archetti, eduardo

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Review: The Passion of the TangoAuthor(s): Eduardo P. ArchettiSource: Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 23, No. 4, The "Urban Question" in Latin America(Autumn, 1996), pp. 104-108Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2634132 .

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BookReviews

ThePassionoftheTangoEduardoP ArchettiMarta E. Savigliano,Tangoand the PoliticalEconomy fPassion (Boulder:Westviewress, 994)

Recent ritiquesfrepresentationnanthropologyavesuggestedhat he inebetweenictionnd thnographysnot clear ne.Thismay aveparticularelevanceforwhatMarilyntrathemalls"auto-ethnography,"nthropologicalork n one'sownsociety.thas beenargued hatwhen he thnographers a native oth fthegeneral ost ulturend of the thnographicudience t s moredifficultoclaimspecial bjectivityrauthorityt the evelofdescription.Marta aviglianos anArgentineannthropologistorkingn the ulturendhistoryfthe ango, hemost typical"ulturalroductf her ountry,nEnglish;she sa "native" ritingbout er ulturehroughhemediationf notheranguage.She doesnot claimobjectivity,nd, ssuming ergenderedultural eritage,erprojects formulatedn clear oliticalerms.Writingn the angosfor er wayofwritingbouther ity, er ountry,er onditions a woman,ndher exile."Thus,thebookcombines emembrances,amilyharacters,onstructedramaticcenes,tango exts,elf-reflections,ender erspectives,ndpoliticalnalyses. ll nall, tis a fascinatingnterpretiveistoricalndethnographicext,nd nmanyways t san nterestingxample f ntertextuality.he text eflectshe omplexityfwritingthat raws pon oth areful istoricalesearchnd ontemporaryieldworknJapanand theauthor's wnmusical,iterary,ndpolitical ducation s anArgentineanwoman.Her culturalraditionorms oth ubject ndobject fher onsciousness,makingt difficulto mediate nalytical oundaries etween nterpretationndautobiography.he results absorbing,ich,ndunorthodox.Savigliano'smainhypothesissthatnthe ourse f hemodem lobal xpansionof mperialismndcolonialism,politicalconomyfpassionntertwinedith hegeneraloliticalconomyasbeendevelopingp. 2).Thecapitalistxpansionf hedominantmperialowers hroughhe roductionnd xportfcolonial dministra-Eduardo.Archettis professorf ocialnthropologyt he niversityfOslo.HisfieldworkinArgentinand cuadoras ocusedn ulturalhange,itual,enderdentity,ndmasculinity.LATINAMERICANPERSPECTIVES, ssue91,Vol.23 No.4,Fall 1996 104-131? 1996LatinAmericanerspectives104


