Milonga (music)

Milonga group in Buenos Aires

Milonga is a musical genre that originated in the Río de la Plata areas of Argentina, Uruguay, and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.[1][2] It is considered a precursor of the tango.

"Milonga is an excited habanera." The original habanera divided into four pulses, in a standard two-four where every note was stressed. In becoming milonga, though, all four notes turned strong, as tempo was doubled. The strength of the first beat weakened the fourth giving an almost waltz-like feel to milonga: one-two-three (four), one-two-three (four). Habanera is a slower, more explicit sounding one, two, three-four. At least one modern tango pianist believes the polka influenced the speeding up of the milonga.[3] According to milonga composer and one of the most famous payadores of his time, Gabino Ezeiza, the milonga derives from various African rhythms such as candombe, and Argentine milonga was particularly popular among Afro-Argentines in Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th century.[4][5]

Over time, dance steps and other musical influences were added, eventually contributing to the creation of tango.[6]

  1. ^ Andressa Nathanailidis (2016-03-18). "Milonga: o poema e a música na tradição gaúcha". Terra da Música (in Portuguese).
  2. ^ Mateus Rosa (2019-04-18). "A história da milonga". Repórter Riograndense (in Portuguese).
  3. ^ Robert Thompson. "Tango the Art History of Love" page 129
  4. ^ Espinosa, Carlos (28 July 2018). "Por el Día del Payador, en memoria del paso de Gabino Ezeiza por Patagones". APP Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Gabino Ezeiza, el payador del barrio El Mondongo". Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación (in Spanish). 3 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  6. ^ Tango! The Dance, the Song, the Story. Collier, Cooper, Azzi and Martin. 1995. Thames and Hudson, Ltd, p. 51. ISBN 0-500-01671-2.