tango was born in Buenos Aires toward the end of the XIX century. Nevertheless, some prefer to say, for conciliatory purposes, that it was born on the banks of the Río de la Plata, in order to please the Uruguayans who claim co-paternity of the phenomenon.

It is impossible to pinpoint a precise date of birth for a manifestation of popular origin and, therefore, one of evolutionary birth such as tango. However, what is certain is that most experts agree that the decade of 1880 was a starting point for what was then no more than a particular way of dancing to music. The society into which tango was born listened and danced to havaneras, polkas, mazurkas and an occasional waltz, as far as the whites were concerned, while the blacks, 25% of the population of Buenos Aires in the XIX century, moved to the rhythms of the candombe, a type of dance in which couples refrained from intertwining and danced in a way that was determined more by the percussive beat than by the melody. Puerto, 1885

. Initially, tango was interpreted by modest groups consisting only of a violinist, a flutist, a guitarist -and at times without the latter- and accompanied by an experienced blower who set the beat playing a comb converted into a wind instrument by way of a cigarette rolling paper. The mythical concertina was not incorporated into tango until a few decades later, in the year 1900, approximately. Little by little, this instrument substituted the flute.