Internationally, Argentina is known mostly for the tango, which developed in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, as well as Montevideo, Uruguay. Folk, pop and classical music are also popular, and Argentinian artists like Mercedes Sosa and Atahualpa Yupanqui contributed greatly to the development of nueva canción. Argentine rock has also led to a defiant rock scene in Argentina.

Cuarteto

Main article: Cuarteto

Cuarteto , a form of dance music, became popular in Argentina during the 1940s, beginning with the genre's namesake and innovator, Cuarteto Leo , and was re-popularized in the 1980s.

Chamamé

Main article: Chamamé

Chamamé arose in the northeastern region Corrientes, an area with many settlers from Poland, Austria and Germany, many of them Jews. Polkas, mazurkas and waltzes came with these immigrants, and soon mixed with African and Amerindian musics. Chamamé emerged from this mix, becoming closely associated with the native Guaranís. The 20th century saw limited international popularity for Chamamé, though some artists, like Argentine superstar Raúl Barboza , became popular later in the century.

Argentine rock

Main article: Argentine rock

Argentine rock, or rock nacional, is a distinctive form of Argentine rock and roll. It is said to have begun in about 1965, when a Beatlesque group called Los Shakers , from Uruguay, arrived in Argentina. At the time, popular music was a style called ritmo latino , a mainstream pop genre. Los Shakers brought a hard-edged form of rock to the country, and musicians like Litto Nebbia of Los Gatos began recording their own kind of rock. Los Gatos' La Balsa, released early in their year, established the distinctive sound of Argentine rock.

Tango

Main article: Tango music

Tango arose in the brothels, bars and port areas of Buenos Aires, where descendants of Europeans, Africans and South American natives mixed, racially and culturally. The result, tango, came about as a fusion of disparate influences including:

• Milonga - songs of the rural gauchos
• Habanera - Cuban music
• Polka and mazurka - Nordic music
• Contradanse - Spanish music
• Candombe and percussion music - African music
• Flamenco - from Andalucia
• Italian folk music

References

• Fairley, Jan and Teddy Peiro. "Vertical Expression of Horizontal Desire". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 304-314. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
• Fairley, Jan. "Dancing Cheek to Cheek...". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 315-316. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
• Fairley, Jan. "An Uncompromising Song". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 362-371. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0