---

Milonga Milonga, according to Jose Gobelo (founder of Academia del lunfardo, considered to be an authority when it comes to Tango subjects), states that it is a word of the African Language "Quimbunda", plural of 'Mulonga'. Mulonga in that language means, "word"; Milonga means words, the words of the Payadores. In 1872 when Jose Hernandez published his most famous book "Martin Fierro" (describes in verse the life of a gaucho); the word Milonga had already acquired the meaning of gathering where one can dance. A decade later, 1883, Ventura Lynch wrote: "In the periphery of the city the Milonga is so generalized that is danced in all the gatherings, it can be heard played by guitars, accordions, comb and paper, or played by street musicians with flute, harp and violin". It is also danced in the low-class casinos around the markets of 11 de Septiembre and Constitución, other dances and funerals".

Today, Milonga has several meanings: a music, a dance, the place or gathering where one dances and also the original meaning (many words, or long story), such as in "no me vengas ahora con esa milonga", (do not start now with all that jazz).

---

There is no agreement as to the etymology of this word. When it comes to the pre-history of tango everything is shrouded in a dense fog.

The word tango appeared much earlier than the dance. It first appeared outside Argentina, in one of the Canary Islands (Isla de Hierro) and in other parts of America with the meaning of "gathering of blacks to dance to drum music; also the name the Africans gave the drum itself". The dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy of Letters, 1899 edition, defines Tango as "Fiesta and dance of Negroes or "gente del pueblo" (those that belong to lower socio-economical class) in America"; also a second meaning: "Music for that dance". Here one has to remember that to the Spanish world, America is the whole continent - not just the USA; in this case it refers to the Spanish part of America, excluding USA and Canada.

Here the dictionary gives the doubtful etymology of Latin 'tangir' (to play instruments). Latin ergo tango = I play. It is only natural to try to find a Latin origin to the word, although this etymological line obviously is not related to the Argentinean meaning. The 1914 edition gives the etymology tangir or tangere "to play or to touch". Later editions removed that etymological reference.

The music historian Carlos Vega explains that in Mexico, a dance called tango existed in the 18th century. This dance was done individually or apart, not as a couple. Archives of the Holy Inquisition in Mexico make reference to the "ancient tango" - a mexican song - in 1803.

The Dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy, edition 1925 defines Tango as before, but without the latin etymology and added: "Dance of high society imported from America at the beginning of this century". Once more Tango traveled all the way from "low-class" to "high-class." It includes two more meaning: "music for this dance" and also "Drum of Honduras". It is only in the 1984 edition that tango is defined as an Argentinean dance.

*It seems that the African origin of the word Tango is accepted by they largest number of erudite investigators. Ricardo Rodriguez reviewed the languages spoken by the slaves brought to Argentina ... tribes from the Congo, the Gulf of Guinea and Southern Sudan. Tango means "closed space," "circle," "any private space to which one must ask permission to enter". The slave traders called Tango the places where black slaves where kept, in Africa as well as in America. The place where slaves where sold also received that name. We could discuss this in more detail but ... I am afraid to bore you with so much detail.

In summary, the most probable origin of the word tango is: closed space where negroes gather to dance; later on the dance itself.

The same way as lawyers, doctors, physicists, chemists, etc. have their peculiar language and terminology, thieves needed a language that was cryptic, secretive enough to speak among themselves and at the same time was unintelligible for the police or the possible victim of their actions. A language to be used in prison that could not be understood by the guards.

This originated terms and expressions that formed a new language, that of thieves and jail inmates. The secret tongue of "lunfardos", term used by thieves to refer to themselves. In this way watch became "bobo" (dumb-stupid) due to two characteristics, it is very easy to steal and it works all day long non-stop. Lunfardo is rich in Italian dialectal terms and also French words.

The first manifestations of this language appeared in Buenos Aires around 1880 ( police and newspapers archives).

This new terminology invaded the familiar language of the conventillos dwellers and very slowly the language of men (it was not used at home or by women), finally became something characteristic of being Porteño and Argentine. It was spread by theater in its "Sainetes", a peculiar genre that depicts life in conventillos; it was used by poets; but the greatest means of diffusion was not literature but its use in Tango Lyrics.