From the smoky backrooms of Buenos Aires to the glittering ballrooms of Paris, Tango in Motion is your passport to the passionate, untold history of this global phenomenon. We move beyond the simple dance steps and romantic clichés to explore a saga of rebellion, identity, and cultural fusion.We begin in the late 19th-century melting pot of Buenos Aires, a city bursting with new life. We deconstruct the popular myth of tango’s birth in brothels, revealing its true origins in the communal courtyards of immigrant tenements, where a clash of African, European, and local traditions forged a new art form. We uncover the profound influence of African candombe, a "ghost rhythm" that pulses at the heart of tango even without a drum. You’ll discover the surprising story of why early tango was a dance of men with men, a raw, competitive practice born of necessity that created the powerful, defined lead-follower dynamic we know today. The soul of tango has a name: the bandoneon. We trace the improbable journey of this melancholic instrument from its humble beginnings as a German religious instrument to its role as the quintessential voice of a genre expressing the longing and nostalgia of a generation of immigrants . We follow the evolution of the tango orchestra from an informal trio of portable instruments to the sophisticated sextets of the Golden Age, and shine a light on the forgotten legacies of trailblazers like Paquita Bernardo, the first professional female bandoneonist whose career was tragically cut short, leaving no recordings behind. We also dive into the contentious story behind "La Cumparsita"—the world's most famous tango—and the two-decade legal battle that cemented its place as a shared anthem for both Uruguay and Argentina. Then, we enter the "Golden Age," a period defined by rivalries and revolution. We introduce you to the titans who shaped the genre: Carlos Gardel, the "troubadour of sadness" who gave tango a lyrical soul ; Juan D'Arienzo, "the King of the Beat," who brought dancers back to the floor with his fierce, driving rhythm ; the beloved Aníbal Troilo, who elevated the role of the singer in the orchestra ; and the defiant Osvaldo Pugliese, a political revolutionary whose heavy, driving music was a parallel act of resistance against an oppressive military regime. Tango has always been a dance of resistance. We explore how a repressive military junta in Argentina used curfews and the strategic promotion of rock and roll to push tango underground into a "Dark Age" . In this period of suppression, we celebrate the female pioneers who, like the dance itself, refused to be silenced, from early recording artists to the legendary Tita Merello, whose defiant version of "Se dice de mí" became a powerful anthem of female empowerment. Finally, we follow tango's improbable journey from the back alleys of Buenos Aires to the elegant salons of Paris, where a "Tangomania" craze swept Europe, causing a moral panic and drawing condemnation from Pope Pius X . We conclude with tango's ultimate triumph: its recognition by UNESCO as a world treasure, a final acknowledgment that a dance born in the grit and chaos of the streets had earned its place on the global stage. Join us on this journey as we explore the legends, the instruments, and the social movements that make the music move—and maybe make you move too.New episodes weekly