to the 78 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 3: winter lifts, and in that moment start the spring of tango. 79 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 3: The tango start to develop again from sero. 80 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 2: The repression she and others her age experience during Argentina's 81 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 2: Dirty War awoke. She shoos childhood memories her family parties 82 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 2: when she would dance tango on top of her dad's feet. 83 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 2: She too wanted to reclaim her identity, so at age 84 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 2: twenty three, she began taking tango classes, but it wasn't enough. 85 00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 2: She wanted to become a pro at it. 86 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 3: What I love is teach, so I needed to learn 87 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 3: how to lead. I needed to dominate both roles. 88 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 2: Traditionally, in tango, the leader role is assigned to the 89 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 2: male partner and the follower role to the female, So 90 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 2: when she should try to learn both roles, she faced 91 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 2: a lot of resistance. 92 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 4: In the old times. 93 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 3: If you, for example, take a lesson, you say to 94 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 3: the teacher, ah, I am here because I want to lead, 95 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 3: and the teacher say, no, you are a woman, but 96 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 3: I pay you. No, No, you are a woman, you 97 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 3: cannot lead or the other women. No, I don't want 98 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 3: to dance with you. I am here to embrace a man. No, 99 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 3: embrace a woman. I just feel that I was alone. 100 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 2: I am crazy, but she should wasn't alone. While she 101 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 2: was reconnecting with tango for herself and young adulthood. Madnodo Campo, 102 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 2: as a teenager who came of age during the Dirty War, 103 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 2: was finding tango for the first time. 104 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 5: At the end of the military process. With the beginning 105 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 5: of the democracy, the old milongio so of the forties 106 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 5: started to go out again to the clubs to dance. 107 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 2: A milongio is a person who dances tango in social settings. 108 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 2: The word comes from the term milonga, a derivative of 109 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 2: Bandtu language, which made its way to Argentina through enslavement. 110 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 2: Milonga also refers to a tango dance event. 111 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 5: And the young people started to go to these class 112 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 5: learning from these old milanerras. 113 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 2: Wanting more freedom and flexibility, young dancers started clashing with 114 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: the old guard Manana didn't grow up with tango the 115 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,079 Speaker 2: way she should it because it wasn't around during her childhood. 116 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 2: Tango from Mariana was something new, almost foreign, but the 117 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 2: exoticness of it quickly faded for her. 118 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 5: I started to take lessons in a place that call Elgacito, 119 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 5: the people that used to go. There were very old people, 120 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 5: and it was in a traditional place where the men 121 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 5: led and the woman followed. 122 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 2: Magena realized Tengo's codes weren't lining up with the increasingly 123 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 2: gender inclusive Buenos Aires society of the nineteen nineties. While 124 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 2: Argentina was moving away from rigid gender expectations, an entire 125 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 2: generation of dango was still frozen in time. 126 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 5: I wanted to dance, and I didn't want to dance 127 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 5: only with men. I didn't want to wait for the 128 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 5: men all the time. Or the other thing was that 129 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 5: they all the knowledge in the classes where it was 130 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 5: given to the men. The women helped the men to dance. 131 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,319 Speaker 5: And also I started to see the old men always 132 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 5: dance it with young women, and the old women didn't 133 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 5: dance or wait all the night. And I was rebellos 134 00:09:57,960 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 5: against this. 135 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 2: The yea of reforming tango seemed like an impossible task 136 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 2: for both Madiana and Shushu, but that didn't seem to 137 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 2: stop them. In the decades after, both of them worked 138 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 2: tirelessly towards mantling their rigid, heteronormative and superficial elements of 139 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 2: antiquated and unevolved tango. Meanwhile, tango was infiltrating the foreign market, 140 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,079 Speaker 2: and by two thousand and four it reached Shilene Oliveda 141 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 2: for the first time. She Lena was a Brazilian college 142 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 2: student in Cuba. She was only seventeen when a Bolivian 143 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 2: roommate introduced her to the music and dance. As a 144 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 2: black woman, she Lena found it hard to connect with 145 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 2: tango at first. 146 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 6: For me, it was really something really unthinkable because I had, 147 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:52,679 Speaker 6: as I guess everyone passed that image of tango, very European, 148 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 6: very white, very cheek. 