TANGO STORIES #4 - Tango History along Corrientes Street
The lyrics of many tangos talk about the old Calle Corrientes of early 20th century Buenos Aires, where so much tango history was made. A lot of the famous bars, theaters and milongas were located along this narrow street. In them the great orchestras and singers.
Read MoreTANGO STORIES #3 - ORGANITO DE LA TARDE - 1924
(Street organ of the evening)
Musica: Cátulo Castillo, Letra: José González Castillo (Cátulo’s father)
In 1924 the DISCO NACIONAL record company held their first contest at the Grand Splendid Cinema-Theater, 1860 Santa Fe Ave. in Buenos Aires. to find the best new tango music.
Read MorePoema (Poem): music by Mario Melfi, lyrics by Eduardo Bianco, 1932.
Somewhat surprisingly, the birthplace of this popular tango was neither in Buenos Aires nor in Uruguay, but on a train in Europe, somewhere between Rome and Berlin while Bianco’s band was on tour.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered what a certain tango name meant or what the name signifies?
For example, the tango A La Gran Muñeca. The literal translation could be either To the big doll or To the big wrist, since the word muñeca has both meanings, depending on context. The correct meaning in this case is To the big doll because it was written for a musical stage show with that name by Jesús Ventura, with lyrics by Miguel Osés.
Makela - (…) Tango is about two, whole and complete people coming together. Connecting, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and also socially. Of course the connection between the lead and the follow is very connected to the embrace.
Read MoreNow that you have some familiarity with the Big Four orchestras you will likely want to experience some of the other major orchestras of the period. Our suggestion (Makela’s and I) is to now become familiar with Miguel Caló and his “Orchestra of the Stars” and his famous singers, Raúl Berón, Alberto Podestá and Jorge Ortiz.
Read MoreThere are people who like to take private lessons more than others, I think you are more like that, and if you can take private lessons in addition to group classes that is definitely the best way to go. They are customized and hand picked training for you. Now, if you want to take group lessons I suggest the Absolute Beginners class on Saturdays.
Read MoreWhat makes graceful movements? … Sometimes Makela has us practice "moving through mud"--an exercise of slowing down one's movements to develop better motion control.
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