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If you are interested in learning about Tango music, a good place to start
is Carlos Gardel, possibly the biggest name ever. If you look in the "International"
or "World Music" section at your local store you are sure to
find one of his CD's. Carlos was born in Toulouse, France on december
11, 1890. His first formal acting roles were at the Nacional Corrientes
Theatre, which also listed Don José Razzano, with whom Gardel formed
a duo for many years. They played in various theatre companies, touring
Argentina and other Latin-American countries and Spain. Gardel's huge
popularity as an interpreter of the melancholy ballads of the tango was
confirmed in the 1920s and '30s in nightclubs and motion pictures. One
early picture, Luces de Buenos Aires (1931; "Lights of Buenos Aires"),
was filmed in Paris; but later ones were made by Paramount Pictures for
the Spanish-speaking market. Between January and February 1935 he was
starred on the films "El día que me quieras" and "Tango
Bar" where he sang his most remembered hits.
Gardel died in a plane crash while on tour. In Buenos Aires his funeral
and funeral procession in a horse-drawn carriage were witnessed by tens
of thousands of Argentines. Like Rudolf Valentino's, his tomb became an
object of popular pilgrimage.
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While Carlos Gardel is an icon - he is to Argentine people what Elvis is to Americans - his music was made for listening not necessarily dancing.
Gardel is very famous and thus his recordings are widely available. You can find them in any record store and because of this many people think that they is popular for dancing. Actually, in my experience Gardel is rarely, if ever played in the milongas I have been to in America or in Argentina. In fact, he died tragically young in a plane crash in 1935 before the Golden Age of tango dancing in Argentina even happened. The golden age was from the late 1930s through the 1950s. This is when the bulk of recordings suited for dancing were made. The big orchestras were namely those of Juan D'Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, Osvaldo Pugliese, Anibal Troilo, Miguel Calo, Francisco Canaro, Angel D'Agostino, Alfredo De Angelis, Pedro Laurenz, and Ricardo Tanturi. The songs of these orchestras had strong, clear, steady yet complex dance rhythms. You do not find this in most of Gardel's music. Unfortunately these orchestras are not as well known to people outside of Argentina and therefore are harder to find in the record stores. All of the above orchestras played directly in dance halls and at milongas for the crowds of dancers during the golden age. Many these orchestras of the golden age also recorded danceable versions of Gardel's most famous songs - A Media Luz, Por Una Cabeza, Caminito, Tomo y Obligo, Mi Noche Triste - so if you want to dance to them you still can!
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