Tango, samba, and national identities: Similarities and differences in the foundational myths of “mi noche triste” and “pelo telefone”

Abstract

The goal of this essay is a comparative analysis between the symbolic dimensions of tango and samba as they are used in the construction of identity in Argentina and Brazil. We take as a starting point two so-called fundamental moments in the "official" history of these musical genres: the respective inaugurations of samba and tango styles that were the songs "Pelo Telefone" and "Mi Noche Triste."2 Tango and samba are two musical genres that constructed, in Argentina and Brazil, a significant dimension of the respective national identities. Both share important characteristics since their birth; both came from the marginal or popular classes of society, emerging from the periphery to rise in status to become part of the so-called refined classes. Both genres emerged at almost the same historical period, and both are associated with former or current capital cities, which, in different ways, struggled at the beginning of the twentieth century with issues of unity and national identity3. In the case of tango, Buenos Aires and Montevideo are national capitals. From these cities tango spread to other places. In the case of samba, Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the Republic, recently established after the extinction of the Empire.