11
Dec
Tango Day
An Argentine composer and musical producer, Ben Molar came up with the brilliant idea to establish National Tango Day.
It does not take much to get inspired by Tango, especially, for an Argentine whose blood seems strictly dancing instead of running. Ben Molar's heartbeat tangoed for over 99 years.
He chose 11th December to commemorate the birthday of two musicians who made a great impact on development and popularisation of Argentine Tango: a French-Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor – Carlos Gardel (1890) also known as ‘the king of tango’, and a prominent Argentine composer, musician and conductor – Julio de Caro (1899).
At first, the idea did not find much support. However, Ben Molar never let it go and finally, on 11th December 1977 the inaugural Tango Day was held in Buenos Aires. A week later the Argentine government officially granted Tango Day the national status.
Whether it is a collective work or a magnificent result of an unknown genius, sometime around the early 1880s the tango was born along the River Plate (Río de la Plata), the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. Technically, it is a skillful mix of the German Waltz, Czech Polka, Polish Mazurka, Bohemian Schottische, Spanish Habanera, African Candombe, and Argentine Milonga. Today tango consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions and times in Argentina and around the world. Still, this unique dance has a strong character, which carries spirit unlike to any other.
In 2003 an annual competition of Argentine Tango was established. The world tango dance tournament (El Mundial de Tango) is, usually, held in the last weeks of August. It is the final part of the series of pre-competition held around the world starting in March.
Since 2006 the Buenos Aires city competition in tango, Campeonato Metropolitano de Baile de Tango de Buenos Aires, is held near the end of July in the capital city of Argentina.
From 2010 the European Tango Championship is held at the beginning of July in Italy, preliminary to Buenos Aires city competition.
Starting from 2014, UK Tango Festival and Championship are held from May through June in London, UK.
Since 2011 the Argentine Tango USA Championship is annually held during the Easter Week.
Some people believe in health benefits this dance confers on its practitioners. While all types of dance are advantageous, there is a documented evidence that Argentine Tango offers a crucial set for quality life: physical exercise, social satisfaction, spirituality and mindfulness, cognition, meaningfulness, emotional and educational health.
In 2004 Tamara Di Tella created a rehabilitation exercise method for patients with severe dysfunction of the nervous system and called it Tangolates as it combined the core stability of Pilates with the concentration, coordination and fluid movement of tango.
On 31 August 2009, a joint proposal by Argentina and Uruguay to include the tango in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists was approved.
