In review--Tangos and Ice Floes
Las Chicas del Tango Featuring Horacio Ferrer Tango de Norte a Sur Arc Music On the album Tango de Norte a Sur, (Tango From North to South), the Finnish trio Las Chicas del Tango meld Finnish tango with new Argentine tango. Kukka-Maaria Ahonen (vocals), Johanna Juhola (accordion), and Milla Viljamaa (piano), collaborate with esteemed Argentine poet Horacio Ferrer who also performs on the album. Rounding out the text, the musicians feature the poetry of Bolivian songstress Siboné Oroza and the late Argentine feminist poet Alfonsina Storni (who lived during era when Argentine tango was just emerging). I read in a Finnish radio review that Las Chicas del Tango successfully wed Finno-Ugrian melancholy with the sadness of Argentine tango. While this is not an exact quote, the musicians blur the lines between tango of South America and Finland, with Ahonen singing the text in Spanish. I imagine dancers could tango to these melodies, but tango songs (music with lyrics...