Origins

• The tango originated among the poor and former slave classes.maltreatment - slavery image by iMAGINE from Fotolia.com
  
  Two South American countries, Argentina and Uruguay, dispute which of them invented the tango. Certainly, the dance and its music originated among the impoverished settlers and former slaves inhabiting the natural border area near the Rio de la Plata. The middle and upper class probably first experienced the tango in brothels because brothel owners employed tango artists for entertainment while customers waited for available prostitutes.
  
  

Development

• Young rich Argentines brought the tango to worldwide attention in 1913.paris image by apeschi from Fotolia.com
  
  The tango exploded onto the world scene in 1913. In this second decade of the twentieth century, wealthy young Argentine men brought the dance from Buenos Aires to Paris when they attended university there. Europeans did not associate the dance with brothels, and enthusiasm for the dance mushroomed. As a result, the dance traveled back to its homeland, repackaged as an elegant European form, unlike the Buenos Aires version.
  
  

Music and the Tango's Decline

• Originally, tango lyrics contained comedic and sometimes risqué lyrics. As the tango spread through Paris, upper and middle class homes would not tolerate these tango lyrics, resulting in the development of verses by some of Argentina's and Uruguay's best poets. However, as the singers began to require that tango music accommodate their voices, dancers enjoyed the tango less. As a result, the dance's popularity declined during the 1920s and 1930s.
  
  

The Golden Age

• In the 1930s, bandleader D'Arienzo began to create rhythms catering to tango dancing, rather than singing.percussions image by Anthony CALVO from Fotolia.com
  
  Tango historian Christine Denniston calls the two decades from 1935 to 1955 the Golden Age of Tango. This reemergence resulted from the bandleader D'Arienzo's determination to create excellent tango rhythms, concentrating on the dancers rather than on the singing. Consequently, tango regained its popularity in Buenos Aires, developing various forms and interpretations.
  
  

Recent Happenings

• The United Nations granted "intangible cultural heritage" status in 2009.united nations flag image by Joo Hwee Goh from Fotolia.com
  
  In 2009, the United Nations cultural organization granted the tango dance "intangible cultural heritage" status. According to journalist Laura Termine, the UN sees the tango dance and music as a world cultural treasure, a triumph for the two nations, Uruguay and Argentina, which submitted the dance to the UN's scrutiny. Surprising the Argentine community, which usually commands the victory, a Japanese team won first place in the World Championships, also in 2009.