It is not true that during tango's golden era (1935 to 1955), there were more men than women in Buenos Aires. By 1925, the gender imbalance had leveled out. This means that the masters who helped revive tango in the 1980s did not grow up in a social landscape where men significantly outnumbered women. They were simply retelling a story from forty years earlier that they had heard secondhand. It's likely that even their parents had not experienced that particular social configuration in Buenos Aires.
Most of these dancers were born after 1935. By that time, Gardel was dead, the old guard of tango had passed, and they grew up witnessing a different phenomenon: the largest influx of impoverished rural migrants into the city. The dancers who passed on the dance and tango culture to us were significantly different from what we typically imagine. They grew up speaking Spanish, they weren't immigrants but well-rooted porteños, and they were into modern pursuits like wearing tailored clothes and watching American musicals.
During the golden era they lived through, following the traditional social settings of the time, most couples consisted of women dancing with men. It is true that some men also danced with each other in the afternoons, but these sessions were open to only some of the dancers and focused on practice and study, not social dancing per se. Those who participated in these sessions were exceptionally passionate dancers who sought additional time to explore, create, refine, and improve their skills.
Young men who attended these practice sessions sought to connect with their older counterparts, learn from their experience, and gain better access to dance events. These men chose to practice tango with each other over the typical activities of the time—sports, street games, or neighborhood socializing—not because they had to, but because they wanted to. That choice made them different.
These relationships and practice spaces became sacred to them. These social interactions prepared them for life outside the family circle and provided an outlet during the difficult transition to adulthood.
Today, the large majority of men who dance tango do not practice together simply because they choose not to. They tend to view other men as strangers, bystanders, or competitors. Instead of practicing and honing their skills with each other, they prefer to skip that learning process entirely and go straight to dancing exclusively with women.
These men often lack the deep personal relationships and friendships with other men that were once common. They don't believe that other men can support them in becoming decent social dancers and more well-rounded social beings. Camaraderie between men has become our new myth.
