Tango Siglo XXI: The Revival of the Orquesta Típica in Twenty-First Century Buenos Aires

Submission note: A thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.

Over the past three decades tango music has experienced a resurgence in its place of origin: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Characterised as a musical revival, this has involved the reinterpretation of traditional tango music from its historical roots of the twentieth century, and concomitantly the generation of new meanings and significance. In particular, the revival of the orquesta típica has been an important vehicle for cultural renewal through creative production. This traditional ensemble, a symbol of tango’s past splendour, has been employed as a medium through which young musicians have sought historical continuity, legitimacy, cultural alterity, and social mobilisation. As a site of contestation, tango is implicated in a range of contexts from cultural heritage and tourism projects, the independent cultural sphere, to state and institutional cultural policy. Musicians have called into question the capacity of conventional forms of cultural management (i.e. heritage projects) to contribute to tango’s sustainability and vitality. Instead, musicians are enacting alternative forms of engagement which are localised, bottom-up, participatory, and emphasise tango as a productive site of popular culture. A range of actors are implicated in these processes from individuals and grassroots organisations, to governmental and nongovernmental institutions. The revival of the orquesta típica has generated numerous innovative musical projects which uniquely interact with tango’s tradtional canon and it’s consecrated styles. Centred in the theory of ethnomusicology, this thesis presents a range of ethnographic case studies which reveal the various ways in which the orquesta típica is being revived. Revealing the complexity of these contexts, this research investigates how the orquesta típica operates in contemporary cultural contexts while still relating to its historical narratives; how musical revival proposes new forms of socio-cultural engagement; and how these relate to discourses of cultural heritage and cultural sustainability.