When did the peculiar custom of men gathering in the middle of the dance floor , to cabeceo the ladies sitting at the tables emerged ?
The tango , Muchachos , Comienza la Ronda , by Leopoldo Diaz Velez to the music of Luis Porcellano that directly alludes to this custom . It was recorded by both Osvaldo Pugliese with Roberto Chanel and Ricardo Tanturi with Enrique Campos in 1943 .
Muchachos , comienza la ronda que el tango invita a formar QuiÈn , al oir el arranque de un son tan brillante , no sale a bailar ?
Guys , the round is starting That the tango invites us to form . Who , hearing this starter which is so brilliant would not go dancing ?
In order for men to gather in the middle of the floor , or to use an across-the-floor cabeceo , the floor itself must have been cleared of all dancing couples , and the only way to achieve that for the live orquesta was to stop playing the music .
But , when did they stop ? How long was a tanda ?
As it turns out , we have precise answers to those questions in the wonderful tango Danza Maligna , with its anthem-like lyrics by Claudio Frollo and music by Fernando Randle . It was first recorded by Azucena Maizani in 1929 , and later by Imperio Argentina , Carmelita Aubert , and Francisco Lomuto , and in 1940 by Enrique Rodriguez with Armando Moreno .
This tango contains by far most favorite quote of mine :
Te invito a penetrar en este templo donde todo el amor lo purifica . Viviremos los dos el cuarto de hora de la danza nost · lgica y maligna !
I invite you to enter this temple where everything is purified by love . Together weíll live through the quarter hour of a nostalgic and evil dance !
This quote gives us both the timing of the historical tanda , and the proof that the custom of dancing with the same partner for quarter hour existed as far back as in 1929 . It is not a coincidence that this timing is exactly the same as the timing of an orquesta tÌpica set on the radio — the same magical quarter hour .
A live orquesta of the thirties would play five to seven songs in one uninterrupted set . Given a standard length of a song of the time was between two and three minutes , this would be about fifteen minutes . It would include mostly tangos , but possibly an occasional vals , polca or fox-trot , and in later years , milongas , as well . The band would then go silent for a while , allowing to clear the floor and change partners .
While the word tanda itself is of dubious origin , the etymology of cortina ( curtain ) is obvious - the stage curtain would be closed when the orquesta was not playing . Also , we can imagine that in a big venue , cortinas might have been spiced up by a solo number of an aspiring talent . The most prestigious venues and carnival organizers might hire more than one orquesta on the same date , and alternate them over the course of the night .
Without either disputing the academia origin of tandas circa the beginning of the 20th century , or arguing about modern orquestas habits , or relying on eye-witness accounts , we have established that the custom to play music in quarter-hour tandas separated by cortinas was firmly planted with the live orquestas as early as the year 1929 .
Original recording of Danza Maligna , 1929 .
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