ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
It's considered bad luck. (At some places, I was told that La Cumparsita used to be the first song of the evening.)
Mixed tandas
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ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
Was told by an Argentine dancer (who has been dancing a long time) that it's considered bad luck to dance La Cumparsita.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
Dunno. The Argentines here don't dance to it and I've generally not danced to it either. It's usually a sign to pack up for the evening.
JournalInTime
Forum Master
Ah, well, that might be a thing somewhere. My region swung around to being so secularized and academic in its view of art that "bad luck" isn't really a thing anyone would care about.
JournalInTime
Forum Master
Perhaps! But here, it's usually the DJ calling out, loudly, "Dernière tanda!", followed by 3 tangos by some orquesta plus La Cumparsita in the same tanda.
pianistamediano
Forum Master
Actually, that could be a reason why the people here behave like so! I've just moved back to my home country and most don't dance La Cumparsita. I'll have to make more observations, but my current working theory is that people are just much more conservative and role-play a lot more (see milongas in China, pretty performative, what with all the Western suits and Western/Eastern dresses) in Asia. It's like they took what they think is tango culture in Buenos Aires and tried to apply varying degrees of ballroom dance culture (which is older and more established here IIRC) to it.
opendoor
Forum Master
Which BR elements do they apply, pianistamediano?
Never heard that before. It's even referenced in TangoAndChaos. Are you sure you weren't being mischievously misled? I'd heard it used to sometimes be the first tango, but now it's usually the last. DJ calls Last Tanda and La Cumparsita (instrumental only) is the last one played of the set. Of course, it's a signal for packing up and farewells, so some don't dance it but pack up to leave.
Personally I never used to like it as a strange mishmash, and I found interpreting it trying. Then someone chose the D'Arienzo version and that version has now become a firm favourite. We have given up occasionally on some other versions.
Sounds awful
We've had similar as part of musicality workshops, but it seems an awful way to end a milonga to have 'farewell' 4 times. Hopefully didn't include the lyrics
Isn't that usually applied at more upmarket, prestigious, milongas? Where it becomes necessary to dress-up correctly and follow the appropriate rules? You might, effectively, need a dance card!
We (in Europe) also take what we think is BsAs culture and sometimes try to apply it. It was, once, an 'alternative', young, scene in London and elsewhere in Europe.
TTanguero
Forum Master
There is an old superstition about it – because it signifies an ending, and because you traditionally dance the last tanda with your life partner – but I've never met anyone, inside or outside Argentina, who refuses to dance it for this reason.
pianistamediano
Forum Master
Almost this, @opendoor, but they're very prim and proper about tango. No mugre in their souls. Tango is a dance of the people — hilarious!
What's even more hilarious is that they still celebrate unorthodox couples like Lorena/Gianpiero and participate in their workshops, yet still dance like they're trying to take part in the Mundial!
Did you find some followers you like?
Allegedly, it's also used as a first dance at weddings in Turkey!
pianistamediano
Forum Master
A few — though I was speaking of the milongas in China (and Korea, come to think of it); gathered from anecdotes by friends, and videos I found online or shown to me by said friends. The ones here aren't that bad, but still way more conservative than I'd prefer, even at the more relaxed milonga that I frequent nowadays.
It seems someone, somewhere, in every society (culture) wants to present AT in some clean, sanitised, elevated, form - but this doesn't seem to market it.