[Tango-L] What Do You Think? Milonga

[Ilene Marder]

I agree with Keith... when I studied la musica at the Academia Nacional 
del Tango for a few weeks,  it was made clear that milonga predated 
tango and, btw, was not at all dirge like!!! (where did that come 
from???)  The great tango guitarist Anibal Arias said it  had its roots 
in southern Brazil, and had many influences including Cuban habanera 
(from sailors), and  yes,  was in part, spread by the payadores who 
brought it to the arrabal (outskirts of city) and played lively versions 
on guitar. That's my understanding.

Keith Elshaw wrote:

>>Milonga pre-dated tango.
>>
>>The milonga we dance nowadays [2 beats to the bar, fastish ,as in Milonga
>>sentimental] only goes back to the 30's. The pre-dating one was a slow
>>dirge played by the payadores towards the end on the 19th Century and
>>hardly ever danced to. Piazzolla revived it in the 50's as "Milonga
>>Campera": "Oblivion", "Milonga del angel" &c....True. the milonga campera
>>eventually became more lively & turned into tango - that could be danced.
>>    
>>
>
>All the above is, I'm afraid, reproduction of myth and mis-information.
>
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