Sandra Luna's Evolving Tango

05/17/2004 01:53AM

Bloomington, Indiana, USA - Times Square Records will be releasing in the United States the new album by Argentine singer Sandra Luna. “Cinders that burn again and again… tango is like life, and has to evolve,” says singer Sandra Luna, paraphrasing famous tango lyricist Horacio Ferrer. On her first international release, Tango Varón, Luna turns her ear to the future while keeping one foot firmly in the tango’s colorful past. On her new album she expands tango music, normally associated with dancing in non-Spanish speaking countries, to a broader more expansive song form. Tango Varón features reenergized versions of tango classics from legends like Homero Manzi and Astor Piazzolla, to newly created tango compositions that tell the tale of contemporary life in Buenos Aires.

In 1966, long after the peak of tango’s popularity, Sandra Luna was born in Buenos Aires’ slaughterhouse district of Mataderos. By age eleven she was performing in local tango bars like the Boliche de Rotundo. Sandra’s exposure to the progressive forms of Piazzolla, and a voice that recalls the timeless grace of her forbears and her birth in the barrio, is the perfect formula to take tango to a new generation.

Tango Varón balances a strong repertoire of traditional tango standards, with newly written compositions that speak from modern life in Buenos Aires. From the highly percussive approach of “Me Llaman Luna” to the more traditional and ornate bandoneón and strings on “Que Nadie Sepa Mu Sufrir,” Luna displays her talent and ability to work above a wide variety of textures. On “Carritos Cartoneros,” she tells the modern tale of a homeless vagabond who came to Buenos Aires with the promise of a first world life, only to scour the streets for bottles and cans to earn what little money they can. The proud, machismo male is at the core of tango’s image, but Sandra is not afraid to challenge this assumption head on. The title track “Tango Varón” recalls the origin of ‘male tango’ in Buenos Aires, but her insistent performance injects the track with the unique passion of a confident woman.

Buy Tango Varón.

World Music Central
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20040421195310437