This season, we’re taking you on a special journey across the Spanish speaking world… From Spain to the Americas, a new generation of Spanish-speakers is working to keep their cultural traditions alive…with a contemporary twist. Martina: Bienvenidos and welcome to the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. No solo porque los músicos, cantantes y compositores son hombres, sino porque la letra de muchas de las canciones es machista. Pamela: El tango siempre ha sido dominado por hombres. But there’s one thing that’s different about Pamela’s performance on this night: her orchestra is made up entirely…of women.
Outside of Argentina, many audiences associate tango exclusively with dance - but for Argentines, tango is an entire musical genre, played with guitars, violins, flutes, and of course, the bandoneón. Martina: Pamela is one of the very few women in all of Argentina to conduct a tango orchestra. La canción que están escuchando se llama “Por una cabeza” y es una clásica canción de Carlos Gardel, el compositor más popular de tango. Pamela: Para mí, tocar tango es una gran responsabilidad porque es parte de mi cultura. It’s the city’s music, language, and culture. In 2009, UNESCO declared it to be part of the cultural heritage of humanity…and it’s a source of tremendous pride for those who live in Argentina’s capital. Martina: Tango is the signature music of Buenos Aires. Esta no es una típica orquesta de música, nosotras somos una orquesta de tango. Se escuchan los violines, el piano, el contrabajo, la flauta, el clarinete, y el clarón. Pamela: Empezamos el ritual: después del bandoneón, yo hago un movimiento con la cabeza y la orquesta comienza a tocar. Pamela Victoriano brings her violin up to her chin and stands at the front of the stage. The lights go out…and the first sounds to break the silence are of the bandoneón, a type of accordion. The audience is seated, waiting for the show to begin. Martina: It’s December of 2018 in a small theater in San Telmo, the historic quarter of Buenos Aires. So instead of “maravillosa,” you’ll hear: “ maravillosa.” Martina: Hey listeners, a quick word on the Spanish spoken by this week’s storyteller, who comes from Argentina: the LL and Y are often pronounced with a “sh” sound.