149 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 2: But when she Lena started to study the lyrics, to 150 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 2: really look closely at the music, she gained a completely 151 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 2: new perspective on tango. 152 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 6: We in Brazil are very like separated of the rest 153 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 6: of America Latina. We just don't talk of Spanish. So 154 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 6: when I started to heard it, I realized that the 155 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 6: lyrics were very, very humans, very deep, and very close 156 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 6: of me. 157 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 2: Sheilene, who was able to understand Spanish, fell hard for tango. 158 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 2: She wasn't a dancer. She wanted to sing. As a 159 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,559 Speaker 2: young teenager, she'd been a singer in Brazil, and tango 160 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 2: sparked her interest in music all over again. In two 161 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 2: thousand and eight, after finishing college, she Lena visited her 162 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 2: roommate back in Bolivia. That's where she met her roommate's mother, 163 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 2: who was a tango dancer and singer. She became she 164 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 2: Lena's first mentor in tango. 165 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 6: She was really determinated to make me understand that I 166 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 6: could sing. She gave to me three different tangles to learn, 167 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,359 Speaker 6: and she gives to me an appointment with a musician 168 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 6: who was playing in the Casargentina there in La Pace. 169 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 4: That place. 170 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 6: Were vascinated to Argentine tradiction, and I didn't have a 171 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 6: lot of choice, so I go. I started to sing 172 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 6: to learn. 173 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 2: She realized that she could turn this new passion into 174 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 2: an actual career, but tragedy struck. Her friend's mother became 175 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 2: very ill and died. 176 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 6: Suddenly, my friends invite me to sing tango in her funeral. 177 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 2: She learned us saying gadua a tango classic canadastie. 178 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 4: Elvient nextra but as you so. 179 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 7: Zo in las sombras me andrasta yes and tua con. 180 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 6: That were my deboots, my first time officially singing tango 181 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 6: done mia. 182 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 2: In that moment, she Lena finally connected with tango passion 183 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 2: overtook all those stereotypes, those rigid tropes, They didn't matter anymore. 184 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 2: All that mattered was the music. 185 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 7: Garuba solo, trite, borla service, ste coassan Trancia. 186 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:02,959 Speaker 6: Singendo was really beautiful and said was beautiful, and the 187 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 6: whole family were very happy to give this last gift 188 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:09,679 Speaker 6: to her. 189 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 2: She Lena's relationship to Dango wouldn't always be this simple, though. 190 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 2: She decided to move to Buenos Aires to pursue her career, 191 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 2: but she was still an outsider entering a world that 192 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 2: was still largely stuck in the past when it came 193 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 2: to matters of race, gender, and quote unquote tradition. So 194 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 2: Shena decided to fight for a more inclusive future for tango, 195 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 2: a vision shared by Shushu, by Marianna, and by the 196 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 2: next generation of performers pushing the boundaries of Argentina's quintessential dance. 197 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino Usa, Juju, Shilene and Marianna tell 198 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: us how each is creating Dango's space, says for the blind, 199 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: black and queer populations of Argentina, stay with us, not 200 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: stay why yes, hey, we're back. So after years of 201 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: building intimate relationships with dango. Shu Zhu, Shilene, and Marianna 202 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 1: begin to help others connect to the music and to 203 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: the dance as well. Here's Jessica Bones with the rest 204 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: of the story. 205 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 2: Shushu and other performers and instructors like Marianna and Shi 206 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 2: Lene want to open dango to everyone. For Shushu, that 207 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 2: means closing your eyes literally course, but it's okay. After 208 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 2: twenty five years in a tango scene. Today, Shushu is 209 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 2: a well regarded instructor in Buenos Aires, and she's not 210 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 2: for a pretty unique lesson plan. She blindfolds her students 211 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 2: while they dance, a technique she thought would help dispenser stereotypes. 212 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 3: They can not see if you are fat or you 213 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 3: are short, or if you are. 214 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 4: A toll, or you are black or you are white. 215 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 3: It's not important if you have a nice dress to 216 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 3: be invited to dance, or if you look very good 217 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 3: you're on that, or how you move with no, no, no, 218 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 3: you cannot see, so all the things that you judge 219 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 3: to the person through your eyes are not there, so 220 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 3: as much more. 221 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 5: That you can get without your eyes. 222 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 2: She Su even went an extra mile to teach the 223 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 2: visually impaired, She says she learns a lot from them. 224 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 3: I started to experimit with the light people was very emotional. 