This proclamation has been made repeatedly, in one form or another, in numerous media outlets such as the popular press A Dance Born in the Brothels , travel web sites The Dark Origins of Sumptuous Tango , cultural web sites Tango Mania from Brothel to Concert Hall , dance web sites The Early Days of Tango , and personal blogs Inventors of the Tango. Some accounts Trio Garufa ; Wondersm ith have claimed that men danced tango with prostitutes; others Pura Aventura ; History of Tango have stated that men danced with men inside the brothels with musicians playing tango music, while waiting for prostitutes to provide services; some reports PBS have stated that both conditions existed.
In some cases the argument of the association of tango with prostitution has been supported by stating that the dance movements of the early tango were aggressive and sexual in nature, resembling the subjugation of prostitutes by their pimps Flodance ; Pura Aventura ; PBS or competition between men to obtain sexual favors from women Pura Aventura.
Some reports have asserted that the origin of tango in the brothels is implicated by noting that the titles of early instrumental tangos contained sexual innuendos Pura Aventura ; Brisbane House of Tango and that the lyrics of early tangos often dealt with prostitution Mente Argentina.
The proliferation of statements such as these has led to the belief in the general public, as well as among many tango dancers, that tango originated in houses of prostitution in Buenos Aires in the late 19 th century. The claim that tango dancing originated in houses of prostitution has been disputed adamantly by several commentators on the history of tango, including Ricardo Garcia Blaya , Christine Denniston , and Eran Braverman.
In this post, the evidence for the association of tango dancing with prostitution in Buenos Aires in the late 19 th century is examined, taking into account the nature of the sources of information and the methodology utilized in obtaining this information.
