I think those who say that you can't tango if you are not Argentine are mistaken. Tango was an immigrant music... so it does not have a nationality. It's only passport is feeling.

- Carlos Gavito, Argentine tango maestro

The word “tango” or “tambo” appears around the turn of the 19th century to describe music and dance events organised by slaves. The first official use of the word appears in a statute from 1789, where Argentine authorities banned “tango” gatherings to oppress the working class. It wasn’t until one hundred years later that the word became commonplace. The original tango dance was a blend of styles produced by the mix of cultures in the lively port of Buenos Aires. In the 19th century, thousands of young people arrived from Europe in search of a better life. In the Argentine capital, they lived side-by-side with former slaves and indigenous peoples. As a result, their traditions in dance and music began to mesh.

Argentine tango developed from the potent crucible of cultures in Buenos Aires in the mid-1800s. People from Spain, Italy, England, Poland and African nations lived alongside native Argentinians to create new Argentina traditions. It was this meeting of cultures that created the Argentine tango. Influenced by flamenco, polka, and numerous traditional African dances, tango became a byword for “the music of immigrants.”

By the later 1800s, tango had become popular with Argentinians of all social classes. Tango became the traditional dance during conventillos parties. These gatherings took place in large houses inhabited by several families that included large open spaces for dancing. Accompanied by solo guitar, the dance became an Argentine household staple. Alternatively, couples would dance to orquesta típica. These small bands would include violins, piano, flute, a double bass, and the bandoneon or “tango accordion”.

I learned most of my tango in Buenos Aires whenever I visited one of my sisters who is married to an Argentine polo player and they both share a professional passion for horses. Tango comes a close second which they have passed onto their infant children.

There are many ways of experiencing tango in this beautiful cosmopolitan city of Buenos Aires. But watching tango dances in music halls (milongas) or on café-lined plazas rank among the best things to do. And there is no better place than chilling out in the San Telmo district of the city.

The secret of tango is in this moment of improvisation that happens between step and step. It is to make the impossible thing possible: to dance silence.

- Carlos Gavito, Argentine tango maestro

The woman must know how to wait for the man. Waiting means she is on her axis and the man can take her from it wherever he likes, like a feather.