2833  The word milango

Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 16:25:25 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: The word milango

Dear listeros

I thought the word "milango" used in several postings, was a mispelling , but now I see the postings are using this word as a real word, for a kind of combination of tango and/or milonga.

The musical scripts that were printed in the early years of tango, included the musical notation , and some references of the composer , below the name of the tango , that could be a secondary title , an ackowledgement of thanks for the "sponsors" of the music, a lady, a friend ,. etc..

I could not find an original script that read "Tango milonga"

El choclo, that is quoted as one of this type, is mentioned by the author of the music, Villoldo, as " Tango criollo" .

Metele bomba al primus ( rough translation: pump pressure to the kerosene heater to bright the fire) , is quoted as "Tango compadre"
and says "Dedicado a mi estimado amigo Pedro Vetiga" by the author

Campo afuera ,a milonga, is referred by Biaggi as "Milonga criolla" . The reason of this could be , that there were milongas from the prairies, sung by gauchos with their guitars, and also urban milongas, being the first one Milonga de mis amores with music by Sebastian Piana and lyrics by Homero Manzi .

The milonga from the prairies is still used in the province of Buenos Aires, the melody is very simple and difference between milongas are in the lyrics and the way to say the words, slowly , or "chained" -the last paragraph of the fist section is repeated as the first paragraph of the second section, and so on- , or in the personal way of the singer .

Caminito is described as "cancion portenia" by Juan de Dios Filiberto the musician and composer

Yo no se que me han hecho tus ojos , is described by Francisco Canaro the author of lyrics and music as "Vals portenio con armonia y variacion"

Volver is described by Gardel and Lepera as "Tango cancion"

****
Milango is .... an italian association of tango lovers , based in Milan , so there they are , at www.milango.it , I hope they would be happily dancing tangos , milongas and valsecitos .
*****

I used to consider that certain steps have to be "reserved" for tango (apilada), another ones for milonga (la baldosa/el cuadrado), and another ones for valsecito(giros y molinetes).

But at one of my last tango lessons with a local teacher , he insisted that I could use "la baldosa" for a tango, in some parts (the tango was Emancipacion , Pugliese recording) ,and that I have not to be so structured . But it really was an effort to make the baldosa with a Pugliese tango, it just do not came naturally .

This is part of my rationalization of the dance, to try to find a rule for everything or an explanation . Some weeks ago we went to Centro Tasso to listen to Juanjo Dominguez in guitar and Julio Pane in bandoneon . They play oustanding music, totally improvised, "a la parrilla", with no musical scores . And in one moment, while they were talking, Pane started with a tango that I thought it was the first time I ever herd. My friends asked me what tango was , and I say "I dont know, is beautiful" . My rational mind was put to sleep , and it was not until the end of the play, that the "mind library" send the message. It was Quejas de bandoneon , but played in such a way, that it came laterally , not in the rational way , which was an excellent way to forget all the reasoning for a while.


Warm regards
Alberto Gesualdi
Buenos Aires




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Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:03:50 -0700
From: Kos.Zahariev@EC.GC.CA
Subject: Re: The word milango

Alberto wrote:

>I thought the word "milango" used in several postings, was a mispelling ,
>but now I see the postings are using this word as a real word, for a kind of
>combination of tango and/or milonga.


I think all of us used it "tongue-in-cheek", or a bit jokingly, knowing that it
was probably an [intentional] misspelling. I don't take it seriously, but it is
fun to kick around for a while. All this is arbitrary; notice how Steve's
"tangonga" has not gained any traction - as a fun object of ridicule or
otherwise.. :-)



>I could not find an original script that read "Tango milonga"


This may not be surprising. I assume we are referring to really early years,
1910, 1920 perhaps, but not 1930s and later.

Well, it is interesting. Today when we say "tango-milonga" we use the
concepts/labels "tango" and "milonga" as they exist today, or at least from
1930s on. So to refer today to a very early tango and signify its hybrid feel
(to today's ears), we use "tango-milonga" where both words are from our time,
not the time of these interpretations.

So maybe in these early musical scripts the music would not be known as
"tango-milonga" but just "tango", because this was the sense the concept
"tango" had back then.

Of course, as soon as you find a script with "tango milonga" written on it
from 1910s, I will present an alternative very coherent theory that
incorporates this.. :-)


Lastly, thanks for all your insights and information and stories from your
email. Always a pleasure to read your posts on tango-l.


Best regards,
Konstantin