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BOOK REVIEWS 105tors, oods, inancialapital,ndmachines asbeen ccompaniedy he productionofpassion"nthe xotic eripheralorld. hetango ntersnto heworldmarketfpassion nd xoticismt he eginningf he 0th entury.aviglianohows hat hetango s music nd dance not s poetics) onstitutedn "exotic awmaterial"hatwas early ransformedn Paris ndLondon nd aternTokyo. heoriginalityfherargumentsthe mphasisndance, nperformingodies,nd nfantasiesnddesiresrelatedo themeaningf ango horeography.he attemptsto draw ttentionothepatternsfbodymovementecause f he ance'sdefianceo ntellectualization,hepowerful essages f he odiesnmotion,he candals nd ttemptstdomesticationthedanceprovokedt home ndabroad,ndthedance'skeyrole ncontributingothe ango's opularity"p. 13).Chapter is devoted othe nalysisf ango yrics.t s mportantokeep nmind,however,hat he angowasoriginally usic nddance; nly fter917did he yricsbecome undamental,ransforminghe angonto "formal"oetics. he poetics fthe angosprofoundlyasculine. he centraluthors,ome f hempicfiguresfArgentineanultural istoryDiscepolo,Flores,Manzi), are male, and the keynarratives basedon masculinemoralreflections,isplays f emotion,ntimateconfessions,ndfragmentsf ife tories. he consolidationfthis oetics ccurredin a historicalontext ominatedytwostyles fdance:therufflanesquend theromantic.he rufflanesqueasaggressivendusually ssociatedwith he igure fthe ompadrito-an leganteducerwhomno woman ouldresist,dmired orhiscourage, hysical trength,ndcapacity or eception. avigliano veremphasizesthe rchetypicalole f he ompadritond he ult fmachismon he extsnalyzed,but he srightnpointingut hat he uffianesquetyle fdance oexisted ith heromantict eastuntil he1930s. n the yricsfthe omanticangoshe ompadritois replaced ya maleunable o seduce ndfullyontrolhewomanhe oves.Herethe theme f love as hopelesspassion s common.Women, epresentedy thearchetypicaliguref hemilonguita,regaining utonomyndpowerndbecomingpublic. he yrics epict ifferentodels fmasculinitynddissimilar oral odes.Inthemoral niversef he ompadrito,engeance,ueling,ndviolenceweremeansofdefending alehonor. hebetrayedr abandoned omanticover,n contrast,would eguided y motionsuch s sadness, appiness,ear,r nxiety.aviglianorecognizeshe ole fautonomousomenwhen hewrites hat women aveneverbeenust docilebodies' r passive bjects.' ango, othn ts yricsnd horeogra-phies, as recorded omen's bilitieso subvertndnegotiate"p. 69). To portraymasculinitysproblematicmplieshatwomenre bletochoose hemen heyove.Themodernityf ango yricsiespreciselyn he resentationfuncertaintieselatedtothe xercise fromantichoice. hepoetics f he ango aswell sthemusic ndthe horeography)rovidesome f hemeans ywhich enderdentitiesremodeledin thepublic phere. aviglianos rightnpointingut hat he angos a complexculturalonstructionhatn ts classicperiod" 1917-1935) ontributedoclass andgenderonflictsndtensions.Theideologicalndmoral eflectionsf the lassicalpoetics f the angowerenotdominantntheway nwhich angowas codifiednParis rLondon. he yrics


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106 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVEShad an independentife nd can be seen to have"colonized" heLatinAmericancountries,here he ango ecamevery opular, ut his torys not part f thehistoryf theworld xpansionf the ango hat avigliano ealswith. he coreofher nalysissthe mpact f he ango n Paris ndLondon. uropeans aw the angoas exotic,ndArgentineanscceptedhis. Exoticismnd utoexoticismre nterre-lated utcomesf he olonial ncounter,n encounterhatsasymmetricnterms fpower" p. 75). Chapter showshow he ango nteredhe ealm f he xotic tthebeginningfthe 0th entury,hen he rules fexoticism" ere learly efinednParis and London.The historical ontexts f dance,opera,ballet, nd identityconstructionnpublic paces remasterfullyresented.avigliano emonstrateshatthe riumphfthe angon Pariswas noaccident; aris hegemonizedhepower fexpertisen ove, assion,nd llsorts f rotic ffairs"p.99).The trong ypothesisof he olonizing aze s modifiedyher oncrete istoricalnalysis.We canaccept,as an mportantnalyticalerspective,hat hemagesnd ulturalodificationf hecolonizerunctions a mirroror he olonized. ariswasatthat ime complex itywhere stablishedourgeois alues oexistedwith hebohemian ndcosmopolitanwayof ife xperiencednthemilieu fcabaretsnd dancehalls.Saviglianohowsthatn this ontext he angowas scandalousndfascinating.hus, he ango s adancewasrejected yParisianandArgentineanndEuropean) ourgeoismoralists(p. 109). t enterednto he arisianontext ith great egree fculturalreativity.In a fascinatingccount fthe ransformationfthe angonEurope, aviglianodescribes hedevelopmentf wo horeographies:he candalous,rotic,ndvolup-tuous ango s performedythe rtistsfthe rench abaretevue ndthe tylizedand domesticatedneperformedn thedancehalls p. 119).Parisiansmodifiedhe"original" ance,which hey erceivedscrude nd ssociatedwithhe primitive"gauchos f he ampas. he mage f exual esire ndpassion ommunicatedy hetangowas linkedwith heperceptionfArgentineanss individualsacking hemanners f theFrench alons p. 120).At that imeArgentineansere hemselvespresentinghefigurefthegauchoon horseback n thefertile,pen pampas stypical. huspassion nddesire cquired rural lavor hatwas ncongruentithsexualizedurbanmagerynwhich ophisticationas highly alued.The tangodevelopedmultipletyles othnParis nd nBuenosAires. willnotdeny hat hetango ells s a lotnot nly bout olonialncountersut lso about ulturalreativityina newlyreated lobal rena oreisure ctivities.nthis paceArgentineans,othwomen ndmen, layedboth n active dancing, laying,ndperforming)ndapassive being he ontentf magesdefinedy others,eing heOther) ole.Butafterll (andperhapshis sfundamental),he ango pened a venue orwomen oexhibitensualitynpublic" p. 127). Manywomen,nmany ities nd ndifferentculturalettings,ereeavinghe onfinesf hehome oenter he ascinatingpaceofthe abaret nd hedancehall.ThemilonguitaasArgentineanndParisian.hewassensual, goistic,nd elf-assured.hetango volved nto he ance f ts ime.

