La Orilla, a slum area on the edge of Buenos Aires, near the waterfront, the Indian Milonga was changing almost two hundred years ago, These drunken men loved to dance. Men would go to a bar to see a fight and a dance would break out. And the common sailor still carried most of the low class culture from one country to another. In Milonga territory it was mainly between the slums in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Initially, "partner" Milonga might be best described as stopping the walking step to rub together the male and female genitalia areas by the pimps and the prostitutes. It was soon omitted and from these crude beginnings, it developed into something slightly more acceptable to the poor society around them, and soon became popular in the "barrios" (slum areas).
The idea that the development of the Milonga was by the prostitutes in the brothels dancing with the pimps or the patrons may be an appealing one but also a myth. The point was that the men were waiting because the women were otherwise occupied. If anything they would dance with each other. Obviously the brothel's income would be maximized by keeping the girls busy at their primary occupation, so certainly at peak periods where the brothel was busiest there would not be women available for dancing. In La Orilla, there may have been up to 40 men for every woman. And the Milonga musicians were forced to mold a Milonga music to entertain the men while they waited.
With the influence of the big influx of Europeans in the 60s, and their bandoneon, It would not be until the 1890s that the music and dance began to invade the middle classes, forcing the top people to get rid of the Milonga name. They came up with the name of the old obsolete Andalusian Tango and called it Tango. However the Milonga name could not be deleted that easily and it took 20 years to really change into Tango. And only because by that time it was introduced to Europe. In the rest of the world today the name Tango is used. In Argentina it is still intermixed with the name Milonga. Now there are at least 50 different Tangos around the world. Ten of them in Argentina. How many we got on Oahu?
"The Tango is a sad thought that you can dance."
The idea that the development of the Milonga was by the prostitutes in the brothels dancing with the pimps or the patrons may be an appealing one but also a myth. The point was that the men were waiting because the women were otherwise occupied. If anything they would dance with each other. Obviously the brothel's income would be maximized by keeping the girls busy at their primary occupation, so certainly at peak periods where the brothel was busiest there would not be women available for dancing. In La Orilla, there may have been up to 40 men for every woman. And the Milonga musicians were forced to mold a Milonga music to entertain the men while they waited.
"El Dia Que Me Quieras" por Carlos Gardel
With the influence of the big influx of Europeans in the 60s, and their bandoneon, It would not be until the 1890s that the music and dance began to invade the middle classes, forcing the top people to get rid of the Milonga name. They came up with the name of the old obsolete Andalusian Tango and called it Tango. However the Milonga name could not be deleted that easily and it took 20 years to really change into Tango. And only because by that time it was introduced to Europe. In the rest of the world today the name Tango is used. In Argentina it is still intermixed with the name Milonga. Now there are at least 50 different Tangos around the world. Ten of them in Argentina. How many we got on Oahu?
"Social dancers feel that their time is limited, so they
do not want to waste it living someone else’s life."
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