Malambo (dance)

Malambo solo
Dance performance involving a group malambo
An unusual type of zapateado by the side of the boot, characteristic of malambo

Malambo is an Argentine folk dance associated with gauchos. It is traditionally a dance performed by two men, taking turns and competing against one another.[1] Its notable elements are elaborate leg movements with energetic zapateados (stomping) and cepillados ("brushing"/"scrubbing").[2]

Malambo has no formal choreography. In the Bulletin of the Pan American Union, Volume 67, C.J. Videla-Rivero described it as follows: "The malambo is exclusively a masculine dance. One gaucho taps, kicks, crosses his legs, pounds the earth with the side of his feet, make his spurs tinkle, and fills the air with a thousand and one different figures while his opponent, crouched, watches him."[3]

While malambo originated as a competition between two gauchos, it may be performed in several ways: solo, in groups (synchronized or individual choreographies), counterpoint vis a vis, counterpoint quartets.[citation needed]

Malambo was popularized in Argentina at the beginning of the 19th century.[citation needed] The two main styles of malambo are the “estilo sureño” ("Southern style") and the “estilo norteño” ("Northern style"). The “estilo norteño” tends to have a faster rhythm than that of the South, and use a unique guitar strum.[4]

The first musical version of malambo was published by Ventura Lynch in 1883.[5]

The Festival Nacional del Malambo ("National Malambo Festival"), a major malambo performance and competition event, has been held annually in Laborde, Córdoba since 1966.[6][7] Malambo also features prominently at the annual Cosquín Folk Festival, also in Cordoba.[8]

Malevo, an Argentine dance troupe, made it to the semifinals of America's Got Talent in 2016.[9] In June of 2024, Argentinian malambo troupe Legión received the "Golden Buzzer" for their AGT audition.[10] In 2018, the first Campeonato nacional de malambo femenino ("National Women's Malambo Championship") was organized in Carlos Paz, Cordoba.[1]

  1. ^ a b Falcoff, Laura (2023-03-03). "Explosión malambo: el zapateo argentino se reinventa y conquista al mundo". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  2. ^ Eduardo Gutierrez , The Gaucho Juan Moreira, 2014, ISBN 1624661386, p. XV
  3. ^ C.J. Videla-Rivero, "Few Words on Argentine Music", Bulletin of the Pan American Union, 1933, pp. 796-797 (free access)
  4. ^ "Malambo femenino: vestimenta y evolución | GINOBOGANI". ginobogani.com.ar (in Spanish). 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  5. ^ "Biografia_de_Jorge_M._Furt". www2.mshs.univ-poitiers.fr. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  6. ^ Leila Guerriero, A Simple Story: The Last Malambo, 2015, 2017 (book review; doi:10.1353/abr.2017.0088)
  7. ^ Kenneth Dickerman, Mario de Fina, "In a small town in Argentina, gauchos compete for a coveted crown more than a half-century-old", The Washington Post, May 8, 2019
  8. ^ ""El capataz" le dio a la sede Resistencia un nuevo ganador en el pre Cosquín". Chaco Día por Día (in Spanish). 19 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  9. ^ Benton, Hayley (24 February 2023). "Malevo: brings high-energy renegade dance to Wortham stage". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. T6.
  10. ^ Faulkner, Clara (11 June 2024). "This Dance Group's Feet Were Literally on Fire During a One-of-a-Kind Act". NBC News.