Makela Tango Blog

The Lunfardo is the jargon of tango, it has the structure of the Spanish language with mixed lexicon (words) of other languages such as Italian, Polish, Portuguese, French. It also includes the ‘vesre’ , a way of speaking by reversing the syllables of the words. For instance if you would like to say “libro” (book), you would say “broli”.

In the early 2000s, I ran into Ramiro Gigliotti at Salon Canning. I had met him a couple of years earlier when he came to teach in L.A. I loved his dancing, and he was very kind to me. I was already teaching in LA, and I was always looking for ways to get better in Argentine Tango.

Words to describe the Tango of the beginning of the XX century:

• Quebradón, Compadrón, Dislocador, Onduloso (curvy), Mimoso (cuddly), Voluptuoso (voluptuous), De vaivén (with swing), Marcadísimo (marking the beat), Triste y candecioso (sad and with cadence)

According to himself: “I left the (Troilo’s) orchestra around 1949 - I had an attack of erudite music - and it was then when Piazzolla erudite was born. I composed symphonic music, chamber music. The orchestra of Bruno Bandini of Radio Del Estado would play everything I wrote,, everybody was playing my music, so I started feeling superior. I didn’t want to go back to tango. But I needed to pay bills so I created arrangements for Troilo, Pugliese, Fresedo.

In 1953 my maestro Ginastera suggested to enter to a competition to study with Nadia Boulanger in France Boulanger. I won. I felt I was Beethoven. (…) I learned everything I know. I discovered Piazzolla thru her. When I played Triunfal she took my hands and told me “this is you” (…) what I do is TANGO. You can find Gobbi, De Caro in my music.

My favorite pieces

• Gitana rusa, 1942, Orlando Medina

• Embrujamiento, 1942, Orlando Medina

• Ninguna, 1942, Orlando Medina

• Remembranza, 1943, Orlando Medina

• Madgalena, 1943, Orlando Medina

• La piba de los jazmines, 1943, Orlando Medina

I love dancing to the orchestra of Francisco Lomuto. They played very danceable songs, with a strong rhythm structure and catchy melody structure. He was influenced by his friend Francisco Canaro, who helped him out at the beginning of his career.

As many of you know, the orchestra of Ricardo Tanturi is my favorite, especially with singer Alberto Castillo. Así se baila el tango is my mother's favorite tango, and she always treasures her memory of seeing Alberto Castillo at the break of her concert standing next to the Club Andes Talleres Club Sport in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza where she used to live at that time…

In his own words: “I am a milonguero (tango dancer) (…) so I shaped my orchestras with two conceptions that I never gave up: respect for the melodic line and rhythmic emphasis to make the dancing easier. When the singer breaks into the scene and displaces the musician from the spotlight, the orchestra was structured in such a way that music and singing did not interrupt the possibility of dancing. For that, the singer had to turn into one more instrument, a privileged instrument, but not apart.”

Some of the women that made history in the Tango of the beginning of the 20th century

Carmencita Calderón - DANCER (1902-2005)

Ada Falcón - SINGER (1905-2002)

Paquita Bernardo - BANDONEONIST (1900-1925)

Nelly Omar - SINGER (1911-2013)

Pepita Avellaneda - SINGER (1874-1951)

Tita Merello SINGER (1904-2002)

Libertad Lamarque - SINGER (1908-2000)

Played with Julio De Caro’s orchestra and Pedro Maffia - the dos PEDROS dúo (two Pedros bandoneon duet). Maffia leaves in 1926. He wrote beautiful variations for Mala Junta (1947) and Mal de Amores. Pedro Laurenz created his own orchestra in 1934. He took with him from De Caro’s orchestra: Armando Blasco (bandoneón) and Osvaldo Pugliese (piano).

While Gardel was an innovator for singing tango, De Caro was a vanguardist in the way he composed and play tango.

He, first of all, was one of the transitions to the GUARDIA NUEVA, adding sophistication and “yeites” to his compositions and performances. Future orchestra leaders such as Pedro Laurenz, Osvaldo Pugliese and Pedro Maffia passed through his orchestra. Pugliese, in particular would reach the heights he achieved by following the De Caro’s school.

