[Tango-L] Tango's Cutural Heritage

[Jack Dylan]

The Tango has been declared part of the 'World's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' 
by UNESCO, which aims to preserve a list of legacies under threat from global change. 
An Argentine official said he was "very proud that the music and dance of the Tango have 
now been safeguarded for humanity". 
 
But has anyone wondered just what they intend to preserve and safeguard and just how 
they intend to do this? The Tango that is danced in much of the world is very different to 
what is danced in the traditional milongas of Buenos Aires and, with the growth of tango 
tourists to Buenos Aires, is there a danger that the traditional milongas will be unable to 
survive in their present form? 
 
The Argentines themselves seem to understand that, when they attend a traditional milonga, 
they adjust their behaviour and dance and respect the codes and culture of those milongas. 
If they want to behave differently and dance differently, they attend other venues such as 
the nuevo practicas and places like La Viruta and others. From my own experience, many 
non-Argentines just don't seem to understand this.
 
Will the situation get worse as time passes or do the milonga organisers [or UNESCO] 
have some contingency plans to stop this from happening?
 
Does anyone have any thoughts or information on this?
 
Jack