Fuente: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
Ernesto Sábato, in his memoirs, “Before the End” (1998), considered his spiritual testament, offers a definition of tango that I’ve left for the end.
The quote made me reflect on my relationship with this musical genre and dance from the Río de la Plata region (Argentina and Uruguay), which emerged at the end of the 19th century.
From my earliest childhood, every time I rode in my dad’s green Oldsmobile, Carlos Gardel’s entire repertoire would play.
So, from the time I was old enough to understand, I learned his songs without really grasping the meaning of the lyrics.
At five years old, I would sing “Return, with a withered brow, the snows of time have silvered my temples…” or “Downhill on my journey, I can’t tear away my past illusions…”
As I entered adolescence, I realized that those songs carried a great sadness and desolation, like “His eyes closed and the world keeps turning…”, but that musical reverence always seemed profound and solemn to me.
As an adult, I stumbled upon one of my favorite movie scenes. The one where Al Pacino, playing a blind man, dances the tango “Por una Cabeza” in the film “Scent of a Woman.”
A few years ago, I wanted to learn to dance the tango and I took classes, but honestly, I didn’t get it at all.
Anyway, today I remember my father with his eyes closed, gesturing with his hands, singing any song from Gardel’s repertoire, and me singing along.
I’ll end with the very apt quote from Sábato’s memoirs, originally by Enrique Santos Discépolo, considered the philosopher of tango:
“Tango is a sad thought that is danced.”
For your enjoyment, here is a link to the dance scene “Por una Cabeza” from the film “Scent of a Woman”:
