The milonga is a folk music genre from the Rio de la Plata region, typical of Argentina, Uruguay, and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). The genre originates from gaucho culture. It is performed in binary rhythm, but often with a guitar accompaniment in 6/8 time signature. It comes in two modalities: on one hand, the “milonga campera,” “pampeana,” or “surera” (belonging to the so-called “surera” or southern music), which is the original form of the milonga. On the other hand, the “milonga ciudadana,” a later musical style. Its first recording was “Un bailongo” (1922), composed and written by the Afro-Argentinian José Ricardo, sung by Carlos Gardel, and its music performed by Guillermo Barbieri and José Ricardo himself. Nine years later, in 1931, Sebastián Piana composed “Milonga sentimental,” the first milonga ciudadana that gained widespread popularity.
What “Milonga” means?
“Milonga” meant in the Quimbundu language, settled in Brazil, “word,” and by extension “empty talk,” a term very appropriate to define the payada. It should be clarified that Quimbundu was the language of the “Bundas” peoples, which was known to some African tribes in Angola, an old Portuguese colony on the western coast of the African continent. There were plenty of slaves brought from those lands, who spoke Quimbundu (a Bantu language), among the black population of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
The historian from Buenos Aires, Hugo Corradi, contributed an important piece of information. Corradi wrote: “… after Justo José de Urquiza had defeated Juan Manuel de Rosas in Caseros on February 3, 1852, the Brazilian soldiers who formed his Great Army surprised the Porteños (or rather, the mazorqueros stationed in Rosas’ camp and jail of the Santos Lugares, now San Martín Partido), singing those already creolized guajiras and in a tone of mockery or criticism. Then, these soldiers pointed out that these (the Porteño mazorqueros) were singing ‘milongas.'” So, for Brazilians, those long verses sung to the same melody that repeated until the end were just empty talk, perhaps incomprehensible to them. Regarding this, Roberto Selles said: “The truth is that the denomination stuck, to the point that the locals themselves began to call the creolized guajiras they sang ‘milongas.'”
The Milonga: a bit of history
The origin of the milonga (milonga campera) is often debated. However, it is known that it contains Afro elements in its rhythmic structure and influences from creole and European dances that arrived in Buenos Aires and Montevideo through various channels, mainly from Peru, Spain, Brazil, and Cuba. At that time, there was the phenomenon known as “round trip,” as genres traveled from America to Europe and vice versa, undergoing transformations and adaptations in each region.
It shares similarities with other rhythms such as the chamarrita and candombe. It is presumed to have contributed elements to tango, which later took on the original form of milonga as its own subgenre.
The milonga campera integrates the rural expression of the pampas, with deep roots, initially sung but later choreographed. It was adapted to be included in theatrical works by the late 1880s. Until then, the milonga had a long process.
In Spain, around the 12th century, what could be the oldest antecedent of the milonga has been detected. At that time, and in those lands, there was the alternating rhythm (6/8-3/4, meaning a constantly changing rhythm), all in the version of Arcos de la Frontera of the well-known “Romance de Gerineldo.” Later musical genres with alternating rhythm were the zarabanda (16th century) and its immediate evolution, the tirana (18th century).
The tonadilla escénica – a precursor of the zarzuela – took the musical genre called “tirana” to Cuba, where it evolved and acquired its own local characteristics, as well as a new name: “guajira” (a term in Cuba that means ‘peasant woman’). In the round trips between Cuba and Spain, the “tirana” transformed into “guajira” returned to Spanish territory, more precisely to Andalusia (an area where the main Spanish port of the time, the Port of Palos, was located). There, the guajira became flamenco, and that variant of guajira was the one that arrived in Buenos Aires.
It is estimated that the arrival of the flamenco guajira in Buenos Aires could have taken place between 1822 and 1830. In terms of music, this period could be described with the following phrase by José Antonio Wilde (a physician of the Argentine army – who was at the Battle of Caseros – and writer): “…from the sky, tenth and sad, we had passed through degrees to the very funny Spanish songs and of a special style.” This musical kinship could also be supported by the similarity found by Roberto Selles and Marcelo Oliveri between the pampeana milonga and the flamenco guajira the first time they heard one of these latter. In turn, these individuals later realized (as Roberto Selles wrote in his book “History of the Milonga” (2004)) that the Spaniard José María Salaverría had already written in “Tierra Argentina” (1910), the following: “The milongas resemble the guajiras of Cuba.”
Another possible proof of this musical genealogy could be the old pampeana milonga campera (anonymous) called “La paloma indiana,” collected and recorded by the Argentine folklorist Mario Pardo. In that recording, this possible origin of the milonga is notably evident. Additionally, it is known that this song is a guajira turned into a milonga.
