Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
On Friday night, Muy Senores Mios presented “Una Tarde En Palermo (An Afternoon in the Neighborhood),” the second Cooper Event of the year. The Argentinian musicians performed a number of classic tango pieces as well while also experimenting with traditional forms. The pieces performed, most of which can be found on their most recent CD, highlighted traditional and contemporary themes: love, gambling, and horse races.
The group includes two vocalists, one of whom doubled as percussion, and Friday night’s performance also included a double bass. At the heart of the music, however, is the guitar quartet, who carried the pieces lovingly and sincerely throughout the lighthearted and often comical presentation.
Video sequences were used to open and divide the program. The initial Video served to set the mood, offering images of modern Buenos Aires while the groupÃÂs music played in the background. The second was a humorous look at what the performers in their spare time: sit at a bar and bet on horses. Gambling and outlaws are of particular interest to the group, who have based much of their repertoire on these topics.
At the show’s beginning was a cautionary note: what most of us think of as tango was not what this presentation would be about. There were no teeth clenched roses, no women in elaborate red dresses, and no dancing whatsoever. However, the performance was still about tango in a very pure sense, focusing on the rhythms and sounds at the basis of this art form. If not a “tango show” in the traditional sense, it still got across the essence of what was on the performersàminds.