1 2
3
4 5
6 7 |
GAUCHOS, COMPADRES AND COMPADRITOS In a recent Tango documentary called Tango, The Obsession, historians state that the origin of Tango was first written of in 1902 in the magazine "Caras y Caretas" in which an aging black woman being interviewed says "In 1870, before the great plague* when the Compadrito invented the Tango to our music...". So who were the Compadritos? Compadrito is the name given men from the generation who's grandfathers were Gauchos. Gauchos were either black runaways or deserters of the Argentine or Portuguese armies. Or they were just opposers of the establishment who made their lives wandering. They were illiterate and lived by rustling cattle (stealing animals, eating their tongues, selling the skins). During Argentina's war of independence from Spain, many Gauchos enlisted, as this fight for liberty represented their existing lifestyle and gave them a position in society as a conqueror of lands and freedoms. But like the blacks, many Gauchos were wiped out on the front lines. The generation that remained, the sons of Gauchos, were called Compadres - in essence, a Gaucho without a cause to fight for. The Compadres' lives were led by hard work that involved two things familiar to any Gaucho, the horse and the knife. They were herdsmen, butchers, etc. The next generation, the sons of the Compadres, were called Compadritos. Compadritos benefited from the work of their fathers and returned to the more leisurely lifestyle of the Gaucho. Compadritos often found themselves at the Candombe, the black peoples dances where they learned dance moves such as "Cortes" and "Quebradas". Somewhat for pleasure, somewhat as an expression of rebellion, Compadritos began applying these figures to other dances being done at the time by the existing immigrants, such as the Polka and the Mazurka. It soon became common practice at social dances to prohibit the "Cortes" (steps which lead to the "Quebradas" which were considered obscene.) continued >> |
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited and will result in legal action.
