Saturday, April 3, 2010

A bit of History

The word “Tango”

“In black culture. In one of the African languages, tango means to approach, to palpate or to touch. (...) That’s why in some regions of the African continent – and later in American regions as well – the drumbeat was called tango or tan-gó.”
“In native culture. Particularly among the natives of Honduras, tango was (...) the name of a percussion instrument...”
“In Latin-Spanish culture. Tango in Latin, comes from Tactum, to touch...”
“It has also the meaning of touching in the emotional sense, of beating and hurting, of writing poetry, (...) of playing a song.”
“In old Castilian, (...), the word tangir means to play an instrument.”
“(...) the spiritual and artistic genesis of tango took place from about 1880 to circa 1895 (...).”
“Archibaldo Lanús defined it (...) as ‘the will of being’.”

The Milonga

“La milonga. This is a black word that means a mess or a mix-up. By extension, the word milonga also designates the dance places.”
“According to José Gobello it is a Quimbundá which means ‘word’. (The Quimbudá was spoken by black benguelas, malembas and mozambiques)”
“(...) we might describe it as a Creole melody of the river Plate merged into the powerful breath of Camdombe’s drums. It is the (...) daughter of the tambourine rhythms that have accompanied the ceremony called ‘camdombe’, designed for the celebration of the Congo’s king’s coronation since at least 1760 (...).”
“The Spanish writer Sañudo Autran (...) describes:
La milonga is the most popular song in Argentina and Uruguay, and the most genuine.
The milonga bears some resemblance to the saetas which, especially in the Andalucian city prisons, are sung by prisoners on Good Friday.
I’ve seen the strongest of gauchos crying when hearing a milonga.
The milonga reigns in the inspiration of natural poets, of good improvisers. The payadores are similar to the medieval minstrels described in novels of the middle ages."

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at the Verening Theater in Nijmegen with Jolanda Walder - 4 Jan 2010

at the Verening Theater in Nijmegen with Jolanda Walder - 4 Jan 2010
at the Verening Theater in Nijmegen with Jolanda Walder - 4 Jan 2010

from a photoshoot for Buenos Aires aan de Waal, Nijmegen. With Jolanda Walder

from a photoshoot for Buenos Aires aan de Waal, Nijmegen. With Jolanda Walder
from a photoshoot for Buenos Aires aan de Waal, Nijmegen. With Jolanda Walder