Pianist, leader and composer. (2 November 1910 - 31 March 1992)

He focused on the melody with a very simple rhythmic conception. His best numbers were those with vocal duos (Dante/Martel). Around 1949 the orchestra wen through a brief rhythmic period but the departure of Julio Martel at the end of 1951 marks the end of their best recording, with the exception of instrumentals (Pavadita).

Lucio Demare is born in 1906 in the neighborhood of El Abasto, in Buenos Aires, in a family of musicians. The father Domingo played the violin, his brother Lucas (important cineaste) the bandoneon, and Lucio chose the piano. At 8 he was already working playing to musicalize silent films in a cinema. He was the composer of Malena.

"I always followed my way: a music with a clean melody, full of shades, well balanced between bandoneons and violins… I want to touch people with the melody, reach their heart, but softly. [...] The first thing I use to do, is to convince each musician until they feel for real what they are going to play." Osvaldo FRESEDO

Bandoneonist, composer and director (he also played violin)

His orchestra followed the influences of Edgardo Donato and Juan D’Arienzo. It was a revolutionary because in his Orchestra of all Rhythms he included all kinds of music:.(fox trox, polkas, valses, tangos, paso dobles and rancheras.)

Edgardo Donato 4/14/1897-2/15/1963

Real Name: Edgardo Felipe Valerio Donato

Violinist, leader, and composer

Place of birth: Buenos Aires Argentina

Raised in Montevideo, Uruguay

Real name: Pugliese, Osvaldo Pedro (2 December 1905 - 25 July 1995)

Nickname: El chicharra (cicada) de Villa Crespo

Pianist, conductor, composer. (~450 recordings)

Place of birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina

First, when dancing it is important to find the pulse (the beat). After finding the pulse, we try to identify, the first beat of the phrase (number one): the strong beat.  As dancers, we generally count a phrase in this way: one(strong)-two-three (semi-strong) four, five(strong again), six, seven (semi-strong) and eight, an then we start all over again. 

The next orchestra we suggest adding to your music collection is that of Angel D’Agostino and his singer Angel Vargas, often referred to as The Two Angels.  

The Tango Warm Up (2)

Prepare yourself

1 of 5) Finding your self and your center

• Connect to yourself by breathing, being aware of your center, quiet your mind by engaging in a meditative state (spiritual journey).

Any dance performer knows that 90 percent of the performance starts in the camerino. The moment they arrive, put their things in a hanger, get into their make up stand, and start getting ready. First, they apply the make up, then they do their hair, then they put on the costumes slowly. It is a ritual, and for the true artist, it is the most important part of the show.

The TANGO WARM UP sounds simple and insignificant. However, I would like to argue that it is the most important part of the tango class. I know that sometimes you let the 405, or the 10 (Los Angeles freeways tend to be trafficky sometimes) to be on your way of your warm up. You have a life out there, your work, your family, your pets, your friends, your hobbies, the everyday tasks like preparing food, grocery shopping, so much stuff.

My commitment is for people who step into the studio to be the best tango dancer they can be. Tango is asymmetrical because of the way the embrace is set up, so it is very important that we balance the alignment of the body. The body of a tango dancer has to be both strong and lengthen. The posture of the tango dancer requires for your lower body to be grounded and at the same time for your spine to be up and forward.

The structure of the tango fitness is as follows: 1) Cardio 2) arm and leg strength 3) core strength, 4) cool down with meditation.

There are people who like to take private lessons more than others, I think you are more like that, and if you can take private lessons in addition to group classes that is definitely the best way to go. They are customized and hand picked training for you. Now, if you want to take group lessons I suggest the Absolute Beginners class on Saturdays.

About tango… And I always think the moment you stop studying is the moment you stop living basically. I always try to go back to Buenos Aires and talk to colleagues, practice, ask questions, read, and listen…Tango is such a huge array of things, the music, the history, culture, the relationship between a lead and follow, gender issues, so many things. It’s fascinating and I love it. ..

Now that you have some familiarity with the Big Four orchestras you will likely want to experience some of the other major orchestras of the period.  Our suggestion (Makela’s and I) is to now become familiar with Miguel Caló and his “Orchestra of the Stars” and his famous singers, Raúl Berón, Alberto Podestá and Jorge Ortiz.

There are people who like to take private lessons more than others, I think you are more like that, and if you can take private lessons in addition to group classes that is definitely the best way to go. They are customized and hand picked training for you. Now, if you want to take group lessons I suggest the Absolute Beginners class on Saturdays.