225 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 3: People feel something absolutely new and it was very happy 226 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 3: because they can dance together, move in one space with 227 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,959 Speaker 3: other persons. That is something very strong. 228 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 2: Similarly from Madianna, contributing to the evolution of tango meant 229 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 2: breaking down gender and racial stereotypes. 230 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 4: When I came to her. 231 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 2: Own practice and teaching, Marina focused on really finding traditional 232 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 2: roles in tango. 233 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 5: I studied to teach in a lesbian place called like 234 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 5: Assael and Guentro, and the men were forbidden. Men could 235 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 5: not enter. Then for me, my idea was teaching tango 236 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 5: to everybody and exchange roles. 237 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 2: For Mariana, queer tango was an act of female empowerment. 238 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 5: The queer tango is it's difficult to define. When I started, 239 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,119 Speaker 5: I wanted to separate a role from the gender. 240 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,120 Speaker 7: And tender because. 241 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 5: It has to do with the feminist position. 242 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 2: Marina began teaching tango to queer Argentines and later in 243 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,359 Speaker 2: two thousand and five, she founded Tango Queer, a weekly 244 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 2: party where women dance with women and men with men. Freely. 245 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,360 Speaker 2: Her approach might seem a bit radical to some hardline 246 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,159 Speaker 2: tango traditionalists, but a dive into the history of tango 247 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 2: reveals its origins were quite flexible when it came to 248 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 2: gender roles. 249 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 5: The queer tangle exists from the beginning of the history 250 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 5: of the tango. Men dancing with men and women with 251 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 5: women from the very beginning, and you can see that 252 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 5: in the photos that you can find very easy in Internet. 253 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 2: What's believed to be the first published photo of tango 254 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 2: dancers did it back to nineteen oh three, depicts two 255 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 2: men made embrace. They're wearing loose fitted pants, blazers, hats, 256 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 2: and boots. One of them has his pants tucked into 257 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 2: his boots, sort of like a gaucho the Argentine cowboy. 258 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 5: The history tells that the men, before entering in the brathons, 259 00:19:56,040 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 5: they did dance two together to practice the steps. Also 260 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 5: that are also photographs of women dancing together, especially foreign 261 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 5: European prostitutes. All these environments were very queer in one way, 262 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 5: it was not so strict. The tango was very amoral. 263 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 5: Then tango became famous in Paris in nineteen. 264 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 2: Ten, primarily danced by workers and sailors. Both Argentine and 265 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,440 Speaker 2: European tango across the Atlantic Ocean at the start of 266 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 2: the twentieth century and entered the cabarets and brothels of France. 267 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 2: The dance was eventually embraced by the upper class, becoming 268 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 2: a sensation in Paris. 269 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 5: Then when they come to Buenos Aires, in this one 270 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 5: it was taken by the high class and then started 271 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 5: all these morality around the tango. But before it was 272 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 5: very amoral and it was not necessarily that they were 273 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 5: lesbians or gays, just exchange roles. 274 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 2: Mariana says that those very defined gender roles a man leading, 275 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,639 Speaker 2: a woman following, do have a basis in tango's history, 276 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,920 Speaker 2: but only with respect to the nineteen forties and fifties. 277 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,200 Speaker 5: In the goldern Age, the clubs were full of people 278 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 5: of middle class and in this moment the moral was 279 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 5: very strong, and what we receive in day this was 280 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 5: this tango, not the tango of the origins. That's why 281 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 5: when we started with the queer tango and people say, oh, 282 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 5: the tango is men and women, our argument was, but 283 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 5: the tango started queer. 284 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 2: But tango's origins aren't just queer, seen as a predominantly 285 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 2: white dance, tango in fact has black roots. Thattelenderiano considered 286 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 2: the first tango in history. It was composed in eighteen 287 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 2: ninety seven by the Afro Argentine musician Rosendo mend Saba. 288 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 2: He was known as one of the greatest local pianists 289 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,880 Speaker 2: at the time and was a regular and many venues 290 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 2: where tango was becoming popular. Understanding tango's past is Kidra 291 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,680 Speaker 2: building its future. Marinanoses and so does she Lenez. After 292 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 2: moving from her native Brasil to Buenos Aires in twenty twelve, 293 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,640 Speaker 2: she Lena began exploring the history of tango. She discovered 294 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 2: its African influences and that opened a new dimension in 295 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:30,479 Speaker 2: tango for her. 296 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 6: In the beginning of the centuries, holf a part of 297 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 6: people here was black. 