Osvaldo Pugliese documentary
Osvaldo Pugliese is a name that is synonymous with Tango. Even a rank beginner will quickly learn about his name and be mesmerised by the drama he brings to the dance floor. His music (both his compositions as well that played in his unique style) is probably one of the most favourite in the milongas of Buenos Aires and all over the world.
Recently I bought a documentary featuring the maestro, which is part of a series produced by Solo Tango on some of the major figures in the history of Tango. Right from the first video I received, I was blown away by the really amazing original footages of the best orchestras of the yester-years, which are definitely worth the cost of the video. for the Pugliese video, just picture this: on stage in Teatre Colón, 10 bandoneons passionately blasting the tunes of La Yumba, the Maestro Pugliese calmly stroking the keyboards at the piano. By the way, Teatre Colón is Buenos Aires’ huge performing arts theatre and is the second largest performing arts theatre in the southern hemisphere, second only to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. In addition, there is a rare footage of on-stage presence of Piazzolla and Pugliese together in Holland.
New online Tango radio
Here is a new online radio station for Tango: Tango-Liquido.Gradio.They are planning to have separate playlists for different categories of music. Now, being relatively new, the selection is currently not big but hopefully this will improve in time. By the way, I guess this may deserve a NSFW tag… 😀
Update 01/08/2009: Seems the link is dead.
Tango DJing
My first experiences at DJing was during the days at Porridge Club (August 2002), where I volunteered to take up the challenge of providing danceable Tango music at, of all places, a Chinese-style cafe that sells porridge. Judging by the response week after week, I’d say it was quite successful! 🙂 This was followed by some occasional stints at Bobby Rubino’s and (more regularly) Xen Bar (early 2003) once our friend started his salsa bar**.
La cumparsita
Here is something that may be of interest to Tango collectors or history buffs, or maybe something fit for a rainy Sunday afternoon? 😉
On http://www.esnips.com/web/LaCumparsita (no longer available as of 1/2011), you can find over 200 different versions of, arguably, the most famous and recognizable Tango song of all time – the La Cumparsita. La Cumparsita is traditionally played to signal the end of a Milonga in Buenos Aires.