Osvaldo Natucci at Practimilongueros

Practimilongueros continues with an interview with Osvaldo Natucci, who has plenty to say about tango history. He describes 1945 to 1955 in Buenos Aires as a big party, the only party Argentina's ever had, and a party like no other city has ever had: the dance and the music was the city's passion. He also says that at that time there were just two kinds of dancer; the amateurs, and then the artisans, who took the trouble to dance a tango of quality. He sees a third kind of dancer emerging in the late 80s: the artists. He admires the skill of the few artists who are really good, but points out that few of their followers realise that dance at this level is beyond them. Social tango is what matters: the survival of tango depends on the continuation of social tango, on the artisans. This is only Part 1, so there's more to look forward too.

From what I'd already heard I suspected that there was a huge social change centred around tango in BsAs in the 1940s. Instead of meeting at birthdays, festivals or in church, young people had the independence to go out to dance together. Many thanks to Mónica Paz for continuing this wonderful exploration of tango and society in BsAs within living memory. She's asking the questions I wanted to ask, and the conversations are fascinating.

Incidentally, I couldn't help noticing how articulate and full of life Osvaldo Natucci's arms and shoulders are. This seems a good example of the body culture of the Mediterranean, part of the background of tango. & I can't help noticing, also, that Osvaldo has taught in France. I'm afraid UK tango is missing out on a lot.