298 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,119 Speaker 4: Here in Buenos. 299 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 6: Aires, specifically places with marginal people. They are also doing 300 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 6: things to have fun, to create something to escape of 301 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 6: the sadness to be in this condition of slavery. 302 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 7: Those vis Spiran. 303 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 6: After to discovery the Black African origin of the style 304 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 6: of this music, more and more it's like, okay, this 305 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,360 Speaker 6: is like a lot of music styles. 306 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:27,120 Speaker 4: Like somebody this is like funk, jazz and the beginning. 307 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,119 Speaker 6: Was really like, oh, I have to learn it's so 308 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 6: outside of. 309 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 4: My culture, which is true, but not that much. 310 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 8: Lavina sona belong I guess Bylanus Lavia so Belan. 311 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 5: Starland. 312 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,120 Speaker 2: Tango evolved from a drum heavy music style that came 313 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 2: from free slaves in South America. It later fused with 314 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 2: other immigrant music before becoming milonga and finally dogo. The 315 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 2: word dango itself was used to describe the place where 316 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 2: former slaves gathered to dance. Black musicians put dango on 317 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 2: the map. Composers such as Mendisabaas Kishermo Barvieri, Juaquin Mora, 318 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 2: and more recently Oraso Salagan were instrumental in creating the 319 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 2: dango we know today. Their contributions to doango, however, have 320 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 2: been hidden over time, much like Argentina's historical black population. 321 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,119 Speaker 2: Even though after descendants accounted for thirty percent of the 322 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 2: country's population at the start of the eighteenth century, Argentina 323 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,400 Speaker 2: strove to present itself to the world as a homogeneously 324 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:50,840 Speaker 2: white nation of European descent. In the late nineteenth century, 325 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 2: war and diseases decimated Argentina's black population, serving in the 326 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 2: army and living in segregated neighborhoods were diseases such as 327 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 2: yellow fever and holera spread. It was it in till 328 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 2: twenty ten that Argentina's national census began counting people of 329 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 2: African descent for the first time, after descendants currently make 330 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 2: less than one percent of the forty one million people 331 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:19,399 Speaker 2: living in Argentina. She Lena says she often faces resistance 332 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 2: and judgment for being a black woman in Buenos Aires, 333 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 2: and especially for being a black tango singer. 334 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 4: I guess it's. 335 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,200 Speaker 6: Always going to be some kind of surprise to people 336 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 6: who doesn't want to recognizing how the city try to. 337 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,600 Speaker 4: Hide the black culture here. 338 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 6: I have a lot of memories and phrases of people 339 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,440 Speaker 6: who was very surprising to see me just because I'm black. 340 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 2: Shei Lena says. These interactions range from mild and easy 341 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:55,680 Speaker 2: to dismiss to threatening or demoralizing. It's part of the job, 342 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 2: she says. 343 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 6: I was invited to sing in a very undergrounds milong 344 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 6: as I was there in the middle of the place, 345 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 6: without Sonido, without Mike, just with the voice listening. 346 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 4: Ni Sierra visit. 347 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:25,520 Speaker 8: Nadiaky Econsolary and me upflicks. 348 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:34,400 Speaker 6: You and uh, some men just said, okay, now you're 349 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 6: gonna start the dance samba. 350 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 5: Ha ha ha. 351 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 6: He saw me as a black woman there and the 352 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,480 Speaker 6: first thing that he can connected is with the sambo 353 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 6: and dancing. 354 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 4: And I just said, I came here to sing tango today. 355 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 2: She Lena uses her platform as a tango singer to 356 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 2: educate people about the African roots of tango. She performs 357 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,920 Speaker 2: music by black composers and explains the audiences her performances 358 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 2: tie back to their black roots. Nis Venice, Sara Monte Tangetra. 359 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 6: When I do tango, I put that real part of 360 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 6: this history in the table because I guess it's some 361 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 6: kind of interchange. The tangle gives so much to me. 362 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 6: I am a different singer now, I am a different artist. 