Hi Sergio, Yes, Azucena Maizani is known for her dressing like that. I feel that it is a very long stretch to go from a _singer_ stage clothes to concluding that it must have been an exclusively men's _dance_. Two very big assumptions are made - that singers accurately represent dancers, and that stage performers accurately represent social dancers.
Those were the times (1910s to late 1920s, or 1920s and 1930s in Azucena's case). Tango musicians that travelled to Europe in the 1910s and 1920s were encouraged/required to dress in ridiculous fake gaucho outfits. So what? That's what stage performers did to draw attention or conform to the fashions or stereotypes of the era. More generally, developing a stage persona to attract an audience is an art older than tango. Exotica was "it", not just in tango. In the world of classical guitar at the time, for example, guitarist Agustín Barrios (1885-1944) developed this character and performed dressed in full Indian tribal costume. He called himself Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Chief Nitsuga - the messenger of the Guarani race, the Paganini of the guitar from the jungles of Paraguay. Shall we conclude that guitar playing originated in the jungles of Paraguay? Numerous tango dancing manuals exist from the 1910-1925 era - most of it before Azucena ever stepped foot on a stage. They all assume a man-woman dance. Separately, men and women danced together all popular social dances of the times, from as early as the 1820s in Argentina. Newspaper ads or descriptions of gatherings survive from these times as primary sources of evidence. This is the picture I see from looking at research, and it makes me revisit some of the 'known facts' about tango and its origins. The question is, will the Tango Gods get angry, or be pleased? With best regards, Konstantin Victoria, Canada On 9/13/07, Sergio Vandekier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxJwG9k2oVw&mode=related&search= > > http://www.deremate.com.ar/accdb/viewitem.asp?idi=14179056 > > http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/gangster.htm > > http://www.musicargentina.com/es/cantores/azucena-maizani.html > > Tango in its beginnings was created as an amusement, jokingly immitating > moves negroes executed in their candombes. > > It was a dance of men. The lyrics represented the masculine world. It was > not proper for a woman to either dance or sing tangos. > > So when women were finally included in tango shows, at the beginnings they > were dressed as men. > > Above You may see Videos and pictures of Azucena Maizani singing and acting > in theater dressed as a man. > > Best regards, Sergio _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
