2008 Woodie Awards
Short story writer speaks on cultural roots of tango
Catherine Couretas
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Campus
Compadritos. Jorge Luis Borges. Juan José Sebreli. Rubén
Darío. Lunfardismos.
Everything mentioned above are terms and people associated with tango, the popular dance Miami University students were able to learn about firsthand last Thursday at a lecture given by Argentine native Noemí Ulla.
The lecture was organized by Charles Victor Ganelin, chair and professor of the department of Spanish and Portuguese at Miami.
Originally from Santa Fe, Argentina, Ulla is a novelist, short story writer and literary critic.
Ganelin met Ulla in 2003 in Buenos Aires. Ganelin's wife, Patricia Klingenberg (also a professor in Miami's department of Spanish and Portuguese) had met Ulla a few years before at a conference in Argentina.
From that moment, Ganelin and his wife knew that Ulla would be an excellent choice to speak at Miami. Ulla accepted their offer, with Thursday's visit being her first to the United States.
The lecture, given in Spanish with an English translation on an accompanying PowerPoint slideshow, gave the students in attendance the history of tango as well as insights into the culture of Argentina.
Ulla spoke about Argentina's history, beginning in the 1870s and 1880s when the first tango songs were heard. She went into detail on the specific lyrics of the tango songs and how they relate to the history, pointing out that they span a variety of topics, from pornography, romance and even political cynicism.
Ulla said that tango music and dance first originated in smaller cities, but was eventually brought to more central locales. It was the "carnavals," or festivals, that truly contributed to the spread of the tango as a dance form throughout Argentina.
"Tango is a very important aspect of Argentine popular culture," Ulla said. "For several years it has become much more widely known."
Ulla has written a novel on the dance form, as well as several essays and seven short story collections. The short stories that she has written have been translated into French, English, Italian and German.
Darío. Lunfardismos.
Everything mentioned above are terms and people associated with tango, the popular dance Miami University students were able to learn about firsthand last Thursday at a lecture given by Argentine native Noemí Ulla.
The lecture was organized by Charles Victor Ganelin, chair and professor of the department of Spanish and Portuguese at Miami.
Originally from Santa Fe, Argentina, Ulla is a novelist, short story writer and literary critic.
Ganelin met Ulla in 2003 in Buenos Aires. Ganelin's wife, Patricia Klingenberg (also a professor in Miami's department of Spanish and Portuguese) had met Ulla a few years before at a conference in Argentina.
From that moment, Ganelin and his wife knew that Ulla would be an excellent choice to speak at Miami. Ulla accepted their offer, with Thursday's visit being her first to the United States.
The lecture, given in Spanish with an English translation on an accompanying PowerPoint slideshow, gave the students in attendance the history of tango as well as insights into the culture of Argentina.
Ulla spoke about Argentina's history, beginning in the 1870s and 1880s when the first tango songs were heard. She went into detail on the specific lyrics of the tango songs and how they relate to the history, pointing out that they span a variety of topics, from pornography, romance and even political cynicism.
Ulla said that tango music and dance first originated in smaller cities, but was eventually brought to more central locales. It was the "carnavals," or festivals, that truly contributed to the spread of the tango as a dance form throughout Argentina.
"Tango is a very important aspect of Argentine popular culture," Ulla said. "For several years it has become much more widely known."
Ulla has written a novel on the dance form, as well as several essays and seven short story collections. The short stories that she has written have been translated into French, English, Italian and German.
Be the first to comment on this story