Tango ─ Sex and Rhythm of the City

Born on the unlit streets of Buenos Aires, tango was inspired by the music of European immigrants who crossed the ocean to Argentina, lured by the promise of a better life. It found its home in the city’s marginal districts, where it was embraced and shaped by young men who told stories of prostitutes, petty thieves, and disappointed lovers through its music and movements. Chronicling the stories told through tango’s lyrics, Mike Gonzalez and Marianella Yanes reveal in Tango how the dance went from slumming it in the brothels and cabarets of lower-class Buenos Aires to the ballrooms of Paris, London, Berlin, and beyond.

Mike Gonzalez is professor emeritus of Latin American studies at University of Glasgow in Scotland. Marianella Yanes is a Venezuelan writer, journalist, and playwright. She wrote soap operas for a number of Latin American television channels and worked in theater for many years.