The new musical genre that arrived in the Pampas region, the “acriollada guajira” or “ancient milonga,” did not take long to become popular. In fact, by 1854, it was so popular that, according to Josué Teófilo Wilkes y Blanco: “…the era of ‘cielitos’ and ‘medias cañas’ had passed. The milonga came to replace them…”. Proof of the popularity of this musical genre is that by 1860, “…the milonga singers seemed to multiply in the Argentine Republic,” as reported by Sañudo Autrán cited by Vicente Gesualdo. However, despite the popularity of this musical rhythm, it seems that for the inhabitants of the region where these events took place (part of the Argentine Pampas region), the difficulty was in reproducing the 6/8-3/4 rhythm (to which flamenco guitarists were accustomed, but not the guitarists of said land). The solution, it seems, was to interpret this rhythm in a 2/4 time instead of in a 6/8. This was affirmed by Josué Teófilo Wilkes y Blanco, who added that this change would have taken place during the 1870-1880 decade. In this way, the “flamenco guajira” had become criollo and adapted with characteristics typical of the area, and thus the typical “pampeana milonga” could have been born.
At some point, musicians of some ensemble would have thought of playing the pampeana milonga campera in some ‘milonga’ (in this case, ‘milonga’ refers to the place where people went to dance at the end of the 19th century, as reflected in some verses of the Martín Fierro). When the milonga (which was born as a song with a little variable melody) became danceable, the performers decided (no longer subject to the lyrics) to stylize it, thus unleashing their musical inventiveness. This type of milonga, mainly instrumental (not the singable one – which was the “pampeana campera milonga” – which continued its course independently), was also often called tango – although they were “old tango-milongas.” In the course of the 1880s-1890s, and in the process of unleashing the musical inventiveness of this genre (the old tango-milonga), pianists began to put the milonga or “old tango-milonga,” described above, on the staff.
During the 1880s-1890s, as part of the process of unleashing the musical inventiveness of the old tango-milonga genre, pianists began to transcribe the milonga or “old tango-milonga,” described earlier, onto sheet music. It’s worth noting that this rhythm was blending with the rhythm that was booming, the tango originating from Andalusian tango (although also influenced by other musical genres: habanera, candombe, mazurka, waltz, etc.). All these rhythms merged and evolved to give rise to what is now simply known as “tango.” This helps us understand that the rural milonga left traces in tango. Later on, the “urban milonga” would be created from this.Despite the appearance of the stylized milonga (the one transcribed to sheet music with piano arrangements), and later the urban milonga, performers from the suburbs and rural areas continued with the traditional rhythms of Milonga, the rural Pampean milonga.
On the other hand, the considered best payador (improvisational folk singer) of all time, the Afro-Argentinian Gabino Ezeiza, was the one who introduced the milonga rhythm to the payada (improvised lyrical contest). Gabino himself claimed that the milonga (rural) comes from candombe, which formed from old African rhythms. It’s worth knowing that Gabino Ezeiza was Afro-Porteño born in San Telmo (a neighborhood of slaves), and he lived in a time when there was a considerable number of black Afro-descendants in the area of the current Greater Buenos Aires; and furthermore, his master in the initiation of the payada, Pancho Luna, was also Afro-Porteñ
Milonga Ciudadana
It is a variant that emerged as a subgenre of tango and in turn a distant relative of the rural milonga. This was transcribed to sheet music by several pianists at the end of the 19th century. These “traces” or “marks” influenced some composers, and it was thus that, with lyrics and music by Afro-Argentinian José Ricardo, sung by Carlos Gardel and his music performed by Guillermo Barbieri and José Ricardo himself, the first known recording was the song “Un bailongo” (1922). Nine years later, in 1931, Sebastián Piana (music) and Homero Manzi (lyrics) created “Milonga sentimental,” the first one to gain great popularity. It was Piana who called it milonga, and thus the city milonga emerged, which is faster than the rural one, which was later adapted by Juan D’Arienzo for the so-called “typical orchestra.” This caused confusion for many historians, unaware of the early proponents of milonga, who were payadores or reciters who used the rhythm to recite and sing. However, performers from the suburbs and rural areas continued with the traditional form of milonga, the rural Pampean milonga.
What´s the difference between the Milonga and the Tango?
Although both the milonga and the tango are in 2/4 or 4/4 time signatures, the 8 musical figures of the milonga are distributed in 3 + 3 + 2, whereas the tango has a more “square” rhythm.
But what other differences do we find
- Between tango and milonga, we must first consider whether it is the old milonga or the modern one. The original milonga had an ambiguous structure, while the new ones are much faster.
- The milonga contains less serious and more lively music. Tango is urban music, its lyrics often express sadness, especially regarding love, as well as other obscene lyrics in its origins, later evolving into dramatic melodies and often with violent touches typical of neighborhoods and suburbs.
- The Milonga uses the basic elements of Argentine Tango, its lyrics are more mischievous, and the rhythm is more fun and light than tango. It is also a dance with a faster pace and a more rustic and humorous character than tango.
- Nowadays, two styles of Milonga dance are known:
- Milonga Lisa: When dancers move to each beat of the music.
- Milonga con Traspié: When dancers transfer the weight from one leg to the other in double or triple rhythm.
- What do we learn from milonga? We learn to keep our bodies relaxed so that we are ready to react to unexpected changes in rhythm, embellishments, or dance figures.
Regarding the dance, tango is more of a showcase dance that includes acrobatic displays requiring training to perform correctly, with long steps, body twists, leg and footwork, where not everyone is a good dancer. Milonga, on the other hand, is much faster and more cheerful, involving greater physical demands but less skill, making it easier for novice dancers.
