The Academy of Tango Connects the Past and the Future…

When you start walking along the wide side-walk of Buenos Aires´famous Avenida de Mayo you will find many of the most important establishments and organizations dedicated to preserve the rich past of the city.

A few steps from the world famous Café Tortoni , and as part of this proud and magnificent building, there is a very special piece of that past and present: “El Palacio Carlos Gardel”, an important complex occupied by “El Museo Mundial del Tango” and “La Academia Nacional del Tango”.

The academy used to come and go, according to the history, from one place to the other looking for a place to stay. It was inaugurated at its present location on November of 1993 and its purpose is to connect the past and present preserving all the tango history in one place. Entering this place, for all tangueros alike, may represent a sort of reincarnation with the past, with the history of Tango. The walls, saturated of history, talk about milongas and milongueros, legendary figures, music scores and thousands of stories of lives, men and tango.

It is open to be visited by anyone interested in Tango. The museum shows the history of Tango in its 10 periods of life, from the very beginning around the 1850′s to the present. There is an “Olimpo of Tango glories” plus an actual cinema and a stage where live orchestras, dancers and singers regularly offers free shows an interpretations for the general public and visitors.

Once inside one could not help to admire what any good tango dancer would, a floor entirely covered by a bright parquet wood. The ceilings are extremely high, crowned all around the four corners with an elaborated and rich beautiful wood. Paintings hang all around, framed in wood from the sides up and crowning their tops with head of a mythology god.

 Here you will find the legendary and very own personal hat of the idol Carlos Gardel donated to the museum by the tango singer Susana Rinaldi. Also the display of dresses worn by another immortal symbol of the tango “Tita Merello” and a suit worn by Anibal Troilo. There is a corner named “Rincon Agustin Bardi” where you may be able to find the very same piano where the master used to play, his picture and some of his musical scores are part of the scenario. An impressive statue of Carlos Gardel made by the Uruguayan sculptor Velarde Gil Perez presides another section of the museum. There is also a gallery named “Julio y Francisco De Caro” where local artists expose their paintings, sculptures, photographs and drawings. There is also an entire section for “Tango en el Mundo” and this contains everything related to Tango outside of Argentina. And there is more, lots more, you will just have to visit the venue.

The poet Horacio Ferrer, founder and president of “La Academia Nacional del Tango” and “El Museo Mundial del Tango” usually refers to this Institutions as “El Sitio de las Musas Tangueras” (The site of the Tango Angels) he also says that this museum was created “To connect the past and the future of El Tango”…

A few days ago I was invited to the academy by my friend Marisol, a beautiful and talented musician, to attend a special presentation. Her tango orchestra “Al Limite” (composed by piano, bandoneon, chelo and traverse flute) presented their first work called “Noches del Museo“. The atmosphere was right, the stage well set, and their music superb. They combined different styles and moods. They even had special guests (a singer with a great voice and a grandiose quartet of strings) which added colour to the experience. I had a great time, enjoying every minute of it.