103  Milonga (history)

Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 10:54:54 -0700
From: Barbara Garvey <barbara@TANGOBAR-PRODUCTIONS.COM>
Subject: Re: Milonga (history)

My understanding is that the milonga danced today is not the original milonga
from the end of the 19th century, but that the music (and dance??) we call
milonga was developed in the early 1930s especially by Sebastian Piana and
Homero Manzi. What I heard is that as country people, including the payadores
(wandering minstrels) moved from the pampa to the outskirts of the city, some
improvised payadas became repeated and codified into what were called milongas,
and danced to. I haven't heard any examples of these, although there are a
number of tango-milongas, the best known of which is probably El Portenito. Does
anyone know how the contemporary milonga (music and especially dance) relates to
the original?

We have a recording of a payada by Betinotti, one of the most famous payadores,
made in about 1905 or so. He sings about making a record in the Victor studio,
and the wonders of modern (sic) technology..

Professional 'payadores' still exist. One evening in 1992 we were having a late
supper in a sidewalk cafe on Corrientes at 4:30 am when a colorful entourage sat
down at the next table. A small man in black suit and hat and striped scarf, a
guitarist with shoulder-length hair in full gaucho regalia, and a large woman in
purple dress and hat, who we imagined was the manager, chatted for a while. Then
the man in the suit began to sing/chant a payada about having coffee in the
White Horse cafe on Corrientes at 4:30 in the morning. Needless to say we, and a
pair of hippies who wandered by, were the only audience. Later we discovered
that the payador's name is Argentino Luna. The rhythm and (scant) melody were
almost identical to that of Betinotti.

So do any of you have any information about the relationship of the milonga of
the '30s-'00s to that of the 1900s? Maybe if Acho Manzi is on the list, he
might know (Hi, Acho).

Abrazos to all,
Barbara