Tango is an art rooted in the suburban, “arrabalero” environment, derived from its popular nature. It’s worth noting the different origin of “suburbio” and “arrabal,” now considered synonymous. “Arrabal” is a word of Arabic origin, meaning ‘outside the walls’ in the case of the walled city of Montevideo. Tango emerges and develops in the working-class neighborhoods surrounding the Rio de la Plata cities: the “arrabal.” For tango, the arrabal is the inspiring muse, the place of belonging that should not be abandoned, betrayed, or forgotten. Above all, the tanguero is a person “from the neighborhood.” In the language of tango, the arrabal and the downtown compose two opposite poles: the arrabal, often closely linked to friends and “the old neighborhood,” expresses the true and the authentic, while downtown tends to express the ephemeral, “the dazzling lights,” the failure.
The sense of belonging to the arrabal has led tango to build neighborhood cultures, to give them personality. Especially in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, tango is indissolubly linked to the identity of the neighborhoods. The city of tango is a city lived from the arrabal.
Some tangos that take the arrabal as their theme are “Mi Buenos Aires querido” (Le Pera), “Cafetín de Buenos Aires” (Discépolo), “Barrio de tango” (Castillo), “A media luz” (Carlos César Lenzi), “Yo soy la morocha” (Villoldo), “Balada para un loco” (Ferrer), “Sur” (Homero Manzi).
Disillusionment
“Cry, cry, heart,
cry if you have reason,
for it is not a crime in man,
to cry for a woman.”
“Angustia,” lyrics and music by Horacio Pettorossi.
Disillusionment in love as a central theme of tango is a common occurrence, although only partially true. What is perhaps striking about the way tango addresses disillusionment in love is the contrast of the “tough” and machismo-oriented man, emotionally restricted, who opens up in tango lyrics, revealing his inner self and the depth of his suffering. In tango, men cry and speak of their emotions, in a world where men should not cry or expose their feelings.
Some tangos related to disillusionment in love are: “Mano a mano” (Celedonio Flores), “Uno” (Discépolo), “Nostalgia” (Cadícamo), “Esta noche me emborracho” (Discépolo), “Amargura” (Alfredo Le Pera).
Sexual desire and sadness
“The years are passing by,
and in my chest there’s no love,
in my life I had many, many girls
but never a woman…”
Patotero Sentimental Music: Manuel Jovés. Lyrics: Manuel Romero
Sexual desire, sublimated in sensuality, and sadness or melancholy, derived from a permanent state of dissatisfaction, are the central components of tango. In its origins, these feelings emerged from the harsh situation of millions of predominantly male immigrant workers, lonely in a foreign land, resorting massively to brothels, where paid sex accentuated “the nostalgia for communion and love, the longing for women,” and the evidence of loneliness. The tango thus emerged from a mass popular “erotic resentment” that led to a harsh introspective reflection, also massive and popular, on love, sex, frustration, and ultimately the meaning of life and death for the common man.
In the course of the 20th century, with the growing importance of sexuality and introspection, as well as an existential and less optimistic view of life, tango developed its basic components as a remarkably artistic expression related to the problems of contemporary man. Ernesto Sabato reflects that the fusion in tango of markedly existential components with metaphysical temperament is what makes this dance or these songs a unique artistic expression worldwide.
The Gender Issue
He found her in the “bulín” and in other arms,
yet suave and without getting angry,
he told the chick “You can scram,
the man is not to blame in these cases”.
…and then, kissing her forehead,
with great calmness, amiably,
he stabbed her thirty-four times
“Amablemente” by E. Rivero and I. Diez
There is a widespread consensus in recognizing tango as misogynistic, at least in its traditional form. There are several tangos that celebrate gender violence and even femicide, addressing it humorously or justifying it (“Amably,” “La biaba,” “La toalla mojada,” “Cuando me entrés a fallar,” “Confesión,” “Tortazos”). It has also been pointed out that this characteristic is not exclusive to tango and is present as symbolic violence in all artistic genres and in the media. Phrases like “Tango is a man’s thing” or “tango is macho” have been coined to justify the gender imbalance that characterizes a large part of tango production.
Regarding women, one of the traditional themes of tango is that of “Milonguita,” to refer to young women who participated in nightlife and exercised their sexual freedom, using negative evaluations like “the one who took the wrong step” and expressions like “minas” (“in my life I had many girls but never a woman”), “perdition,” and the association with “mud” (“Fangal,” “Esta noche me emborracho,” “Flor de fango,” “La costurerita que dio aquel mal paso”). However, it has also been pointed out that many components of tango are contrary to machismo, such as intertwined dance and the externalization of masculine emotions.
The passage of time
Reflection on time is a very special characteristic of tango lyrics, perhaps as much or even more than the disillusionment of love itself. Virtually all tangos contain a torn view of the destructive effect of time on relationships, things, and life itself. Above all, the tango poet expresses their powerlessness in the face of this “ferocious revenge of time” and expresses “the pain of no longer being.”
Some tangos related to the passage of time are Volver (Le Pera), Caminito (Coria Peñaloza), El corazón al sur (Eladia Blázquez), Tinta roja (Cátulo Castillo).
Other themes in Tango Lyrics
Love: El día que me quieras and Amores de estudiante (Le Pera), Los mareados and De todo te olvidas (cabeza de novia) by Cadícamo.
Death: Sus ojos se cerraron (Le Pera), Adiós muchachos (César Veldani), Adiós Nonino (Astor Piazzolla).
Social Issues: Cambalache (Discépolo), Que vachaché (Discépolo),
¿Dónde hay un mango, viejo Gómez? (Ivo Pelay), Chiquilín de Bachín (Ferrer), Bronca (Battistella).
Tango: Malena (Manzi), Che, bandoneón (Manzi), El firulete (Rodolfo Taboada), La canción de Buenos Aires (Romero), Así se baila el tango (Marvil), Pa’ que bailen los muchachos (Cadícamo), Siga el baile (Carlos Warren), Che, papusa, oí (Cadícamo), La última curda (Castillo).
