In Strangers' Arms

I heard best definition of tango from a taxi driver just today: Tango is what happens to us everyday. It is what happens to people in life.

Foreigners need to keep in mind that the driver’s definition, although poetic, is accurate.

For many people the most popular definition attributed to Enrique Santos Discépolo is inconsistently written it two ways: “Tango is a sad thought that is danced,” or “Tango is a sad feeling that is danced.”

Something consistent:  Neither Discépolo’s nor the driver’s language refer to something tangible. Porteños intuitively know what it means.

Wisdom from the back seat:  “Dear Enrique Santos: I prefer the driver’s definition for it encompasses the ‘”all of tango.” We do not just dance to sadness. No emotion escapes tango,whether its music, its dance or its poetry.

(Copyright (c) 2012 Beatriz Dujovne)