In 1901, tango was in its “infancy,” a period musicologists call the early Guardia Vieja (The Old Guard), which spanned from 1895 to 1910. During this year, the genre was transitioning from a marginalized street sound into a structured musical form. At this time, tango was primarily played by small improvised ensembles known as conjuntos. The typical trio consisted of a flute, violin, and guitar. The guitar provided the rhythmic foundation (often a habanera beat), while the flute and violin carried the melody. While the bandoneón (a German concertina) began arriving in the Río de la Plata region at the end of the 19th century, it was only just starting to replace the flute in these ensembles by 1901. Its inclusion gave tango the “dense and mournful” sound that would eventually define it. Tango was largely confined to the arrabales (slums) and conventillos (crowded tenement houses) of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. It was the music of the working class and immigrants—primarily Italian and Spanish. The Argentine upper class and the Catholic Church viewed tango as “vulgar” and “obscene” because of its association with brothels and dance halls frequented by the lower castes. he music was a raw blend of European styles (polka, mazurka), the Cuban habanera, and the Afro-Argentine candombe.
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