"Somos tango: Social political activism in contemporary tango lyrics" presented by Mary Lourdes Silva and Juan Jose Ortega 

The third session in the 2021-2022 GSOLE Webinar Series

Overview

Since 2000, the global renaissance of Argentine tango has coincided with the development of several social justice movements throughout Latin America (e.g., #Ni Una Menos). In contemporary tango lyrics, we find both male and female composers using tango to project their political message about political corruption and gender violence. As an instrument of protest, creativity, connection, and cultural identity, tango parallels the history and evolution of Hip-Hop music in New York City during the late 70s and 80s, where Black and Latino youth, marginalized by race and class, used Hip-Hop to express their anger and affirm their identity and role in society. Although Hip-Hop and Argentine tango share a history of sexism, hypermasculinity, and chauvinism, Hip-Hop as critical discourse has been successfully integrated into first-year writing instruction to educate students about race, class, linguistic diversity, gender norms, and culture. In our webinar, we introduce American audiences to tango as critical discourse, as a multimodal embodied art form that links multiple modes of expression to global social movements and political histories pertinent to Latin America and the rest of the world. We briefly explore theoretical concepts of translingualism and introduce pedagogical strategies to diversify the curriculum and normalize translinguistic communication.  

Registration Information:

• This Webinar is free to GSOLE members. 
• Non-Members can register for $15.
• Learn more about GSOLE webinar participation