Superstition in Tango

Yesterday in a small milonga, they played Adios Muchachos. No one cared about it. I break off dancing and told the woman that this was a non-danceable tango. She showed no understanding for this custom, at all. Then she asked a bit angry a man who stood beside the dance floor why he wasn´t dancing to this piece. He shrugged his shoulder and then the woman went away.

What is your experience?

I'm an atheist. I don't have faith--not in religion/deities, not in superstitions. If there's music, and I can find a leader, I'm dancing. End of story. To each their own.

If you refer to Gardel's Adios Muchachos, the recording I have here is pretty much undanceable. I would not leap to my feet upon hearing it, and I would probably excuse myself from the floor if it came on.

This is a matter of taste for me, danceable tango music, rather than anything to do with song content or any superstitions, or indeed being told not to dance to something because "It isn't tango".

I fell the same about Adios Nonino; its a requiem written by Piazzolla for his father.

But I guess not many people know that.

Not superstitious though.

Many of these superstitions have significance in Argentina. My feeling...leave them there. If one is not in BsAs, or such, then it just seems pretentious.

Hee is an episode from "Tango is my Passion":

The second tango was another foreign composition, Julio Sanders’ Adios Muchachos. It is in major key. I don’t like tangos in major key, but I didn’t want to leave the floor in the middle of everything. I didn’t like the words either, which tell of a man’s farewell to his friends: he is going to prison because he has killed his wife’s lover. “Farewell!” Brought the song to a climax of bad taste. Murder is not my image of tango.

It's more because of the story than because of the danceability level of the piece. The DJ is to blame here. But if he plays it, then you can dance it.

opendoor said:

Yesterday in a small milonga, they played Adios Muchachos. No one cared about it. I break off dancing and told the woman that this was a non-danceable tango. She showed no understanding for this custom, at all. Then she asked a bit angry a man who stood beside the dance floor why he wasn´t dancing to this piece. He shrugged his shoulder and then the woman went away.

What is your experience?

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Superstition? That was Cosmic obeying on a grand scale my friend. You stop dancing with your partner before the end of a track called Adios Muchachos? Huns, she will then do exactly that. Ha, ha, ha.

I find this all quite strange:
(1) Much of the music popularised by Gardel may be considered 'undanceable' but he is an absolute classic in the genre, and the idea that
a modern tango dancer would turn up their nose at the music or the lyrics of this song, which is a classic in Latin America (many latin americans outside of Argentina would also know this song) is quite frankly... well, I wouldn't like to say...
(2) I don't know what version of Adios Muchachos was played, but the Canaro version is IMO perfectly 'danceable' - yes, it is in a major key - sorry.
(3) It seems quite odd chosing what music you like or will dance to based on the lyrics - especially if it's tango music - which is usually about some flavour of unpleasant topic. So this one's about murder, and others are about lost love, unfaithful women, loss of home/country/friendship/ etc. If you want 'happy lyrics' either choose a different form of dance, listen to early Beatles, or else, try to 'unlearn your spanish'.

Come on, there are all kinds of tangos with all sorts of stories. Is a story about a degenerate gambler your image of tango?

Heather2007 said:

Superstition? That was Cosmic obeying on a grand scale my friend. You stop dancing with your partner before the end of a track called Adios Muchachos? Huns, she will then do exactly that. Ha, ha, ha.

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Hi Heather, thanks for the term of endearment

- Peace -

If your speaking about Por una Cabeza which is one of the first Gardel tango songs I ever heard, then yes - that did contribute to shaping my image of tango - and I think it's a gorgeous song just like I also like Adios Muchachos. I'd much rather have my vision of tango shaped by a beautiful song about a distasteful topic than by the odd horrible evening I had at certain milongas, or dancing with people with no appreciation or feel for the music. The MUSIC is the main reason I am drawn to tango, lyrics and all - happy or sad.

Of course there are happy lyrics in tango, but I think it's safe to say that the majority are not, for various cultural reasons, as set out in the quite intelligent discourse on the subject of tango lyrics in Masculinities: Football, Polo and the Tango in Argentina by Eduardo P. Archetti, and elsewhere.

Angel HI said:

Many of these superstitions have significance in Argentina. My feeling...leave them there. If one is not in BsAs, or such, then it just seems pretentious.

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Bold, italics, and underline are all mine... YES.

The "three dances" also irritates me. No, I'm not breaking it off because I don't like your dancing. Maybe I'm tired. Maybe I just really need to go to the ladies room. Maybe I've wanted a vals all night with my favorite partner, missed him all of the time, it is nearing the end of the milonga and he is within arms reach and has also broken away from his current partner to reach for me, because he knows if he doesn't I will sulk bigtime... oh did that last example sound too truthful?

Me said:

... no, I'm not breaking it off because ...

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Tango has so much to do with convention, customs, tradition, habits top down to the tiptoes. (Tiptoes turned inwards are my problem, sometimes) So, isn´t there room for irrational customs? My first TA teacher, an uruguayian, told me that one should listen to Adios Muchachos devoutly and should not dance. And he told me too, "Leave women behind that will not understand this". So, to my mind, if one dips into this culture one should accept all the irrational customs, as well.

Greetings

Just found this post at Cyber-Tango.com