In Buenos Aires culture, the neighbourhood of Boedo is connected to tango. Many “tangueros”–as lyrics writer Homero Manzi or pianist Osvaldo Pugliese–lived in this area or frequented its cafés.
Manzi was precisely the person who made such connection stronger when he mentioned Boedo’s main street corner in the opening verse of Sur, one of the most famous tangos:

But in the history of Boedo there was not only tango. In the 1920s, two groups of writers–with secret intentions of propaganda–declared each other an enemy.
Florida group (Jorge Luis Borges, Norah Lange, Oliverio Girondo, among others) was supposed to be in favour of style and avant-garde. On the other hand, the group of Boedo (Leónidas Barletta, Elías Castelnuovo, Álvaro Yunque, etc.) asked for the practice of realism and literature with social content. Most authors took the confrontation–according to Borges–as “a literary joke” that caused debates and advertising for young writers who started to publish their works. But the choice of places was not innocent, Florida and Boedo were opposed names and represented the downtown elegance in contrast with the popularity of the edges of Buenos Aires.
Some writers of the neighbourhood met together at the book and cigarette store located on Boedo 837, belonging to the German anarchist Munner, and in the printer’s at the back. Other meeting point was the bar “El aeroplano” located on the same corner mentioned in the tango Sur, the same that today houses an important tango joint that bares the name of Manzi.

On July the 25th is celebrated Boedo day. What would you like to tell or ask about this neighbourhood?

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Boedo on the map — Neighbourhoods search — Homero Manzi Year — Tanguerías and milongas in Buenos Aires

Esta entrada fue escrita el Viernes, Julio 27, 2007 a las 3:35 y esta en la categoría General, Neighbourhoods. Puede seguir los comentarios de esta entrada mediante RSS 2.0. Puede escribir un comentario, o trackback desde su sitio.