Tango: The Art History of Love
by Robert Farris Thompson

This book represents a major effort by Robert Farris Thompson, professor of art history at Yale, to explore and document the origins and evolution of tango, with special emphasis on the African contribution to the music and the dance.

A scholarly work that requires time to read, it is possible the most detailed text in the English language on the cultural context of tango, documented in paintings, poems and in many short biographies of musicians poets and dancers.

We highly recommend this book to those interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of the music, the dance and their cultural origins.

Available at Deschutes County Library, Bend. Sample pages are available on line here

Tango: an Argentine Love Story
by Camille Cusumano

This is the latest addition to a series of "a Love Story" travel books (other titles include Greece, Mexico, Italy, and France) by the author, a former editor of Via Mgazine.

Following a personal crisis, Cusumano moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Buenos Aires and spent a year immersed in the local tango environment (we met her there). She shares her feelings as she gets involved in the tango scene, narrates her adventures in Buenos Aires, presents a glimpse at the life in the dance halls, and tells about her travels to other destinations within Argentina.

The reader will find this book, inscribed in the creative non-fiction genre, engaging and a quick read. Tango dancers will relate to Camille's experiences. It will be specially interesting to those who have been to Buenos Aires or plan to visit there.

Sample pages are available on line here