“Two To Tango”: A Reflection on Gender Roles in Argentina
1 Woman: It is Saturday night, around 10:00 PM. I go to my closet and look through the dresses and slacks, deciding which to wear to tonight’s milonga. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a backless dress, other times long, flowing pants. Tonight, it will be a dress, one that skims the bottom of my knees. After I’m dressed, I apply makeup. Eyes are very important in tango. They will communicate an interest in, and an intent to dance. A thin, delicate line of black eye liner will define them. The selection of shoes comes next. Although there are many styles and colors, tall stiletto heels distinguish these shoes from all others I own. I choose classic black. I finish with a dab of perfume behind each ear and on my wrists.
After I finish dressing, I go out to the street to catch the bus. Within 10 minutes, the bus arrives and before long, I’m headed down Suipacha in the SanMartín Park district in Buenos Aires. Within thirty minutes, I’ll be at milonga Cachirulo at Maipú 444.[1]A milonga is the social setting, often in a large hall, where Argentine tango is danced. The term milonga is also used to describe one dance at the milonga.
Man: I just stepped out of the shower and looked at the suit and tie I will wear to the milonga. As I gel and slick my hair back into a small pony tail, I wonder if I should wear my Flabella or Dracos shoes. I settle on my Flabella black patents with white square lace across the front. I choose a dark suit with a yellow tie and a handkerchief tucked smartly into my jacket pocket.
Woman: Upon arrival at Milonga Cachirulo, I walk up the stairs to the room where the milonga is held. I pay my entrance fee, and am immediately greeted by Hector, the organizer. We engage in pleasant small talk before he leads me inside and to a table that is at the far corner of the room, on the edge of the dance floor. I sit down at the small, round table and look around the room. I see many friends. I also see many I do not know. It is not long before my eye catches the eyes of a man across the room. He nods. I nod. The cabeceo completed, he makes his way onto the dance floor. I meet him on the floor.
Man: Around 11:00 PM, I leave my apartment, but almost forget one of the most important things. I hurry back in and spray some cologne on my wrists and handkerchief, then hurry back out. I step out onto Suipacha in the SanMartín Park district, and hail a taxi, directing the driver to Maipú 444! Ah, asi! Milonga Cachirulo…You are going to dance tango tonight! I settle back and enjoy the tango music of Troilo as we wind our way through the back streets. After a short five-minute drive, we arrive. I pay the driver, and step out onto the broken pavement, locating the sign so small that if one did not know the place it would be missed.
As I ascend the steep stairs, I hear the music of Buenos Aires….its distinct rhythm of the tango. The walls of the reception area are adorned with beautifully painted portraits of tango dancers. I see a familiar face, Norma, the woman at the desk who takes the ten-peso admission fee. She asks if I am solo. I nod with a smile.
After I walk through the curtain into the milonga, I find that it is already full of dancers. Hector, immediately greets me at the door with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and we exchange pleasantries. He escorts me to my usual table. As we walk across the perimeter of the dance floor, I scan the room and see many friends. I stop and exchange greetings with some, and make eye contact with others…the dancing will begin soon…
2Art forms maintain a well-established history throughout the world. Each geographic region upholds particular artistic traditions, thus preserving local and national customs, conventions and practices particular to the art. Shifts in contemporary local political, social and economic dynamics, as well as the influence of wider regional and international forces slowly alter the form, thus creating continually evolving and developing types of and variations within the art itself. These creations are deeply rooted in subtle yet ever-present cultural nuances interpreted by the artist or performer. Dance, one art form, maintains a particularly rich historical tradition, grounded in the local environs of socially accepted norms.
3 Argentine Tango, as differentiated from Ballroom Tango, and hereafter referred to as tango, maintains a long and rich history. It is generally believed that it originated in the port city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, danced by locals in and immigrants to the area in the 19th century. It then made its debut in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. Tango has been studied from multiple scholarly perspectives. The ethnic and racial origins of the dance of South American countries, the African subcontinent, and eastern and western Europe offer one focus of research (See Azzi, 1991; Collier, 1992; Collier, Cooper, Azzi & Martin, 1995; Halabi, 1985; Lewis, 1996; Natale, 1984; Vidart, 1967; and Viladrich, 2005). Other scholars have concentrated on the economics of tango, examining the shift of the dance’s popularity from the poor neighborhoods in Argentina to wealthy international cities of the world, as well as the industry it created (see Savigliano, 1993; and Taylor, 1976). Tango has been used to study others’ art works (Ham, 2009), as well as symphonic music (Drago, 2009; Granados, 2001; Luker, 2007; Tsai, 2005). The social impact of the dance has been studied by yet others (Meret, 2005; Merritt, 2008; Savigliano, 1995; Seyler, 2008). In addition to the scholarly literature, the press has both advertised and critiqued performances of touring tango shows such as Tanguera, Forever Tango, and Tango Argentino, Tango X2, Tango Fire, Tango Buenos Aires and Tango Fantasia.
4Whereas the study of these macroscopic social-structural constructs related to tango including but not limited to the chronology of its history, the economics of the industry, the music that supports it, and the popular culture that revolves around it place tango in the broader sociological context, the microscopic nature of the art form holds equally important elements for understanding the dance. By grappling with the roles played by individuals that are inextricably linked to the social and cultural norms of the community, we further our understanding of the art. In this context, scholars have examined and interpreted roles in tango rooted in patriarchal tradition, and have emphasized this element of the dance (see Savigliano, 1995). Less attention has been paid to the gendered roles of both the male and female dancer. Thus, the purpose of this work is to critically examine the gendered roles of the man and the woman in Argentine tango, thus revealing particular ways in which the relationship between partners creates the dance.
5The essay is divided into three sections. First, the essay offers a brief overview of second-wave feminist thought used to interpret the roles played by its dancers and analyzes the roles in this framework. Second, it takes a microscopic look at the particular roles played by and actions of both the man and woman. It concludes by using the concept of structural coupling to consider the relationship between the partners.