This week's traditional tanda is a rhythmic set by Rodolfo Biagi with Andrés Falgás singing.

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This alternative tanda is really more of a modern tanda by Sexteto Milonguero.

The Sexteto Milonguero formed in 2006 with the simple desire to play the dance repertoire, usually heard in the milongas, including different styles of different bands, emphasizing the 40′s, and beyond the excellent versions heard for years, Sexteto Milonguero tries to give a personal sound to these great old songs.

The only intention? … follow the path of those great bands, and do not let the tango, withdraw from the neighborhood, the dancers, the popular, the milongas …"

Javier Di Ciriaco - Sexteto Milonguero

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• Sexteto Milonguero
• More Modern Tandas

This week's traditional tanda is a dramatic set by Osvaldo Pugliese. This set features Recuerdo, the first tango Pugliese composed, in 1924, when he was only 19 years old. The title was originally "Recuerdo para mis amigos" (Memory for my friends) and was an homage to his friends that he used to hang out with in the cafe. This song is often described as a milestone of tango composition for its melodic structure and its complex density. "Recuerdo" shows Pugliese's knowledge of European classical music and his commitment to the streets of Buenos Aires.

"One could speak, with total justice, of compositions before and after Pugliese's 'Recuerdo' and the instrumentalists before and after 'Recuerdo'." - Horacio Ferrer.

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• History of Recuerdo
• More Pugliese Tandas

Puppy Castello y Graciela Gonzalez, in 1994, dancing to Recuerdo

Nito y Elba, in 2008, dancing to Recuerdo

This week's traditional tanda is a great milonga set by Miguel Caló.

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• More Milonga Tandas

This week's traditional tanda is a popular set by Francisco Canaro with Roberto Maida singing. This tanda features the super popular song Poema. These songs fall at the end of the Guardia Nueva Period (1925 to 1935), when tango was transitioning from the sound of the Guardia Vieja sound to the more modern sound of the Golden Age. These songs still have that old sound, with some touches of the new. Poema has the beat or rhythm of the guardia vieja period which has sort of a dropping feeling (at least to me), but then it also has the elegant strings and smooth singing. Also, notice the strings in the first part and then how the singer almost imitates the strings in the second part.

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• More Francisco Canaro Tangos

Here are 3 different versions of Poema. It was originally written on a bus trip by several musicians including Eduardo Bianco and recorded in 1933.

Greek Version:

French Version: