Tango and wine, two Argentine passions

Although it is a vast territory with great cultural diversity, Argentina is a country with well-defined passions. Tango and wine are two of them. Discover everything they have in common.

 Tango and wine are two Argentine symbols par excellence. Not only do they represent one of the greatest passions of the local inhabitants, but they have also become export products enjoyed by foreigners in different latitudes of the world.  

Although at first glance, they seem like two different cultural elements, their history within Argentina has many points in common. Let’s discover them.

Tango, a marginal rhythm

The tango culture was born at the end of the 19th century in Buenos Aires. A fusion of African rhythms, flamenco, contradanza, and Cuban habanera, tango embodied a sordid, urban, and popular atmosphere, with realistic and sometimes very sad lyrics.

Because it emerged in disreputable environments, such as brothels, pulperías, and pirigundines, it was a piece of marginal music and was frowned upon by the more affluent sectors of society, who frowned upon the diffusion of this unholy rhythm.

Although it is currently the musical genre that best represents Argentina abroad, tango had to go a long way to become one of the national passions.

Wine, a product that has gained ground

Argentina’s wine culture predates tango. It emerged at the end of the 19th century thanks to the immigration of Europeans who brought with them the necessary knowledge to cultivate vineyards.

Since these immigrants settled mainly in Mendoza, wine production did not initially reach Buenos Aires on a massive scale. The few bottles that were shipped traveled in wagons that took months to arrive.

However, with the arrival of the train and the construction of a robust railroad network, Argentina’s wine industry gained momentum and the wines produced in the Cuyo region were able to reach the country’s capital more quickly and conveniently.

Wine and argentine tango, a common path

With the massive arrival of wine in Buenos Aires, it began to be drunk in bars, milongas, pulperías, and brothels. Consequently, the drink became part of tango lyrics, as an ally to drown the sorrows of heartbreak, loneliness, unrequited passions, and the misunderstandings of life.

Some famous tangos that make explicit the relationship between tango and wine are “Nostalgias” (“Quiero emborrachar mi corazón, para apagar un loco amor, que más que amor es un sufrir”), “La última curda” (“La vida es una herida absurda y es todo tan fugaz que es una curda nada más”) and “Mi noche triste” (“Para mi ya no hay consuelo y por eso me encurdelo pa’ olvidarme de tu amor”).

Although they had to make their way into the Argentine society and territory, today tango and wine are two national symbols for export that represent us in the most remote places of the world.

Content originally produced by Sabio Marketing for Vinscent