Inchapter, Savigliano ealswith he loriouseturnf he angooBuenosAiresafterchieving opularitynParis nd other uropean itiesca. 1910-1914). hisprocess s interpreteds "culturalmperialism."aviglianowrites: 'This omplex


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BOOK REVIEWS 107interventionntoArgentineanational olitics hroughhe angowas no more hanan episodeof culturalmperialism ithin broader nd long-standingtrugglebetween ormalndependencend substantiveelf-determination"p. 128). Sherecognizeshat omemembersfthe ocal elite, ncluding any ationalist riters,rejected he ango ecause he ance epresentedarginaleople nd he yrics erewrittenn a crude panish. therscceptedhis ecause he angomade he ountryand ts nhabitantsnown ndopened worldmarket or ingers, rchestras,om-posers, tage how and film roducers,ndrecord ompanies. rgentineanseredivided n this ndofcourse n themportancef he ango s a symbol fnationalidentity.hetangowas a clear roductf he ity fBuenosAires ndvery ar romthemusic nd cultural aste f theArgentineaninterland.avigliano s correctnpointingut hat rgentineandentityas and tills,to some xtent) ependentnthe erceptionfOthersnd he ecognitionf hemainworld owers. t s possibletotreathehistoryf he ango s a "colonial"manifestationnd tthe ame ime sanearly xample ftheglobal ulturend ocalizationtrategiesomuch iscussedtoday mong anthropologistsealingwith heglobalecumene.The associationbetween he ymbolicmeaningsfgaucho ndtango and n the ameperiodwithpoloandfootball, hrough hich heArgentineangaucho" tylewas discoveredby Europeans uringheOlympicGames ofthe1920s) illustratesoth olonialimageryndArgentineanreativity.fterll,theArgentineanlite created" hegaucho s a symbolnd he auchesqueiteratures anexample fnationalustomsand anguage.n the ase of the ango,he reative olewasplayed ythepopularclasses ndthe irst-generationescendantsfEuropeanmmigrantsCarlosGardel'was born n France). mages, ommodities,apital, ersons, rtists,ndculturalproducts ere ncreasinglyxchanged etween rgentinandEurope. aviglianorightly epicts process hrough hich n opensocial andculturalmarket ascreated, ransformingauthenticity"ndnationaldentitynto nenduring uest(p. 167).Chapter is themost riginal art fthebook.Thecreationf theOther s theculturallyelevantne reachests limax.nthe1930s, he ango s a dance eachedJapan iathe renchtyle importedyaJapaneseristocrat)ndthe ancemasterswho traveled oKobeto teach hehighly tylized ompetitiveango hat adbeendevelopednBritain. xoticismmet xoticism:lost ove, betrayal,nd ssues ofhonorprovided he final dentificationetween heseexoticnations"p. 172).Japaneseiscoveredhathey ad omethingn ommon ith rgentineans,nd aterArgentineansouldrespondnthe ameway.Japanwould dopt he ango s anerotic ance ndas dramatic usic-"exotic eciprocities"ccordingoSaviglianobutnot o exotic ccordingo hernformants.heacknowledgeshatmostJapanesetangueros hom he nterviewedmphasizedhe compatibilityfthe wo ulturesmore han he ttractionf the xotic r theradically ifferent"p. 187).The twointerpretationsre fusednher extnspite fexpressingifferentulturalogics:nativesmphasized imilarityndthe nthropologistlterity.avigliano's nalysisexemplifieshathe mbivalentnd mbiguousoleofthe angosperhapsnherentin tsmodern haracter.


