Dutch tango dancer in Buenos Aires

Dutch tango dancer in Buenos Aires

In Buenos Aires, Dutchwoman Willemijn van der Linden found and embraced her great love: the tango. In 2015, she decided to move to the Argentine capital for an indefinite period.

She is now a professional tango dancer and works every day, alongside around 15 other professional dancers, in the famous street show at the junction of Florida and Lavalle streets. Together with her dance partner José Carlos, she regularly performs in prominent tango cafés – also known as milongas – and gives tango lessons to Dutch tourists. In early February 2020, Willemijn appeared on the hit TV programme ‘De Bauers in Argentina’, where she taught Frans and Mariska their very first tango steps. Watch the clip here.
Read more about Willemijn and tango on her blog.

Photo taken by Monteleone at the Salon Canning tango café on 21 February 2020 during their final performance

Photo taken by Nikolay Chigirev in October 2019 during the Florida Lavalle tango show

The origins of the tango

At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires experienced tremendous growth as many migrants from Europe flocked to the city in the hope of a better life. In those days, Buenos Aires was considered one of the richest cities on earth. The tango has its origins in the poor, desolate suburbs of the city, which were mainly populated by young men. Just as the culture of Buenos Aires was shaped by the customs, food and language that immigrants brought with them from all corners of Europe, so too was the tango shaped by the dance and musical styles brought over from the Old World. Initially, the dance was regarded as obscene, but this changed in the first decade of the last century, and the dance gradually became a symbol of the Argentine capital.

The iconic Carlos Gardel

Argentine tango is inextricably linked with Carlos Gardel. This singer-songwriter is regarded as the embodiment of tango. Born Charles Romuald Gardés in Toulouse, France, he travelled to Buenos Aires with his mother at the age of three. He grew up in the San Nicolás district, not far from the old town of the Argentine capital. He began his career as a singer in bars until his rendition of *Mi noche triste* (*My Sad Night*) made him famous overnight. Although Gardel is regarded as one of the most important figures in Argentine history, he was not actually from there; and whilst he is often mentioned in the same breath as Evita Perón, Maradona, Messi and Che Guevara, not only was he not born in Argentina, but he also died abroad. In 1935, he was killed in a plane crash near the Colombian city of Medellín. His name, however, is forever linked with Argentina, and his body was eventually laid to rest in Buenos Aires.