363 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:48,679 Speaker 6: Now I travel singing tango. People who knows me singing 364 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 6: tango knows how how much I care about it. So 365 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 6: it's some kind of part of give back what tango 366 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 6: gives to me, recognizing those beginnings or the birth or 367 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 6: la jasis. It's a very large relationship and we are 368 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,159 Speaker 6: happy to get them in the tango. 369 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 2: Yes, tango is slowly changing, much like it's birthplace. After 370 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 2: living in Buenos Aires for ten years, Chilena has started 371 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 2: to feel more accepted. 372 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 6: Two weeks ago, I sink here in Congresso Plaza. When 373 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 6: I finished the thing, some kind of old man past 374 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 6: and said, oh you you. 375 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 4: Really has a good voice, really have a good voice. 376 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 6: You are on the way, very Argentinian, very old man's coming. 377 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 4: Okay. 378 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 6: When I was, he was not surprising with my look, 379 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 6: the fact that I'm black, and that was something that 380 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 6: makes me feel really happy. 381 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 2: Contributing to Mariannas and others efforts to make tango more 382 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 2: relatable for everybody, Buenos Airest's society has also become more inclusive. 383 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 5: Claro happened at the same time of different political events 384 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 5: for the LGTV community and the women also, for example, 385 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 5: the equal Matrinioitario equal marriage identity law. It was a 386 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 5: period more than about fifteen years where we did have 387 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 5: a lot of improvement in these kind of laws, but 388 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 5: would change in the end of the nineties beginning of 389 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 5: the two thousand. What is the position and the visibility 390 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 5: and the political conscience. We took what was our rights, 391 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 5: and one of these rights we were dancing with the 392 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 5: person with whom you wanted to dance. 393 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,959 Speaker 2: Mariana is also very optimistic about the future. 394 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 5: It's time there are more women than sintango, more men 395 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 5: following less problems with the queers, and the society is 396 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 5: each time more open. 397 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 2: Trael Plazers like Mariana Chi Lena and she should live 398 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 2: by that. Mantra Tango and the society they live in 399 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 2: should be open for all. 400 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 3: It's not important what is your relation, what is your ideology, 401 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 3: political ideology, what is your right? 402 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 4: What is your age? 403 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 3: You can unstable and we don't need to discuss because 404 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 3: when you do that, you need to make silence, to 405 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 3: listen to your heart. 406 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 5: So no discussions, no fight. 407 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 4: More Rice less wark, Let's. 408 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 5: Hate SUSA co. 409 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 4: Record a photos and very. 410 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: Ravalaacomo Benepez how This episode was produced by Argentinian American 411 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: journalist Jessica Pons and Alejandra Salasad. It was edited by 412 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: Andrea Lopez Gruzado and mixed by Stephanie Lobau and Julia Caruso. 413 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,120 Speaker 1: Fact checking for this episode by our fellows Elisa Baena 414 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: and Andrew Vignalis. Special thanks to Shidlene Oliveira and Finees 415 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,480 Speaker 1: dere Tango for sharing their music with us for this episode. 416 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: The Latino USA team includes Marta Martinez, Mike Sargent, Julia 417 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: Da Martinelli, Victoria Estrada, Patricia Sulvaran, Gini Montalbo, Rinaldo, Leanos 418 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 1: Junior and Julia Rocha, with help from Raoul Prees. Our 419 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:03,200 Speaker 1: editorial director is Julio Ricardo Uarella. Our associate engineers are 420 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: gabriel Lebayez and jj Krubin. Our digital editor is Louis Luna. 421 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: Monica Morales is one of our Latino USA fellows. Our 422 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: theme music was composed by Senior Rubinos. If you like 423 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: the music you heard on this episode, stop by Latinousa 424 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: dot org and check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm 425 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 1: your host and executive producer Maria Nojosa. Join us again 426 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: on our next episode, and in the meantime, look for 427 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: us on all of your social media. I'll see you there, Jao. 428 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,680 Speaker 9: Latino USA is made possible in part by the John D. 429 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 9: And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, working with 430 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 9: visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, and the 431 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 9: Heising Simons Foundation unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities. More at 432 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,240 Speaker 9: Hsfoundation dot org. 433 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:02,240 Speaker 1: No but now I'm like breathing in the incense. But 434 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,480 Speaker 1: it did kill the mosquitoes, so it's like one or 435 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: the other. All right, cough cough, Here we go in three, 436 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:09,240 Speaker 1: two one