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108 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVESArgentineans,n thebeginningnconsciously,reated "modern"ulturalom-modityhat as been ravelingor lmost centuryndparadoxicallyoth hangingand remaininghe ame.Thehistoryf the ango hat avigliano ells s limited;globalhistoryfthe ango emainsobewritten.he tango as traveledoandbeentransformedn Colombia ndMexico, inland ndGermany,ussia ndtheUnitedStates,Egypt ndTurkey. he story f this nomadism eedsto be recounted.Savigliano asbeen ble o how hatn he ase of he ango, ational iscoursesndimagesarecomplex ecause themeaning f "Otherness"hifts. n establishednationalmagery ill ttempto ntegratehe arious spects f Otherness"ecauseitneeds ll the ragments,llthedislocated ndmismatcheddentities,ndrelies nthe hangingharacterfArgentineanen nd women. n this enseSavigliano'sproject f"decolonizing"he angos as legitimates itsappropriationy Parisianbohemians, apanese ristocrats,ndcompetitiveritishrofessionalancers.Wecan readher ook s anexample f colonialism"nd exoticism"ut lsoas a caseof culturalreativityn a globalscene thatmakespossible heappropriationfculturalmages ndbodily racticesydifferentctorsnquitedissimilarocietiesandhistoricaleriods.Wecan gree hat he eryxistencefhumanocietysboundupwith his reativeapacity.t s anachievementf differentind,nd rare ne,togenerate exportable"nd"permanent"rtifactsndculturalracticeshat an

travel or long eriod f ime eyondhe ulturalndpoliticaloundariesfBuenosAires.Argentineansanproudlyaythathey articipatednthis arityhroughheexpansion, ransformation,nd permanencef thetangoas music and dance.Savigliano'sook s marvelousndmostwelcome videncef his ulturalreciosity.

WorldWar II andItsAftermathnLatin AmericaVictor . UribeDavid Rock ed.),LatinAmerican the1940s: War nd Postwar ransitions(Berkeley: niversityfCalifornia ress, 994) 302 pp.

LatinAmerican he 940swasprecededy t east hreemeetingsin 1986, 987,and 1989) of an nterdisciplinaryroup fexperts hoagreed hatherewas a lackof ubstantialesearchn various eaturesf1940sLatinAmerica nd etout ofillsome f he aps.Thebook ddressesconomic,ocial, olitical,nd ven ntellectualprocesses hatook lace n everal ountriesuringhe ecadenquestion-adecadethat,t sargued, enerallyroughteeperndmore apid hangesothe egionhananyprevious ne.Victor .UribeeachesistorytFloridanternationalniversity.

archetti, eduardo

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