Though Buenos Aires gets all the limelight, tango evolved in both Uruguay and Argentina, and it was in the former’s capital that the genre’s most famous song was written. This year Montevideo is celebrating its centenary in style
Think tango and it’s Argentina and sexy Buenos Aires that spring to mind. But Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, is kicking out and claiming its right to be considered at the very least as the “other” tangopolis.
This year the much smaller, more serene River Plate capital (it’s 2¼ hours by hydrofoil across the estuary from BA) celebrates the centenary of La Cumparsita, the most famous tango of all time. Composed by Montevidean Gerardo Matos Rodríguez when he was just 19, it was an instant success when performed at the La Giralda bar, at the foot of the stunning Palacio Salvo on the city’s main plaza, on 19 April, 1917. (If you think you don’t know the song, Google it. Yes, that one: dum-dum-dum- dum-da-da-da-da-da-dum-dum-dum-dum …)
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Source: Gaurdian