CaliforniaAfrican
Me.

Home // Ask // Theme by Alive Sarah //

afrodiaspores:

Afro-Uruguayan singer Lágrima Ríos (1924-2006), “The Lady of Candombe” and “The Black Pearl of Tango”

[When] Uruguay abolished slavery [in 1842], documents described African dance rituals in Montevideo and the countryside known as tangós, with the accent on the second syllable. The word referred variously to the drums, the dances and the places where the religious rituals were held. Therein lies an intriguing musicological tale about the obscure origins of the tango, one of the best-known Latin American musical genres.

The [Bantu-influenced] tango developed simultaneously in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Although typically regarded as the creation of Italian and Spanish immigrants, the tango’s music and the dance movements associated with it were deeply influenced by African dance and music, according to experts.